Watch: Backlash Ensues After Christmas Advert Has Santa Showing His Vaccine Passport
Tesco launched its new Christmas advertisement on Nov 13th titled, 'This Christmas, Nothing’s Stopping Us.' It features people having a 'proper' Christmas following a 2020 Christmas remembered by lockdowns and restrictions that kept many people apart.
Tesco, a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer, creates a scene of joy, fun, and human ingenuity thgoughout the commercial. 'Hiccups' in Christmas experiences are solved time and time again throughout the commercial. Tesco employees are seen throughout, delivering groceries to those in need of them.
Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" plays in the background, leading up to the controversial moment where Santa is seen potentially quarantined, only to show his vaccine passport, and the day is saved once again.
The UK's advertising regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority, said it received over 1,500 complaints regarding Tesco’s new commercial.
“We’ve currently received over 1,500 complaints regarding this ad. The large majority of complaints assert that the ad is coercive, and encourages medical discrimination based on vaccine status. We are currently carefully reviewing these complaints to determine whether there are any grounds for further action.”
ASA spokesperson
The commercial featured on YouTube has over 35,000 dislikes and only 4,200 likes on YouTube, and it appears Tesco has blocked public commenting.
This type of backlash runs paralell to so many of the themes of division we're experincing today. Further, it showcases how fed up people are with the direction government policy has gone. With so many people feeling unheard and forced to take actions they don't want to, it appears they are getting creative in how they show their disapproval and desire to not comply.
Some fully support government initiatives like vaccine passports, while others recognize they don't follow any science, and appear to be coercive measures so governments can get people to do what they want.
Have a look at the ad for yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P7QSCLtRwI