The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2023
M&S deleted a Christmas post after burning party hats read as the Palestinian flag
An out-take of red, green and silver paper hats in a fireplace became a political flashpoint — M&S pulled the photo and apologised.
Marks & Spencer · 2023-11
What happened
In November 2023, as it launched its 'Love Thismas not Thatmas' Christmas campaign, Marks & Spencer posted an out-take on Instagram: red, green and silver paper party hats burning in a fireplace, part of a scene meant to 'playfully show that some people don't enjoy wearing paper Christmas hats'.
Social media users read the hats as the colours of the Palestinian flag, and the post drew complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority. M&S insisted the hats were 'traditional, festive coloured red, green and silver Christmas paper hats', but it deleted the photo and apologised 'for any unintentional hurt caused', noting the advert had been filmed in August.
The ASA said it was reviewing the complaints rather than investigating the post, and the TV campaign itself kept running. A flagship Christmas ad that was meant to be about glamour spent its first week being about a fireplace.
Why it happened
- The 'hats in the fire' out-take used a colour combination that happens to be a flag — nobody on the review chain checked what those three colours together mean.
- A light-hearted prop gag was posted without asking how the image could be read in a conflict-heavy news cycle.
- M&S's defence explained intent after the image had already been deleted — the clarification never caught up with the screenshot.
- The controversy became the launch-week story for a campaign that was supposed to open the Christmas season.
The lesson
A festive prop can accidentally carry a flag's colours — the reader's context, not the art director's intent, decides what the image means.
Aftermath
M&S deleted the photo and apologised; the ASA said it was reviewing complaints rather than investigating the post, and the Christmas TV campaign continued to air.
Sources
- M&S pulls Christmas advert post after Palestinian flag criticism — BBC
- Zara says it regrets Gaza images misunderstanding — BBC (M&S apology corroboration)
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