What:  An ad for its insurance services made John Lewis’ customers angry both for its content and its clarity

Why it is important:  Brand image is key to sell additional services, but needs to be maintained at all costs. If the backslash for lack of clarity can be understood, the issues about the hypersexualisation of a young boy is more surprising coming from a household brand such as John Lewis.

John Lewis is facing a backslash regarding an ad campaign related to its insurance business, on two counts: for the hypersexualised representation of a young boy, and for a misleading message on the actual content of the insurance package.

John Lewis had started running this campaign on the 11th of October and pulled it back on the 27th of October. It also contacted all customers who had contracted this insurance during the period, to clarify the content of the insurance package and make sure subscribers were fully aware of what they were buying.

John Lewis forced to pull back controversial insurance ad