Poundland has landed itself in hot water after sharing a string of adverts showing an Elf On The Shelf behaving badly.
Its most recent advent, posted on 21 December, shows the elf hanging a teabag on Barbie’s face, a nod to the sexual act of ‘teabagging’. The caption reads: “How do you take your tea, one lump or two?”
The crude ad has seriously hit a nerve with some members of the British public. Multiple Twitter users even asked if the brand’s account had been hacked, but a social media spokesperson confirmed that it hadn’t.
Poundland has since stuck by its campaign, which cost £25.53 to produce, revealing to HuffPost UK: “You should see the ones we didn’t post.”
Rub-a-dub-dub, three in a tub. A night of ‘selfies and chill.’ #ElfBehavingBad pic.twitter.com/C5FrrUMdJF
Other adverts from the campaign see the elf rubbing its bottom with a toothbrush, playing poker naked and relaxing in a sink with two dolls.
Since the teabag tweet was shared at midday on Thursday, it has received more than 200 comments and has proven very divisive.
Some have labelled it a bit of fun…
But most agree that it’s in “poor taste”, particularly because the toys used are for kids.
Just had a look at your media section. Only @Poundland could turn an innocent kid’s toy into a seedy wee creep!
With all that’s going on in the news, and you think this is appropriate? There is literally no justifiable reason for this image? @TwiningsTeaUK do you think this is actually ok? I’m all for humour, and I’m not a prude.. but this is ridiculous.
December 21, 2017
this is incredibly grim, Poundland. is your social campaign being run by an 11-year-old who’s just found out about sex?
What the hell is wrong with you? This isn’t funny. It’s in bad taste. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Well, just finished reading the latest sexual assault revelations, let me just brew a nice cup of tea and check @Poundland’s Twitte…
I don’t think you’ve thought this through. At all. Not one little bit.
Mark Pym, Poundland’s marketing director, stood by the brand’s decision to run the campaign.
He told HuffPost UK: “If you think this is edgy, you should see the ones we didn’t post. The love on Facebook is overwhelming – that’s because it connects with our shoppers.
“In fact, we’re proud of a campaign that only cost £25.53 and is being touted as the winning marketing campaign this Christmas.”