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Swiss watchmaker Swatch has apologised and pulled an ad featuring a model pulling the corners of his eyes, after the image prompted uproar among Chinese social media users.
Critics said the pose resembled the racist "slanted eye" historically used to mock Asians.
Calls for a boycott of Swatch products grew on Chinese social media as the ad went viral.
Swatch said it had "taken note of the recent concerns regarding the portrayal of a model".
| by Anonymous | reply 10 | August 19, 2025 1:27 PM |
"We sincerely apologize for any distress or misunderstanding this may have caused," the company said in a statement on Saturday.
"We treat this matter with the utmost importance and have immediately removed all related materials worldwide."
But the apology failed to appease critics.
Swatch is "only afraid for its profits," one Weibo user said. "You can apologise, but I will not forgive."
"They make money from us and still dare to discriminate against Chinese people. We would be spineless if we don't boycott it out of China," another Weibo user said.
Swatch gets around 27% of its revenue from China, Hong Kong and Macau - though it has seen declining sales in China amid the country's economic slowdown, according to Reuters news agency.
The company also produces Omega, Longines and Tissot watches.
In recent years Chinese consumers have organised boycotts against perceived insults to their culture or threats to national interests.
In 2021 there was a widespread Chinese boycott against global fashion brands like H&M, Nike and Adidas after they expressed concern over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang province.
Last year, some tried to boycott Japanese clothing store Uniqlo after the company said it did not source cotton from Xinjiang.
Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana was also the target of such a boycott in 2018, after it posted videos showing a Chinese model using chopsticks clumsily to eat Italian food. Its products were pulled from Chinese e-commerce sites and the brand cancelled its Shanghai fashion show as critics said the ad depicted Chinese women in a stereotypical and racist way.
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | August 18, 2025 8:02 PM |
The chopsticks thing is stupid- I eat pasta with chopsticks all the time- after all, noodles are originally from China.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | August 18, 2025 8:08 PM |
Sum Ting Wong
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | August 18, 2025 9:06 PM |
There’s like 67 billion Chinese people on Earth yet they still consider themselves minorities when offended.
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | August 19, 2025 1:28 AM |
67 BILLION, R4????
HO LEE FUK!!
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | August 19, 2025 1:41 AM |
And yet, they’re totally cool with that whole Uyghur genocidal thing. The Chinese are becoming more and more aggressive. Fuck them.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | August 19, 2025 1:47 AM |
Seriously, who in the company or advertising agency thought this was okay?
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | August 19, 2025 1:57 AM |
Especially since it's happened before in the recent past with extremely negative fallout at the 2008 Bejing Olympics.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | August 19, 2025 2:33 AM |
Ching Chong.
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | August 19, 2025 2:39 AM |
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