Fashion giant H&M removes ad accused of ‘sexualising’ after online backlash

H&M has apologised for a school uniform advertisement in Australia and removed it after social media users raised concerns that the ad sexualised children. 

H&M Group, which is a multinational clothing company based in Sweden, released a “Back to School fashion” ad that led to controversy over a slogan — “make those heads turn”. It was accompanied by images of two young girls in pinafore dresses. 

The fashion giant posted the image on its official handle with a caption, “Make those heads turn in H&M’s Back to School fashion”. 

Social media users showed anger over the concept and reacted sharply to the post, with one user saying “What the h*** is going on? This is sickening, sexualising kids”. Another user labelled it as an “inappropriate advert”. 

H&M responded to the backlash on social media, stating, “This ad has now been removed. We are deeply sorry for the offence this has caused and will look into how we present campaigns going forward.” 

Melinda Tankard Reist, who is a prominent advocate of feminism, objected to the ad and questioned H&M’s intentions. 

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Reist wrote, “@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.” 

She added, “The little girls parents generally prefer heads don’t ‘turn’ when others see their daughters walking to school, on a bus or in class. Why would you want to fuel the idea that little girls should draw attention to their looks, bodies and ‘style’?” 

“Perhaps have a word to your marketing team and come up with something that doesn’t draw attention to pre pubescent girls already struggling to thrive in a culture that values ‘lookism’ as an aspirational goal?” she further wrote.