This Boots Christmas ad is causing some to have a complete meltdown

We probably would have ignored it had it not been for the fact that it is now a hotly debated topic of conversation in the UK.

The Boots 2024 Christmas ad appears (at least to us) fairly joyful, happy-go-lucky fare, by all accounts it 'ticks the box'.

But the ad has gotten many online hot under the collar for being a 'woke monstrosity'.

Instead of spreading festive cheer, the health and beauty retailer has instead ruffled many feathers for its campaign featuring elves played by "woke" social media influencers and using gender-neutral pronouns such as "them".

For a taste of what the resulting sentiment is thanks to the ad - you can go have a look at the posted comments on the YouTube page that hosts the campaign.

There are serious calls to boycott Boots - a Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. company based in Illinois, USA that is publicly listed on the NASDAQ.

It's enlightening how the divisions between people are showing up in dimensions outside of the political arena.

Not that political discourse operates in isolation from the rest of reality, but we would hazard a guess that most marketing teams are not actively analysing degrees of cultural intolerance in the market, while brainstorming a Christmas campaign. What is clear here is that even something as benign as the creation of a Christmas ad needs to be carefully informed by the complexities of a divided world - it's not as simple as it used to be.

The reality is however that old white folk probably don't buy as much make up and styling products as young, 'woke', fashionably enlightened people - so perhaps Boots should stick to their guns and tell the blue-rinse brigade to get a grip.