The Swiss watchmaker Swatch has apologised and removed an advert featuring a model pulling the corners of his eyes, after the image prompted accusations of racism and calls for a boycott on Chinese social media.<\/p>\n
Internet users heavily criticised the \u201cslanted eye\u201d gesture made by the Asian male model as racist.<\/p>\n
In a post on Instagram<\/a> and the Chinese social media platform Weibo on Saturday, Swatch acknowledged the \u201crecent concerns regarding the portrayal of a model\u201d in the advert and said it had deleted the promotional material worldwide.<\/p>\n \u201cWe sincerely apologise for any distress or misunderstanding this may have caused,\u201d the company wrote.<\/p>\n The Swatch advert. Photograph: Swatch.com<\/p>\n Many online were not content with the company\u2019s response and continued to call for a boycott of Swatch Group brands, which include Blancpain, Longines, and Tissot.<\/p>\n A Weibo user with more than 1 million followers accused the company of \u201cracism against Chinese\u201d and suggested it should be punished by regulators.<\/p>\n Others accused Swatch of deliberate discrimination and urged consumers to boycott the company.<\/p>\n \u201cThe brand\u2019s image has collapsed. (Swatch) thinks they can just apologise and salvage everything? It\u2019s not that simple,\u201d another user wrote.<\/p>\n China is one of Swatch Group\u2019s biggest markets but, along with many other western luxury brands, it has struggled to maintain growth as the world\u2019s second-largest economy has slowed and consumers have shifted to more affordable brands.<\/p>\n In July, the group reported an 11.2% drop in net sales for the first six months of the year. It said the slump was \u201cexclusively attributable\u201d to sluggish demand in China.<\/p>\n Swatch is not the first foreign brand to face accusations of racist advertising in China.<\/p>\n The Italian luxury fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana was criticised<\/a> in 2018 after it posted promotional videos showing a Chinese model awkwardly using chopsticks to eat Italian food.<\/p>\n In 2023, the French brand Dior also caused outrage with an advertisement showing a model pulling up the corner of her eye<\/a>.<\/p>\n