H&M removes school ad after backlash on sexualising girl children

Australian fast-fashion company H&M, based in Sweden, removed an advertisement featuring school uniforms after facing several allegations of child sex abuse

The advertisement features two little girls on what looks to be a pink school bus in identical white shirts, dark grey pinafores, and pink backpacks. The advertisement's text, which was displayed as sponsored postings on social media, said: "Make those heads turn in H&M's Back to School fashion", according to Business Insider.

"What is your intention with this sponsored Facebook ad? Little schoolgirls generally don't want to 'turn heads,'" author and speaker Melinda Tankard Reist posted on X. "Why would you want to fuel the idea that little girls should draw attention to their looks, bodies and 'style'?"

Users on X picked highlighted the girls' sideways glance at the camera and speculated that their legs had been greased for the picture. Many deemed H&M's portrayal of young girls in school uniforms to be "creepy" and "disturbing," and they criticised the company for it.

"Having been stalked in school uniform and developed fear of any public space for months afterwards I know how real dangers are," one person wrote.

H&M said that the ad had been removed. "We are deeply sorry for the offense this has caused and will look into how we present campaigns going forward," it said in a post on X.