John Lewis advert wrongly linked to abortion rights and the Harris-Walz campaign

The claim

A video has surfaced on social media (archived here and here) featuring a boy dressed in his mother's clothes dancing through the house while covered in her makeup, creating a mess along the way. 

As it plays, the narrator says: "When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, they didn't just take away a legal right; they changed the lives of millions of women across America. In 2021 alone, over 930,000 women made the difficult decision to have an abortion. Now, under a federal abortion ban, that choice would be gone. Imagine a nation where women are forced into motherhood when they aren't ready, where the weight of that responsibility isn't shared, but placed entirely on their shoulders." 

It continues, "Every sleepless night, every mess that feels impossible to clean up, every moment of feeling overwhelmed — for so many women it's a future they didn't choose, a reality they're not prepared for. But now, the right to decide is being taken from them. We cannot stand by while freedom is stripped away. We must protect a woman's right to choose her own path, for herself, for her family, for her future so we don't wind up living with a child like this." 

The names Harris and Walz are placed in the upper left corner of the video.

The text part of one of the posts claims: "DISTURBING: New Kamala Harris Campaign Ad Depicts Mother Who Wishes She Had An Abortion. Watch tll the end." 

However, this claim is false. The video was altered to include the names of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, along with what appears to be an AI-generated voiceover. Originally, this video was an advertisement for U.K. retail firm John Lewis, filmed in 2021.

Context

Abortion rights have been a focal point in American political discourse, especially following the Supreme Court's June 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which had established a constitutional right to abortion. 

This ruling returned the authority to regulate abortion to individual states, leading to a patchwork of laws that either restrict or protect access to reproductive healthcare. 

Both Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have positioned themselves as defenders of reproductive rights, advocating for women's autonomy in making decisions about their pregnancies, making abortion a contentious issue in their campaigns.

Closer look

The video in question has no connection to Harris and Walz or abortion rights. 

Using a reverse image search, we confirmed it was released in 2021 by John Lewis for their home insurance product under the title "Let Life Happen." It does not include the speech about abortion; instead, the events unfold to the backdrop of a Stevie Nicks song. 

The original video didn't include Harris-Walz and was published in 2021 as a John Lewis Home Insurance advertisement. (Source: YouTube/Marketing The Rainbow, screenshot)

The advertisement was short-lived, as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) intervened, stating that the advert could mislead consumers since accidental damage coverage was available only as an add-on to John Lewis home contents insurance and covered only accidental, not deliberate, damage.

In a comment to The Guardian, John Lewis's representative stated, "The Let Life Happen John Lewis Home Insurance advert was created to show a joyful depiction of a young actor getting carried away with his performance, oblivious of the unintentional consequences of his actions." The topic of abortion was irrelevant to the video.

The voiceover also appears to mimic Kamala Harris's voice. BBC Verify spoke to an expert who suggested it was AI-generated. BBC Verify also said it contacted the person who originally posted the claim, and they said they created the voice using AI but that it was intended to be satire. 

The original version does not include Harris and Walz, and the video was not shared on either candidate's social media pages or as part of their official campaign efforts.

The verdict

The publication misrepresents the advertisement by combining it with strong language regarding abortion, making it both misleading and manipulative. 

The original video was created in 2021 for John Lewis Home Insurance and has no connection to Kamala Harris or Tim Walz, abortion rights, or the electoral process in the United States. Consequently, we have labeled it as false.

Follow Logically Facts' coverage and fact-checking of the U.S. Election 2024 here.