Burberry has released a new Valentine’s Day ad campaign that has made many viewers uncomfortable and upset.
One of the videos from the campaign “B:Mine” was just up-close shots of LGBTQ couples kissing and embracing. The video, which was posted to Burberry’s Instagram, received almost only negative comments, with the vast majority of people declaring that they would be unfollowing the fashion brand’s account.
Some Instagram users wrote, “#cancelburberry,” while the majority of comments simply say “Unfollow.”
Other followers pointed out that this had absolutely nothing to do with the brand’s clothes, especially since some of the models weren’t even wearing shirts and nearly the entire video was zoomed-in on their faces.
One user, who claimed to be just 12 years old, wrote, “Just advertise the damn fashion nobody can ever see it bc y’all are just going pda.”
Another person commented, “This has nothing to with fashion. Unfollowing.”
“I don’t want my kids to see this! Disturbing,” said one critic. Another commenter agreed, adding, “my thought!!!! Very disturbing. Like sexualizing everything lately.”
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In another post that received mostly negative comments, one of the models has very obvious double mastectomy scars that are being shown off in the photograph.
“I don’t think adverts should be normalizing in fact glamourising girls having healthy breast removed,” one critic wrote.
Kingsley Cortes, a conservative commentator, posted a side-by-side image of an old Burberry ad in contrast with this new one to show the absurdity of the new marketing strategy that doesn’t even show the products.
Burberry then. Burberry now. pic.twitter.com/V4RZzFTvls
— Kingsley Wilson (@KingsleyCortes) January 25, 2023
Twitter user, Ty’s Tough Talk, wrote, “Genuinely wondering why Burberry is generating entire ad campaigns catering to an infinitesimally small demographic that doesn’t remotely shop at their stores… they aren’t the only high end designer engaging this nonsensical “activist” marketing. What could go wrong..?”
@CoClarified, another critic of the Burberry ads, tweeted, “Hmm, well making your customers throw up in their mouths isn’t my idea of solid marketing, but you do you.”