Viewers have picked up on a 'dark joke' over the unfortunate positioning of Kevin the Carrot in Aldi's Christmas advert. Not everything is as family-friendly as it would first appear, fans have said.
In a Home Alone parody, Kevin is left behind from his family's holiday, much like Kevin McCallister in the cult classic film. In one memorable scene, Kevin launches himself into a snowman following a failed attempt to ward off a mince-pie-eating intruder, the Mirror Online reports.
"Fearing that his plans had left him quite exposed, he made a hasty exit to become a snowman's nose," the narrator says. However, Kevin completely misses the snowman's face, instead landing much lower, and people could not help but notice he resembled a different body part.
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Outraged, one Twitter user asked: "Don't you think that is quite inappropriate?" A second person agreed: "Not appropriate for an advert aimed at family viewing. The idea of a carrot for a snowman’s nose should have been exactly that."
And another disgruntled viewer said: "Christmas is for children and a time of innocence; your advert was lovely right up until the point that it wasn't - 'landing on his nose' would have been better."
However, others rushed to defend the supermarket, suggesting most children would not understand the reference. One reply read: "It's a harmless joke." Another said: "It's a little bit of dark humour for those old enough to understand and those who aren't, it will bypass." And someone else added: "It's not even 'dark'. It's just cheeky, at worst."
Several viewers even thought it was the best part of the advert. "Just nearly choked at the @AldiUK Christmas advert … 'snowman’s nose!'" one commenter praised, before adding several laughing emojis.
Sharing a photo of the cheeky moment, another wrote: "Aldi never fail to deliver. Subtle. But genius. Well played. My immature mind giggled." Another Twitter user agreed: "I hope they don’t cut the carrot snowman bit out. It made me laugh out loud."
Meanwhile, several shoppers also praised Aldi for spreading festive cheer and highlighting community-led giving platform, Neighbourly. One commenter said: "Thank you for the lovely festive ads, as always, and for encouraging gifting to charity at Christmas." Another replied: "Absolutely brilliant, best Christmas advert." And someone said: "Now it’s officially the Christmas Season."
John Lewis also released its much-anticipated Christmas advert this week, with the retailer raising awareness of children in care with the story of a middle-aged man learning to skateboard before welcoming a young teenager into the family home.
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