(Yahoo) An ad intended to show support for National Health Service (NHS) staff and volunteers in the United Kingdom has sparked controversy by showing Santa Claus as an unconscious ICU patient. While there’s no direct mention of the coronavirus in the video — which shows Santa in an oxygen mask, then intubated, then wearing a face covering as he slowly rebuilds his strength — many viewers have presumed that he’s been hospitalized due to COVID-19.
Titled “The Gift,” the ad was released by NHS Charities Together as a Christmas campaign raising funds for frontline workers, who are seen here wearing PPE as they save an elderly man later revealed to be Santa. After recovering, he shuffles out of the hospital in his red suit, leaving behind gifts and a special message of thanks for his nurse. The video ends with the note, “Give back to those who’ve given everything.”