H&M pulls ad after complaints over sexualisation of school girls

London: Fashion retailer H&M has withdrawn an ad featuring school girls after complaints that the campaign encouraged the sexualisation of under-age girls.

The advert, launched in Australia, featured the slogan: "Make those heads turn in HM's Back to School fashion" above a photo of two girls wearing gray HM pinafore dresses.

"We have removed this ad," an HM spokesperson said on Monday. "We are deeply sorry for the offence this has caused and we are looking into how we present campaigns going forward."

The fashion retailer's shares hit a two-month low, down 1.4% by 1540 GMT, underperforming peers.

HM's rowback is the latest in a string of missteps by fashion brands leading to adverts backfiring. In December, Zara pulled a campaign featuring statues wrapped in white, after calls for a boycott and protests over a perceived resemblance to images from the war in Gaza.