Viral Sexist Slogans, Today's Drink Retailers From China Apologize

Illustration. (@ ninjason / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The contemporary beverage retail chain from China has apologized after the sexist slogan attached to its merchandise went viral and drew criticism from netizens in China.

Launching the BBC, is Sexy Tea, a modern beverage retail outlet in China featuring a sexist slogan, women as 'bargaining' in one of its mugs. In fact, there are also words that customers can pick up women while waiting for their drinks.

In the past, the outlet also sold tea bags with the slogan 'Master, I want you too' along with a picture of the tadpoles.

"We have no intention of disrespecting women. We are going to pull out the newest range of mugs and are very ashamed of the newest creation," said the shop.

Not only that, Sexy Tea retail outlet recently issued a series of mugs with the Changsha dialect, a dialect spoken mainly in the capital city of Hunan Province, where they have 270 outlets in the province.

In it are printed various local phrases on the mug, including the phrase 'jian lou zi', which in slang refers to taking a deal for a cheap price.

Then give an example of how that phrase can be used, with the sentence, 'When I went to buy bubble tea, there were lots of beautiful girls there. If you come across anything like this you can tell your friends - I raise a bargain '.

The mug's image went viral on Chinese social media site Weibo and quickly drew a barrage of criticism.

"This is vulgar marketing," said one person on the platform.

"It's not the phrase itself that is insulting, it's an example of a sentence given by the company," added another.

"Hasn't anyone on the marketing team noticed anything wrong with this?" growled other netizens.

Users also pointed out that this is not the first time Sexy Tea has used sexually suggestive phrases in its marketing campaigns. Many showed a tadpole image printed on some of his tea bags, suggesting that it was used to depict sperm.

The company later issued a long statement apologizing for the interpretation of the phrase.

"We made such inappropriate sentences that even people in Changsha disagreed, we are deeply ashamed. We have absolutely no intention of disrespecting women," the company said in a statement.

"We will immediately remember the collection of mugs on the theme of the Changsha dialect and seriously reflect on this incident," the statement continued.