A Christmas advert for the British health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain Boots has sparked outrage from viewers and social media users, some of whom have called to “boycott” the company because of it.
The ad, which hovers between the ideas of “Make Magic” and “The Christmas Makeover,” has left many with a sour taste in their mouths.
Adjoa Andoh plays Mrs. Claus in the advert: you may know her for her role as Lady Danbury in Bridgerton
In the ad, she is seen organizing and overseeing her elves and making beauty-related Christmas gift production after Santa falls asleep.
However, social media users have expressed anger over the ‘woke’ marketing campaign of the advert, which uses the song ‘Who’s that girl?’ by artist Eve, and at one point she uses them as a pronouns.
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Which states, “Oh, that’s very them.”
The use of the pronouns got viewers calling the ad too woke, and trans social media influencers also play some of the elves.
The advertisement has provoked the ire of right-wing nationalists, who take issue in particular with the casting of Adwoa Andoh.
This is because last year Adwoa Andoh appeared as a guest during ITV’s coverage of the King’s coronation, and she made some remarks.
Her comment was on the contrast between the “rich diversity of the Abbey” for the service and the “terribly white balcony” at Buckingham Palace.
Her comment at the time sparked over 8,000 complaints to Ofcom, but they decided not to take action.
Adwoa, however, clarified her comment during an interview with Radio 4 the next day, saying:
“I was talking about the day and how marvelous it was and then looking at the balcony at the end and suddenly going: ‘Oh, it’s so white’, because the day had been so mixed and I didn’t mean to upset anybody.”
The calls to boycott Boots have been met with derision from some circles, with boycotters being accused of “snowflake” hypocrisy. ‘ Tis the season.
So her comment has become the fuel for the right-wing commentators on X to claim that the Boots advert is “un British,” with some insisting they will not shop at Boot anymore.
Below are some comments from X.
