Marks & Spencer has genuinely had to respond to claims that its Christmas advert drops an F-bomb.
This year's Christmas advert was unveiled yesterday (November 7) and features Paddington Bear, who is woken up in the early hours of Christmas morning by a burglar dressed as Santa (Mark Benton).
He goes on to help give all the stolen gifts back, leading the burglar to realise the error of his ways and thanking Paddington for giving him a marmalade sandwich.
Sweet, right? Not for some people who reckon that Santa actually says "f**k you, little bear". Yes, really.
"He's saying, 'Thank you, little bear'. We think it's really clear. We wouldn't change the ad," an M&S spokesperson told Digital Spy.
And really, it's about as clear as it can actually be – even if you think a Christmas advert would actually feature swearing in the first place.
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M&S's partnership with Paddington will also see the retail giant sell 90 Paddington-themed products – including kidswear and his beloved marmalade – across its stores in the UK this festive season.
The advert has also been turned into a storybook which is selling for £3. All of the profits from the book will be donated to the NSPCC to help fund its Childline service over Christmas.
Paddington will also be seen on the big screen in Paddington 2, which is released in UK cinemas this Friday (November 10).
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
