China slams Mercedes-Benz for perpetuating Western beauty ideals

A Mercedes-Benz ad published on Chinese social network Weibo has been removed following backlash over the model’s ‘slanted eyes’.

Chinese social media has been engrossed in an eye-popping debate over ads depicting alleged Western beauty ideals for Asian women, including the usage of makeup to create stereotypical “slanted eyes.”

Mercedes-Benz has reportedly removed a recent video advertisement published on Chinese social network Weibo on December 25, after the brand was criticised for doing up a model’s face to give her exaggerated sloping eyes, the NY Post reports.

“Is there any beauty in this makeup?” one critic wrote. “It is not [open for] interpretation. No Chinese will think this kind of ‘beauty’ is attractive,” another added.

The Chinese Communist Party’s Global Times said on Tuesday that the hashtag that translates to “Mercedes-Benz model’s makeup is controversial” had gained over 170 million views on Weibo.

“The premise is that Chinese cannot let the West shape our aesthetics,” wrote one critic, per Global Times.

“For those malicious slanderers, we should maintain sufficient vigilance and counter-attack.”

The Post has reached out to Mercedes-Benz to confirm reports.

Mercedes has reportedly pulled the ad following backlash over the model's makeup. Picture: Supplied.

The ad was originally posted on Weibo.

The luxury carmaker is one of the latest in a spate of controversies to take over Chinese social media, as critics lash out against Western brands for promoting Chinese beauty stereotypes in their ads.

Earlier this week, Gucci was similarly called out for a new handbag ad that uses “discriminatory” Chinese features.

Communication-law professor Zhu Wei, of the state’s China University of Political Science and Law, said in a statement to the Global Times regarding Gucci’s ad, “This is extremely disrespectful to our culture. The disgust and revulsion expressed by the whole society toward this kind of insult should be heard.”

The campaign was to promote Mercedes’ CLS luxury sedan.

Fellow couturier Dior apologised in November following uproar over a handbag advertisement.

Beijing-based photographer Chen Man admitted his “immaturity and ignorance” by “perpetuating racial stereotypes” for the shoot, while the fashion house responded by saying that it “respects the feelings of the Chinese people.”

Inspired by an archival design from the ‘40s, a bamboo top handle bag is reimagined by #AlessandroMichele with colorful geometric patterns in a nod to the House’s equestrian heritage. #GucciGifthttps://t.co/JetpZN5G3bpic.twitter.com/tB9tBsbzNy

— gucci (@gucci) December 9, 2021

It’s not just the up-market brands who are said to be out of touch.

Last week, a model for Chinese snack brand Three Squirrels stood up against the brand’s detractors, asking, “Am I not Chinese?” Consumers had bristled over an unearthed ad campaign from 2019 featuring model Cai Niang Niang, who some said was played up in the ad for her “overly slanted eyes” and posed with her hair in braids, all of which plays into 19th-century Western stereotypes of Chinese people.

She wrote on Weibo on Sunday, according to the South China Morning Post, “With small eyes, am I not Chinese? I totally agree with patriotism. However, creating big problems out of normal matters has become a morbid obsession. I hope everybody can have a healthy mindset.”

This article originally appeared on NY Post and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as China slams Mercedes-Benz for perpetuating Western beauty ideals