Argos gives Swift warning to vacuum users following viral trend

Argos has issued a warning to customers not to place themselves, their children, or their pets on top of robot vacuum cleaners purchased from the retailer amid a new Taylor Swift trend.

Brits have been taking to social media to ‘re-enact’ the moment from Taylor Swift’s newly added ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ section of her Eras Tour, which sees the star ride what appears to be a giant robot vacuum around the stage.

Thousands of videos have since emerged online featuring cardboard Taylor Swift cut-outs as well as cats and children atop the devices.

Popular videos on TikTok include a clip of a cat riding a vacuum in time to Swift’s 'Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?' in a video entitled "Cat on automatic vacuum cleaner (Taylor’s Version)" with the clip racking up over 985,000 views.

Since the viral trend made waves on the platform, Lisa Hollidge, Business Unit Director - Seasonal, Toys & Electricals at Argos, has urged people not to participate.

Hollidge said: “While we understand that fans are keen to emulate the star’s every move, we’ve taken this step to protect customers and to ensure that they aren’t damaging their appliances by recreating this element of Taylor’s performance.”

She continued: “Robot vacuums have huge benefits to homeowners but enabling customers to imagine themselves as an international pop star is sadly not one of them. We hope that people will heed the warning we have had to share in response to the social media trend - one we expect will only grow once Taylor hits UK shores in June.”

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