Ignorant, idiotic and inescapable: The travesty of Mariah Carey’s new Christmas ad with Sephora

‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ has never been a preferred Yuletide anthem of mine, but now I can confidently say I will turn it off at the very first twinkle of bells. Mariah Carey has been defrosted once again this year (whoopee), and, whether crudely aware or brazenly ignorant, she has cemented herself as the voice of late-stage capitalism with a hearty show of dehumanising the working class. By featuring her song in an advertisement for Sephora, ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ has completely turned its pleasant message of togetherness on its head, favouring a shameless anti-working-class, pro-consumerist galore.

The way the advertisement depicts Carey (the strike-breaker) and the elf (the striking worker) is insulting

What are the issues with this ad? Firstly, the way it depicts Carey (the strike-breaker) and the elf (the striking worker) is insulting. Carey is presented as an angel, basking in a glowing light, a religious image that aims to portray her as a benevolent and joyful embodiment of Christmas cheer. Meanwhile, the elf is attributed a snivelling demeanour, with a condescending tone and horrible nasal voice that tries so hard to make you hate him. His words, ‘Christmas – it’s cancelled!’ ‘No bells, no cheer, no glam!’ paint him as the aggressor and antagonist. 

One must wonder why the worker is portrayed as such a despicable villain, while the boss is so perfectly benevolent. The answer is complex. America has always been an ardently capitalist country, and with that comes the natural glorification of wealth and the stigmatisation of poverty. But does it really make sense to alienate one-third of the American population just to reinforce social stigmas? Aren’t Carey and Sephora trying to advertise to as many as possible, including the working class? There must be something deeper, something more sinister at play, reflected in this tone-deaf excuse of an advertisement.  

The issues continue, as Carey actually mocks those who are struggling financially and mentally. For some reason, the elf establishes that he is stealing Carey’s makeup products to pay for ‘elf therapy’. My question is, what is elf therapy? And, more significantly, why did they include this? Did they want to imply that the elf is mentally ill, or did they want to suggest that he has a respectable cause for striking? If it were the former, then this could well be another slight against the striking worker, implying that they have something inherently wrong with them for desiring better wages. This may be backed up by the very notion that he is striking yet needs to pay for therapy – a counterintuitive idea which may aim to show the worker’s ignorance, a narrative that an enormous, transnational corporation like Sephora would surely endorse. 

The “comedy” of the piece turns into ignorance when one considers the current economic climate and how many people are genuinly struggling to live, let alone afford a merry Christmas

However, the alternative is far worse. If they meant to say that this elf is attempting to gain better wages to afford therapy, then why are they demonising him so strongly, and why does Carey transform him into a snowman against his will in retaliation? Therapy and mental health are not targets for mockery. In the US, around 60 million adults in the United States received counselling for their mental health within the past year, and in the country, many people do not receive therapy due to the costs involved. What on earth was the message that Carey and Sephora wanted to send? The “comedy” of the piece turns into ignorance when one considers the current economic climate and how many are genuinely struggling to live, let alone afford a merry Christmas. In the UK, one in four people (approximately 14.5 million people) were not able to afford Christmas last year. There is no sign of this improving soon, and we now have celebrities and mega-corporations denigrating the people who cannot afford it. 

Carey is one of the worst examples of the broken capitalist system. Her song is microcosmic of late-stage capitalism – a $350 million net worth ‘earned’ from one thirty-year-old song, from which she receives $2.5 million in royalties each year, along with multiple multi-million-dollar practices made available to her just because she is rich – such as receiving $18 million as a judge on American Idol for one season in 2012, and $11 million for a 2019 PepsiCo advert. For her, the snowball has just kept gaining traction, rolling after rolling, year after year, dollar after dollar, becoming a boulder that will never melt. As for the average person, the snowflakes fall few and far between, dissolving as soon as they touch base. The woman never needs to work again, because every December her song will be played on repeat by big businesses, middle-aged mothers, and condescending celebrities everywhere. In contrast, people who break their backs, go to the office, and pull overtime shifts every day will never see as much money in their life as Carey receives in one December. 

Are we at the point where we are forgetting our core values of togetherness and love in favour of mass consumption and short-term gratification?

The hypocrisy of Carey collaborating with a gigantic corporation like Sephora and using her song about ‘not caring about the presents’ to advertise – well, presents – should be self-explanatory, but it is still baffling that somebody green-lighted this. Are we at the point where we are forgetting our core values of togetherness and love in favour of mass consumption and short-term gratification? Let us not be like Carey and Sephora – out of touch and out of mind. Let us be together and recognise that workers do not strike out of spite, corporations do not have sales out of generosity, and celebrities are not your friends. Frankly, that is all I want for Christmas.