Fashion retailer, Witchery, is the latest in the growing list of brands that has raised the ire of child advocate groups and their high-profile reps.
In the current series of ads for a range of clothing for two to nine year olds, brooding young girls are portrayed in adult poses and the brand stands accused of “adultifying” children.
Former Play School presenter (and Barnardo’s ambassador), Noni Hazelhurst joined forces with Kids Free 2B Kids to denounce the direction advertising was taking.
“They look like recalcitrant teenagers, I think this is a really dangerous direction,” she said. “Children as young as five are now going on diets, are worried about how they look, how they present – this just should not be an issue for children. It’s really sad that people are trying to redefine what early childhood means.”
Retailer Bonds, promoting mini-bras for children as young as six, bowed to public pressure, withdrawing its line of “bralettes” following pressure.
In the meantime, Witchery has defended its decision to run the ads by saying it thought the ads fun and playful, and claiming that the majority of feedback…regarding our campaign and product range has been very positive.
Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little research on that. And he actually bought me lunch because I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch!
Hi there! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I really enjoyed reading this.
Thanks John – and thanks for stopping by.