Tesco and their 'All I want for Christmas is a puppy' advert

[MrsLouisTheroux]

Woah! AIBU to think they have messed up bigggg time here?! (and never shop there again?!)
There is a picture in their Christmas magazine of a blurred child in front of a chalkboard which says " All I want for Christmas is a Puppy"
Their FB page is full of complaints and Tesco are denying any wrong doing, saying that it's just a picture and they are not encouraging people to buy dogs for Christmas.

ive not seen it but it does sound a little ill advised!!

click on recent posts by others

Someone in marketing will be in trouble!

ok so its a picture of a kid wanting a puppy, not a kid opening the gift of a puppy? see to me they are very different things - its still probably not their best marketing idea mind

I hadn't seen it but will add it to the list of reasons why I will never shop in Tesco.

Lots of kids want puppies- it doesn't mean Tesco are advising you to go out and buy one.

I always wanted a puppy! Still do!

Oh dear, they keep making one mistake after another

I really don't get why you would complain about that

Nick obviously, but they really are idiots if they think the dog welfare groups will accept that explanation!

I can't actually see the ad myself, but from what you say it sounds irresponsible of them.

Dogs (all pets, actually) are for life, and not just for Christmas. Puppies are particularly hard work, and sooo many end up in rescue after Christmas.

Unfortunately, at present there is little alternative round here but to shop at Tesco, or I would vote with my feet.

It's stupid but to never shop there again is a bit if an overreaction

If someone's daft enough to see the ad and take it as inspiration with no other thought then they could get that thought from anywhere.

It's an unwanted cliche Annunziata. Years ago, animal rescue shelters put a lot of work into persuading people that it's a bad idea to buy animals as presents for Christmas due to the large numbers of unwanted pets in the New Year. People still buy puppies and kittens as presents and they still end up in animal shelters.

Tesco using this cliche as advertising is stupid and potentially damaging.

Top It's in their magazine. People have posted pictures of it but you have to trawl through the hundreds of complaints on FB to find it!

I am so ready for Christmas ads of all kinds, children wanting puppies, giraffes, backhoes, whale sharks, mothers doing all the work and then having to sit on a tiny stool at the dinner table, snowmen on epic present-buying pilgrimages, I want it all. I am fully ready to snuffle sentimentally every time I see a screen

Hang on, it's ONE picture in a Christmas magazine? Not a nationwide ad campaign?

Jesus. Overreaction, much?

Berstie People boycott all sorts of organisations if they offend.

It just seems such an overreaction. Just because Tesco have a picture of a child saying a childish thing?!

Oh. The irresponsibility of suggesting dogs (yes, lifetime commitment which I feel is already not taken seriously enough by too many people) did not occur to me Glad people are complaining.

I still want the sappy ads generally though.

Well, presumably, the magazine is distributed nationwide

I'm probably missing something obvious here but why have Tesco done this? They don't sell puppies? Why would their advertising centre around a product they can't profit from?

I totally, totally agree BTW, that this would be bad if it was the basis of an ad campaign, but one picture in a magazine... Really not worth getting worked up about. At all.

im sure level headed people would not be swayed into buying a puppy because of that . and i bet you will shop there again :)

Annunziata I think that is what Tesco are saying to the hundreds of posters ranting on their FB page!! Do you work for them?

It's not the level headed people who buy puppies for Christmas, it's the irresponsible idiots who treat animals as pieces of disposable junk that you have to worry about.