H&M Removes School Uniform Ad, Issues Apology; All You Need To Know

Several social media users deemed the ad to be 'insensitive' and 'inappropriate'.

Fashion retailer H&M withdrew a controversial advertisement on 22 January after it was called out for 'sexualising' young children, as per a report by The Independent. 

The advertisement, launched in Australia, featured an image of two young girls in pinafore dresses with the slogan: “Make those heads turn in H&M’s Back to School fashion.” It received immediate backlash from social media users and activists, who called the caption “highly inappropriate and insensitive.”

The fast fashion company has since issued an apology. 

Here’s all you need to know about the controversy: 

H&M’s Controversial Advertisement 

The Swedish fashion giant’s ‘Back to School’ campaign featured images of children alongside captions such as “Make those heads turn in H&M’s Back to School fashion". The image that triggered the backlash featured two young girls wearing pinafore dresses that looked like school uniforms, with the same caption. 

Take a look:

As per the news outlet Daily Mail, other adverts from the campaign were live long after the fashion retailer issued an apology. The report also states that one of the captions on its Instagram page still features another young girl with a similar caption: “From glamorous divas to stylish trendsetters, get ready to turn heads and make this Halloween the best yet.”

Take a look:

How Social Media Reacted

Many social media users expressed their concern about the ad, with one describing it as “H&M sexualising children” and another labelling it “inappropriate”.

Others voiced their unease over the “intention” behind such an ad. Melinda Tankard Reist, an Australian writer known for campaigning against pornography, said in a post on X, "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."

Another user criticised the ad on X and urged a boycott of H&M, writing that it's a "shameful exploitation of girls."

Here are some other reactions:

However, many disagreed with the accusations deeming that there is nothing overtly sexual about the ad to begin with. One user wrote, "Has anyone though for even a minute that those heads they are talking about are other little kids? Looking at their cute outfits? never once did I look at this and think anything other than that. "

H&M Issues Apology

After the social media uproar over the alleged sexualised ad, the company spokesperson issued an apology on Monday, 22 January, as per Independent stating, "We have removed this ad".

Adding, "We are deeply sorry for the offence this has caused and we are looking into how we present campaigns going forward."

However, despite the apology, discontent over the ad remains. Founder and chief executive of Mumsnet, a London-based forum on parenting Justine Roberts, told The Independent, "While we’re pleased that H&M have accepted their mistake and removed the advert, it really should never have been created in the first place."

"Our users would love to be reassured that they’re taking steps to ensure everyone at H&M is crystal clear about the issue so it doesn’t happen again," she added.

(With Inputs From Daily Mail and Independent)