H&M Accused Of Sexualising Children In New Ad, Drops It After Backlash

Fashion giant H&M has pulled a controversial advertisement for school uniforms after it was accused of sexualising young children, as per a report in the Independent. Several people said that it had a "highly inappropriate" caption. The campaign showed a picture of two primary school-aged girls in pinafore dresses with the caption, "Make those heads turn in H&M's Back to School fashion."

@hm@hmaustralia what is your intention with this sponsored Facebook ad? Little schoolgirls generally don't want to “turn heads”. The large numbers I engage with in schools want to be left alone to learn and have fun and not draw unwanted attention to their appearance 1/ pic.twitter.com/DDwv42GeNz

Many internet users reacted strongly against the advertisement. "What the h*** is going on? This is sickening, sexualising kids," said a user.

Another added, "The caption used in the ad seems highly inappropriate and insensitive. Brands should prioritize responsible advertising, especially when it involves children."

"It's pretty tone-deaf to use the phrase 'Make those heads turn' with images of young girls in school uniforms. It feels like they missed the mark on what's appropriate for a back to school campaign," commented another person,

"Bit weird. Slightly odd pose and odd slogan for school uniform!" said a person.

A person said, "This is revolting H&M, take down the ad & investigate how the ad got approval."

"We are a culture lost to corporatism and pornification. This is sick," added an X user.

Another added, "This is absolutely creepy. Take it down."

Reacting to the same, the brand apologised and said that they had removed the ad and it was only live in Australia. "We are deeply sorry for the offence this has caused and will look into how we present campaigns going forward," the company said.

As per a BBC report, in 2023, Chinese-owned online marketplace Temu came under fire after it had launched an advert for sexualising a child. It showed a girl aged between eight to ten wearing a bikini in a pose that "was quite adult for a girl of her age", the Advertising Standards Authority said.