Commercials, such as Pepsi’s ad featuring Kendall Jenner, aren’t always received the way advertisers intend for them to be. In the case of a recent Audi advertisement, though, we don’t understand how the makers of the commercial could’ve expected consumers to view it in a positive light.
Audi is receiving backlash online after it recently aired an advertisement in China that essentially compared women to secondhand vehicles, according to The Washington Post.
The ad showed a man and a woman preparing to say their vows before the groom’s mother interrupts the ceremony and begins “inspecting” the bride. Afterward she gave her son a thumbs-up, but then the mother-in-law stared at the bride’s chest, which she quickly covered, before the commercial cut to a clip of an Audi.
While the car is still on screen a male voice reportedly said in Mandarin, “an important decision must be made carefully.”
Audi reportedly said it’s looking into the commercial, but hasn’t yet released a statement about whether it will continue to air the spot. Either way, though, the damage is done.
https://twitter.com/c35films/status/887314516689727488
There has been so much backlash to the commercial in China that a page has been dedicated to it on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo.
Thumbnail photo via Audi