The ASA has ruled that the Christmas ad for Morrisons, which showed a woman hurrying to get everything sorted in time for the big day, was not offensive and sexist, despite 26 complaints.
Complainants suggested that the ad ‘reinforced outdated stereotypes of men and women in the home’ by showing the woman did all the work.
The supermarket replied that the ad campaign was conceived after the socially representative focus groups they had commissioned provided a strong message that many working mums were still bearing the brunt of Christmas preparations.
The ASA said: “We acknowledged that some people would find the ad's portrayal of a mother being solely responsible for the preparations to be distasteful. However, we considered the ad did not imply that it reflected every family's experience. We also considered that the ad was not likely to be seen as condoning or encouraging harmful discriminatory behaviour.”
This follows the ASDA Christmas ad also being deemed not sexist.