Considered Cornering Victims Of Sexual Harassment, Facial Cleansing Advertisements In China Flood With Criticism

Capture screenshots of cosmetic advertisements in China (Source: Weibo)

JAKARTA - Cosmetics companies in China have to withdraw their product advertisements after being criticized by netizens. The reason for this was that the advertisement for removing the makeup on the face was considered to have demonized the victim for sexual harassment.

Citing Independent, Tuesday, January 12, 2021, produced by Chinese makeup brand Purcotton, the advert shows a woman walking in a dimly lit area. Then a stalker appears and stalking the woman.

The woman was then scared, then wiped the make-up on her face with the cleaning tissue. After the makeup is clean, her true face is exposed while making stalkers reluctant to approach her.

The netizen immediately criticized the ad. Not a few said the company had vilified victims of sexual harassment and attributed this to the victim's physical appearance. The company finally withdrew a 26-second ad published on China's social media, Douyin, last week after much criticism.

China's informational website Girls' Information, which is operated by the government-affiliated All-China Women's Federation, also slammed the ad. Through their social media accounts, they expressed disappointment that the company "vilified victims of sexual harassment."

"(It is) full of prejudice, hatred and ignorance. Women are consumers and not consumer goods. It is undeniable that 'creative' ads that insult women will be criticized by the public," said the post on social media.

"Ladies, are you worried that you will be raped? Use Purcotton makeup remover and the pesky rapist will run away screaming, because you are terrible without makeup and no man wants you. Rape culture in #China #women," wrote one netizen on Twitter.

Clarification

Although Purcotton, which is owned by Winner Medical Group, initially maintained the advert as an artistic way to demonstrate the "cleaning skills" of wipes, they later apologized for the ad. They immediately removed the ad, while calls for a boycott of the product continued to grow.

"We admit that this video does not follow our values to be broadcast online. We disappoint you and hurt your feelings. We deeply regret this and sincerely say 'We are sorry, we were wrong'," the company said on its Weibo account.

"We have formed a team to hold people accountable for the matter and, in the meantime, we will increase the content production and review process to prevent similar incidents from happening again," he added.