PayPal TV advert accused of 'ruining Christmas'

PayPal apologised and said it would only show the advert after the watershed

PayPal, the internet money transfer site, has been accused of ruining Christmas with its holiday TV advert.

The advert shows two young brothers trying to catch their parents out doing the Christmas shopping and worrying that they haven't seen them with any bags of toys.

The parents, meanwhile, have smugly ordered them all on the internet. Come Christmas Day, the tree is surrounded by gifts and all is well.

Apart from for PayPal, which has been accused of "ruining the magic of Christmas" by suggesting that parents are behind all the presents round the tree, rather than Father Christmas.

The Advertising Standards Agency said that it had received 233 complaints about the Paypal TV advert. A spokesperson from the ASA told the Independent that the some viewers had found the advert offensive because it implied that Father Christmas doesn’t exist.

Some Twitter users said it should be taken off air. But the ASA said that no action was being taken against PayPal.

PayPal have apologised to customers and said in the aftermath of complaints that it would only run the advert after the watershed at 9pm.

"Our ad aims to take a fun look at those Christmas presents kids know come from their parents, and not in any way say Father Christmas doesn’t also deliver presents to them. We want every child to experience the magic of Christmas," a PayPal spokesperson said.