A prominent London headteacher has condemned Marks & Spencer for releasing a Christmas advert that shows celebrities ditching mundane festive tasks.
The advert, "Love Thismas not Thatmas", features the singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Queer Eye's Tan France and the Ted Lasso actress Hannah Waddingham getting rid of their least favourite parts of Christmas by burning cards, throwing away games and chucking festive hats into a snow cannon.
Katharine Birbalsingh, the headteacher of Michaela Community School in Wembley, has called for the ad to be taken down as she claims it "puts two fingers up" to traditional Christmas values.
I am sending this complaint letter to M&S @marksandspencer
— Katharine Birbalsingh (@Miss_Snuffy) November 3, 2023
We should all be complaining.
This is a fight for everything we should believe in.
Do not sit this one out.
Write a letter of complaint about that advert!! pic.twitter.com/3aw58Uw2FZ
In a letter addressed to the supermarket, she writes: “I feel compelled to write to you to express my deep disappointment and outrage at your Christmas advert for 2023.
“You have a duty as our national department store to keep the spirit of Christmas alive for the sake of our children…I run an inner-city school in London, where we try hard to instill values of decency daily in our children.
“When Marks and Spencer puts two fingers up to these values, it makes our lives as teachers much more difficult and it stifles social mobility and happiness for our children, in particular for the disadvantaged.”
She added: “Rather than teach our children to build a chain to weigh them down for eternity, you should be showing us the way, with heartening adverts celebrating the values which Scrooge comes to embody.
“…May God, or Allah, or Vishnu take pity on you!”
It comes after the supermarket was forced to apologise this week after sharing several posts on Instagram from its new festive clothing and home campaign, including one that showed burning hats that resembled the colours of the Palestinian flag.
The image sparked a huge backlash, with pro-Palestine supporters suggesting the brand was promoting anti-Palestinian messaging at a time when Gaza is under increasing bombardment from Israel.
M&S removed the post and apologised for "any unintentional hurt caused", explaining that the intent was "to playfully show that some people just don't enjoy wearing paper Christmas hats over the festive season".
