John Lewis pulls ad with dancing boy after regulatory body deems it potentially misleading

John Lewis has pulled its controversial insurance ad featuring a dramatic boy donning his mom’s clothing, jewelry and makeup as he vogues and spins through his home, leaving a trail of mess in his wake while his mother and sister look on. When the spot was released earlier this month, it drew a variety of criticism, ranging from what some believed was its sexist message to the boy character’s “entitled” and “attention-seeking behavior.” Others complained that the product message was misleading—which ultimately was the brand’s reason behind pulling the commercial. Subscribe to Ad Age for the latest in advertising and marketing news. In a statement John Lewis released Wednesday, it announced that it was taking the spot off the air because the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a U.K. financial services regulatory body whose remit includes consumer protection, deemed it “potentially misleading and could cause customers to be confused about John Lewis’ new home contents insurance offering. That was absolutely never our intention.”The announcement goes on to say that John Lewis will be contacting every customer who purchased the insurance from the period of Oct. 11 through Oct. 31 to make sure they understand what the coverage entails and are happy with their purchase. “Financial services firms’ marketing must be clear, fair and not misleading,” an FCA spokesperson said in a comment to The Guardian. Please see a statement on our latest Home Insurance campaign below: pic.twitter.com/n07OClgqGn— John Lewis & Partners (@JohnLewisRetail) October 27, 2021 The commercial was created out of John Lewis’ longtime agency Adam&eEve/DDB as part of the “Let Life Happen” campaign. A previous commercial in the push, “Tiny Dancer," featured a similar scenario but with a young female ballerina twirling through her home, also making mischief and mess as her dad and brother watched. That ad, however, was not pulled from the airwaves. According to a representative from John Lewis parent Waitrose, the brand previously has never withdrawn an ad. Ad Age reached out to the FCA for more details on its decision around the new ad but did not hear back by press time. Subscribe to Ad Age for the latest in advertising and marketing news.

John Lewis pulls ad with dancing boy after regulatory body deems it potentially misleading

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