Waitrose has cut a scene from its Christmas advert that showed two farmers comparing sun tans, following criticism from a skin cancer charity and patients.
The new ad shows producers across the year as they grow and harvest food for the Christmas dinner table, including a scene in which two farmers compare their tanned arms, which has now been edited out.
The supermarket chain previously apologised after Melanoma UK and viewers raised concerns that the scene “glorified sun tans” and failed to highlight the dangers of sun exposure.
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One person who has melanoma wrote on Waitrose’s Facebook post that she found it “absolutely astonishing that a company like yourselves should be showing farmers glorifying in their sun tans.
“This is a kick in the teeth for all melanoma patients and for all the organisations trying to educate everyone into the dangers of sun tans. What on earth were you thinking to include this in a Christmas advert? Words fail me.”
A Waitrose spokeswoman said: “Our ad celebrates the care and effort that our Partners and real farmers – who work in all weathers – put in to make sure our customers have what they need for Christmas.
“While we included some light-hearted and ‘true to life’ moments, we’ve listened to the comments made about the serious message of sun safety and will be using an updated version of the ad to address these concerns,” they added.
Skin cancer charity Melanoma UK also criticised the advert, saying: “Waitrose can do better than this.”
The news comes as Waitrose rolls out heat pump technology in its stores as a result of energy price rises. The move will see the retailer switch its fossil fuel heating system to electric heat pumps, which it plans to put into effect across all stores before 2035.
