Audi is likely to suffer a setback with its previously unlimited sales of luxury cars in china after airing a commercial online and in theaters, giving a direct comparison between women and used cars. Many people on the Chinese social media have expressed outrage after the video aired on Monday.
Mother of the bridegroom inspects the bride in Audi commercial
The 30-second video spot shows a wedding in progress and the bride and bridegroom ready to take their vows. However, the ceremony is suddenly interrupted by the mother of the bridegroom who rushes up the aisle to inspect her future daughter-in-law.
She first pulls at the bride’s nose and then thoroughly examines her ears and teeth to ensure everything is in order and no plastic surgery is evident.
How to make an ad that will turn off consumers #Audi https://t.co/9XFRzKwJmH
— Yi Chen 陳怡 (@c35films) July 18, 2017
As the bride and groom stand there, shocked, the woman starts to walk away, suddenly turning and staring at the bride’s breasts. The bride immediately places her hands over her chest area as her future mother-in-law starts walking away again, turning to give the couple an “A-Okay” sign as she heads down the aisle. The wedding party then looks relieved.
At this point, an image appears showing Audi’s second-hand vehicle website while a voice-over announces that important decisions must always be made carefully and assured by an official certificate.
Anger erupts on Chinese social media over Audi commercial
According to the Chinese English language website Jing Daily, Lianxia, one user on the Weibo social media platform posted a link to the Audi commercial, calling it “disgusting.” Lianxia went on to say they had seen the ad in a theater in Wanda and said it seriously materializes women.
Lianxia’s post soon went viral as users of the social media platform shared and expressed their anger over the advertisement. Many Weibo users commented that the bride had been treated in a humiliating way. However, more were furious over the obvious comparison between used cars and women, saying the advert implied that women are a product of a marriage and that any who had undergone plastic surgery were damaged goods or fake.
Others said that as a commercial of this nature would never be aired in Europe, they asked whether Audi was applying double standards in their Chinese market.
Audi appears to be blocking contact over controversial Chinese ad
As Weibo users commented and reposted the messages, several Chinese media outlets attempted to contact Audi about the commercial, but without any success. Apparently, Audi’s official Weibo page then shut down its comment section to avoid any blowback. The Washington Post also tried to contact Audi representatives on Tuesday without success. However, the South China Morning Post states that Audi is looking into the controversial advert, which had reportedly been made by a joint-venture partner.
