https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/23/business/dg-in-china-intl/index.html
Fashion company Dolce and Gabbana recently posted an ad portraying an asian model with a red dress trying to eat pizza and other Italian food with chopsticks. The co-founder Stefano Gabbana had alleged racist comments over the subject leaked online which kindled the fire. Gabbana claims to have been hacked, although many seems to believe this is just a defense that shows he does not want to take responsibility for his actions. Many celebrities have been boycotting the company and the backlash has been horrendous. Thousands of customers in China have been returning their items, and products have been removed from digital shelves across the board. Dolce and Gabbana tried to make an apology video, but this has not settled the conflict, the damage has already been done.
Previously to this I know there have been companies that make offensive jokes in their commercials, and it has never gone well for them. I believe that since this company is based in Italy, the creators may not have realized how offensive their video was going to be. Astonishingly, they were actually attempting to advocate towards their Chinese buyers through this ad, although when watching the video you can't help but cringe and shake your head. I could compare this to the Chinese brand Qiaobi, a washing machine company that created an ad in May 2016 of a black man being washed into an asian man, which caused enormous outrage. The effect was very similar to this ad, while being two very different products.
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