H&M accused of sexualising children through advertising
24 January 2024 22:52
Europe’s largest clothing retailer, the Swedish company H& M, has apologised and removed its school uniform advert in Australia after social media users accused it of sexualising children. This was reported by 
with reference to the BBC.
The brand launched a campaign in support of school uniforms in the Australian market. Two girls dressed in identical sundresses and white blouses became the faces of the campaign. The company chose the phrase “Make those heads turn in H&M’s Back to School fashion” as its slogan.
This slogan, which translates to “Make those heads turn in H&M’s Back to School collection”, caused a scandal. Fans of the brand said that school uniforms should not attract children’s attention.
One of the online resources that drew attention to the scandal was the British website Mumsnet . Its founder, Justine Roberts, said that she and her colleagues have been monitoring the sexualisation of children in advertising since 2010. She expressed her regret that 14 years later, major brands continue to create inappropriate ads that prematurely sexualise young girls.
“Mumsnet users have long been concerned about sexualised culture creeping into children’s lives, which is why we launched our Let Girls Be Girls campaign in 2010,”
– roberts said.
H&M removed the advert and apologised. In a statement, H&M said it had stopped airing the advert, which was only broadcast in Australia.
“We deeply regret the offence caused and will review how we present our campaigns in the future,”
– the company said.
