So the John Lewis ad which caused such hoo ha has been withdrawn.
Did you see it? It’s the one where a young boy puts on a dress and acts like a diva creating havoc.
People were complaining about it sexualising children but I didn’t see it that way
What I saw was a kid being a bit of a brat, bullying his sister and spoiling her paints. (and her creativity is just as important as his)
And damaging things in the house.
John Lewis got told to pull the ad because it suggested they’d pay out for deliberate damage. And quite right too. I wouldn’t want my premiums to go up to cover paying out people who let their kid run amok!
The link doesn’t work for me either, something about not being found on the Google server. However, I found the video below on YouTube. This may be one and the same, no idea but perhaps Maree might know?
The problem these days, as I’ve seen for myself, some parents are not strict like that. Children get away with less than acceptable behaviour, it seems easier not to bother with discipline and as a result we have some ‘little brats’, as can often be seen at times.
It might sound harsh these days but the old saying comes to mind “spare the rod and spoil the child”. Not that I agree with the reference to ‘rod’ and its obvious connotations but I am sure most will understand the meaning of strict but fair discipline.
Well, like I mentioned before when this was brought up, I would have shoved a mop and cleaner in his hands before he got the chance to flop all over the sofa!
I agree that ad was in bad taste, but I bet that lad really enjoyed making it & I don’t think he really is the brat he was acting. He’s probably a very nice kid.
I often feel that ads influence people’s behaviour, so an ad like that is telling children it is ok to behave like that. The mother just sat there, so people would think “It is Ok to let your kids make a mess.”
If any child behaved like that with me, they would have not been allowed out again till the place was restored to how it looked before & I would alson expect him to write a sincere apology to his sister.
I know it was just an ad, bit I think it also demonstrates how awful some undisciplined children can be!
Brats such as that one abound where I live. The places to see them are in supermarkets and their associated car parks where the parent(s) exercise little or no control over their little darlings. Many a time I have seen my wife trying her best to contain what she would like to say but refrained.
But they weren’t told to withdraw it because of it’s controversial content.
They were told to withdraw it because it was misleading and implied John Lewis insurance would cover intentional damage by children, which it doesn’t.
“This advert has been withdrawn because the Financial Conduct Authority considers the content to be potentially misleading and could cause customers to be confused about John Lewis’s new home contents insurance offering.”
We don’t want to give companies freedom of speech to misrepresent their products in order to sell them.
marciniak