H&M accused of sexualising children in new ad for school uniforms, takes it down after backlash

Swedish fashion giant H&M took down an advertisement for school uniforms after it was accused of sexualising underage girls.

The advertising campaign, launched in Australia, showed two young girls in school uniforms with the caption: “Make those heads turn in H&M’s Back to School fashion.”

“We have removed this ad,” an H&M spokesperson said on Monday. “We are deeply sorry for the offence this has caused and we are looking into how we present campaigns going forward.”

Social media users were quick to slam the clothing brand, especially on X. An Australian writer named Melinda Tankard Reist said, “Why would you want to fuel the idea that little girls should draw attention to their looks, bodies and ‘style’? Perhaps have a word to your marketing team and come up with something that doesn’t draw attention to pre-pubescent girls already struggling to thrive in a culture that values ‘lookism’ as an aspirational goal?”

“It's deeper than just turning heads. The whole image is sexualised from the ethnicity of the girls, their pose and are their legs oiled?” a user wrote.

Another user commented, “We are a culture lost to corporatism and pornification. This is sick.”

“This is absolutely creepy. Take it down,” a third user remarked.

A fourth user added, “This is really disturbing. I remember being cat called whilst waiting for the bus in my school uniform. It made me feel unsafe. Girls go to school to get an education, not to be jeered at by onlookers.”

Last month, Zara received severe backlash for its advertisement depicting a model posing among rubble with mannequins wrapped in shrouds around her. Social media users claimed that the ad was insensitive and drew resemblance from the destruction in Gaza.