"Annoying and insulting": Mercedes deletes commercial in China

Created: 01/01/2022, 11:52 AM

From: Sebastian Oppenheimer

After racism allegations, Mercedes withdrew a promotional video in China.

The clip allegedly infuriated many Chinese internet users.

Beijing - A great deal of sensitivity is required when designing an advertising campaign.

Because there is often not much between a celebrated advertising clip and a tangible shit storm.

For example, Volkswagen had to apologize for a Golf 8 commercial published on Instagram in 2020 following allegations of racism.

On the other hand, the deletion of a celebrated Audi advertising video on YouTube with prominent racing drivers Walter Röhrl (74) and Hans-Joachim Stuck (71) was mysterious.

Now it has obviously caught Mercedes-Benz: The Stuttgart premium manufacturer was infected with a promotional video in China - and has already reacted, as reported by 24auto.de.

After Rassimus allegations, Mercedes withdrew a promotional video in China.

© Weibo (Mercedes)

"Annoying and insulting": Mercedes deletes commercial in China

As the Chinese daily newspaper "Global Times" (a medium controlled by the Communist Party) reports, there were heated discussions about a commercial that Mercedes published on the Weibo social network. Apparently, many Chinese were upset about a model's eye makeup in advertising. (Driving a car is as harmful as smoking? Greenpeace campaign against advertising)

In addition to a male model, the advertisement also features a female model - and her eye make-up reflects Western stereotypes about Asian people, according to the allegation.

The newspaper quotes alleged statements from Chinese Internet users: "No Chinese will find this kind of 'beauty' attractive," one reportedly commented.

The make-up is "annoying and offensive".

The spot has since been deleted from Weibo by Mercedes.

(Advertising in the car: Ford secures patent for really annoying technology)

Excitement over Mercedes commercial in China - was the action a warning shot?

It is of course difficult to judge from a distance how great the excitement about advertising in the Chinese public actually was.

Sometimes such an effective media campaign has a completely different background.

As the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” reports, the Shitstorm could also be understood as a “warning shot” against Mercedes.

The Stuttgart-based company recently announced that it wanted to significantly reduce its stake in the Chinese electric car manufacturer Denza.