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Mulberry/YouTube
UK News

Mulberry replaces Jesus Christ with handbag in Christmas advert

by Antony Bushfield

Mulberry has taken the story of the nativity to promote the accessory but has removed Jesus.

Instead the advert shows a woman being gifted the bag before being visited by three kings, wise men and a shepherd who all come to adore the £900 present.

The ad has impressed some with one fashion writer calling it "brilliant" but it has led to some criticism from Christians.

However, the Evangelical Alliance told Premier it should be used as an opportunity.

A spokesperson said it was "a great opportunity to talk about the real meaning of Christmas" and accepted it was a nice bag.

"However, all Christians know that an overpriced piece of leather can't remotely be compared to the miracle of Jesus and the hope and peace he can bring to all our lives," they added.

Amelia Abplanalp from the organisation agreed and told Premier: "Too often Christians are known for what they are against rather than what they are for and so we have a choice.

"We could hop on our religious high horse and fill the news with a negative message of Christians getting offended or we could make the most of the chance to talk about Jesus.

"When I watched that ad for the first time I was quite encouraged, because here we have the Biblical narrative of Jesus being born.

"They [Mulberry] do assume that we the consumers know that story, that we're familiar with the story enough that they can use a Mulberry bag in place of Jesus.

"At the end of the day it's up to Mulberry the kind of ads that they produce, and yeah, it's a nice bag, but all Christians know that an overpriced piece of leather can't remotely compare to the miracle of Jesus and the hope and peace that he can bring to all of our lives."

Meanwhile the campaign group Christmas Starts With Christ has released another version of the video which ends asking the question "what are you worshipping?" this festive season.

A spokesperson for Mulberry told Premier: "The film is a tongue-in-cheek cinematic celebration of the many playful interpretations of the Christmas story that happen in schools and village halls up and down the country in true British tradition.

"Created by award-winning adam&eveDDB, the film is intended to bring a smile to everyone's face and dramatise the pleasure of giving Mulberry at Christmas."

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