Fingerprint lock maker apologizes, pulls ad

A fingerprint lock maker apologized on Tuesday for a video advertisement depicting a wounded soldier that provoked widespread public outrage.

“After the feedback of netizens, we found that our advertising video brought discomfort to the public,” Shenzhen Kaadas Intelligent Technology Corp said in a statement. “We have removed the video and sincerely apologize to the public.”

The company said it always has faith in the country and the people and will devote itself to spreading healthy values to the public. “We will strengthen supervision in publicity in the future,” the statement said.

The two-minute video advertisement appeared on the internet Monday.
The video showed a young soldier who's repeatedly hurt after failing to disassemble bombs on five separate occasions. Each time, his injuries become much more serious and only has a hand left at the end. However, every time the soldier enters his family home after each severe injury, his parents aren’t sad at all but happy or had no response. 

“How did my parents recognize me every time? Because the Kaadas smart lock can only be unlocked by reading a fingerprint, no matter what I look like,” the soldier says as the advertisement ends.

The video quickly triggered public anger, including plenty of netizens and organizations.

The Jiangsu Public Security Bureau’s Cyberspace Security Department said on its Sina Weibo that “network marketing should obey basic moral ideas. Please don’t regard ignorance as creativity.”