Image via Purcotton
An advertisement for makeup removal wipes in China has been pulled from the internet after receiving fierce backlash from social media users.
The spot by Chinese brand Purcotton features a woman walking down a dimly-lit street at night when a man with a mask starts following her.
Afraid that she might be attacked, she immediately takes out a pack of Purcotton wipes and removes her makeup. The scene then shows the man tapping the woman on her shoulder. However, the woman is transformed into a man and is able to escape from the stalker.
The advertisement has triggered many responses from social media users, who are calling it “wrong” and “disgusting.”
“You use what scares women the most for an advertisement, which is beyond comprehension and unacceptable,” a Weibo user weighed in.
Purcotton initially defended the clip, stating that it was a creative way to show the product’s “cleaning function.” However, after the heavy criticism and calls for boycott, it removed the video from its social media accounts and apologized,
CNN reported.
“We have set up a team to hold people to account for the problem and, in the meantime, we will improve content production and the review process to prevent similar incidents from happening again,” the company said.
[via
B&T, cover image via
Purcotton]