DUBAI: Marks & Spencer on Wednesday released its new Christmas campaign, “Love Thismas, Not Thatmas,” sparking outrage over a visual that has been perceived as a Palestinian flag burning.
In the now-deleted Instagram post, the brand says: “This Christmas, do only what you love … like saying no to paper hats.” The visual shows paper hats burning in a fireplace.
Users pointed out the resemblance between the colors of the paper hats and the Palestinian flag, and accused the brand of supporting genocide through subliminal messaging.
The brand turned off the ability to comment on the specific post, according to some users, before deleting it. This further convinced users that the colors used were not coincidental.
Consumers are now calling for a boycott through the hashtag #boycottmarksandspencer.
Users on other social media platforms such as X and TikTok have been sharing screen grabs of the deleted post, with many also calling for a boycott.
Regretfully, today is the last time I will shop at @marksandspencer, What a disgrace to your Marketing & PR Team #BoycottMarksandSpencer pic.twitter.com/s8hHM2lcA3
— Idris Bhayat (@IdiiBhaxx) November 1, 2023
UK shopping outlet Marks and Spencer using subliminal messages in their Christmas advert.
There is no way this is not intentional. pic.twitter.com/Fql5xINeHC
— • (@Alhamdhulillaah) November 1, 2023
This is actually disgusting - the amount of checks their campaigns must go through too so this is pretty intentional - poor from M&S #boycottmarksandspencer #standwithpalestine pic.twitter.com/mkuprOp3Il
— FREE PALESTINE (@r_umaithaa) November 1, 2023
In response to some users on X, the brand said the “image posted was an outtake from our Christmas advert, which was recorded in August, with traditionally colored red, green and silver Christmas party hats.” It added that it removed the post based on consumer feedback.
The image posted was an outtake from our Christmas advert, which was recorded in August, with traditionally coloured red, green and silver Christmas party hats. However, we have removed the post following feedback.
— M&S (@marksandspencer) November 1, 2023
The visual is not to be seen in the star-studded advert released on YouTube featuring “Queer Eye” fashion expert Tan France, actors Hannah Waddingham and Zawe Ashton, and singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
