Waitrose has cut a sun-tan scene from its Christmas ad following complaints from skin cancer charity Melanoma UK.
The supermarket has apologised for a clip that saw two farmers compare their sun tan. Viewers challenged whether the scene glorified tans and whether the campaign failed to highlight the dangers of sun exposure.
Created by adam&eveDDB and shot by Henry-Alex Rubin, the ad campaign intended to highlight the dedication, time and effort that goes into providing the ingredients for Christmas dinners.
The spot showcases the hard work that Waitrose suppliers put in throughout the year, finishing with the message that ‘it’s the care we put in that makes Christmas this special’.
Waitrose has now deleted the farmer sun tan clip and re-uploaded an amended version of its festive ad.
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“Our ad celebrates the care and effort that our Partners and real farmers – who work in all weathers – put in to make sure our customers have what they need for Christmas,” a Waitrose spokeswoman said.
“While we included some light-hearted and ‘true to life’ moments, we’ve listened to the comments made about the serious message of sun safety and will be using an updated version of the ad to address these concerns.”
Skin cancer charity Melanoma UK criticised the advert, saying: “Waitrose can do better than this.”
One person who lives with melanoma also wrote on Waitrose’s Facebook post that she found it “absolutely astonishing that a company like yourselves should be showing farmers glorifying in their sun tans.
“This is a kick in the teeth for all melanoma patients and for all the organisations trying to educate everyone into the dangers of sun tans. What on earth were you thinking to include this in a Christmas advert? Words fail me.”
