P&G singed by latest case of inappropriate content on WeChat

WeChat users were quick to condemn a strange ad for a brand owned by Procter & Gamble, the US-headquartered consumer goods firm, which featured a bizarre, sexist claim – the company has now apologised.

In a strange saga, the consumer packaged goods firm removed an infographic ad published to the social media site with the quickly debunked headline, “Women’s feet smell five times worse than men’s. If you don’t believe it, smell it”, according to the South China Morning Post.

It was just one of several claims made in the graphic – which also said women’s underwear is dirtier than men’s and that women’s hair is twice as dirty – for which P&G has apologised for the ad, which it admitted was inappropriate and disrespectful.

In context

The threat of vocal backlash on WeChat, one of the largest social platforms in China, should be a warning to brands that take their eyes off the ball.

It also should serve as a warning that couching opinion in an infographic to feign scientifically tested facts is a very risky game, especially when the claims are outright sexist or racist.

Worse still, as some commentators, like the Shine writer Lu Feiran points out, the gaffe speaks to a much broader tendency to sell anxiety, in a way that used to target women specifically. It appears that times are changing and social media users are resisting.

The news follows an even more egregious example of a backlash against sexism in advertising after Chinese cosmetics brand Purcotton released a video in which a young woman wards an attacker by stripping her face of makeup using the brand’s wipes.

Sourced from SCMP, Shine