Audi ad deemed a clunker by Chinese netizens

A controversial Audi AG advertisement that uses a bride as a metaphor for secondhand cars has been withdrawn, although it still can be viewed on at least one popular Chinese video platform as well as foreign news websites.

The video begins with a solemn wedding ceremony being interrupted, presumably by the fussy mother of the groom. She roughly checks the bride's nose, ears and teeth, much to the couple's and guests' dismay.

The future mother-in-law concludes with an OK gesture before realizing that she had forgotten to examine the bride's breasts.

The 30-second commercial, titled "Audi Used Car Advertisement – Facelift" concludes with a narrator booming: "Important decisions must be made carefully," while directing viewers to a site that sells used cars "assured by official certification".

Audi, a German luxury car maker, is a division of the German multinational Volkswagen Group.

Both Audi AG and its Chinese joint venture partner apologized and pledged to withdraw the commercial after the bilingual ad, aired online and in Chinese movie theaters, sparked a furious backlash in China.

Many Chinese viewers said they were particularly disgusted by the mother pulling open the bride's mouth to check on her teeth, which some interpreted as equating women to livestock and slaves.

"I'm surprised that Audi could come up with such a low advert!" a viewer identified as LWEI7023 from South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region said.

Another netizen, Hujinghuai from East China's Zhejiang province, said the commerce and industrial administration should fine Audi heavily.

"We sincerely accept criticism and advice (and) will lose no time in withdrawing the advert and offer our sincere apology to the public," the FAW-Volkswagen Audi used-car division said in a statement on Thursday

Lianshu was among the first to post a protest on her Weibo account on Monday, decrying "a disgusting advert that utterly objectifies women". Her post had been forwarded nearly 30,000 times by Thursday.

"One person, with the help from thousands, can really make a difference," the blogger said in another post on Thursday.

Although the video clip that Lianshu used in her account would not open on Tuesday, the ad was available on miaopai.com, a popular Chinese video platform, and could be viewed on the websites of Daily Mail, the BBC, the Financial Times and other foreign news sites as of Thursday. The ad also is embedded in several US news stories.

Michael Wilkes, head of corporate communications of Audi China, confirmed to China Daily that the ad was produced exclusively for the Chinese market.

"The ad's perception that has been created for many people does not correspond to the values of our company in any way," the company said in a statement. "The responsible department of the joint venture has arranged a thorough investigation of the internal control and coordination processes so that an incident like this can be excluded in the future."

According to Advertising Age, a trade publication for the industry, the ad was produced by the Beijing office of the New York firm Ogilvy & Mather.

Ogilvy and BBH China had been handling creative duties for FAW Audi, the joint venture in China, but the account recently moved to Leo Burnett Beijing, Ad Age reported.

Ding Junjie, dean of the Advertising Institute of the Communication University of China, said he believed the Audi commercial may have flouted Chinese advertising regulations on bias against women.

"It is silly to try to establish a link between weddings and secondhand car trade," Ding said. The ad fancied itself clever but ran afoul with fundamental social culture and ethics in China, he said.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com