Buster the boxer dog, the star of last year's John Lewis Christmas ad, is backing campaigners Stop Funding Hate in response to the retailer's advertising policy
In 2016 Buster the boxer starred in the John Lewis Christmas advert, but this year he’s using his fame to call for John Lewis and other retailers to pull their adverts from the Daily Mail, Sun and Daily Express.
Campaign Group Stop Funding Hate has created its own Christmas advert staring Buster the boxer, who last year bounced his way into the nation's heart on a trampoline.
The advert shows poor Buster losing his bounce after hearing that so-called ethical retailer John Lewis is propping up newspapers that have been called out by the United Nations for their divisive and often hateful content.
John Lewis, Sainsbury’s, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose all regularly advertise in the Daily Mail, Daily Express and Sun.
Richard Wilson, of Stop Funding Hate, said: "These brands spend millions telling us about their commitment to values such as trust, diversity and respect. And this is especially true at Christmas. From Marks and Spencer’s advert featuring Paddington the Bear lovingly mistaking a burglar for Father Christmas, to this year’s John Lewis advert celebrating the love of a boy and his monster under the bed. And there’s nothing wrong with this – Christmas is a time of goodwill.
"But it should be a time of goodwill for all. By advertising in papers that demonise refugees, migrants, LGBT people, women, and many more, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose are using our money to divide us.
"We spend millions of pounds on gifts at Christmas. So wherever you shop this Christmas, ask them to use your money with love."
Stop Funding Hate was set up in 2016 after a group of people on social media raised concerns about that certain newspapers were using hate and division to drive sales.
It argues that when hateful and discriminatory language appears in the media, it doesn’t just stay there. In 2016, Leicester University’s Centre for Hate Studies warned that a wider surge in hate crime against migrants had been “fuelled and legitimised… by the media”, while Cambridge University highlighted that “Mainstream media reporting about Muslim communities is contributing to an atmosphere of rising hostility towards Muslims in Britain”.
The campaign has achieved a number of successes persauding companies to withdraw their advertising, including the Body Shop, Vision Express, Evans Cycles and fashion retailer JOY.
Just this week, Paperchase agreed to cancel a promotional partnership with the Daily Mail following pressure from the group.
