NextSharkNextShark.com
Latest Newsletter🍵 New alcohol/cancer study in AsiansRead

Article

IKEA Sparks Outrage With ‘Sexist’ Commercial in China

    Asian America Daily - in under 5 minutes

    Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories, to your inbox daily, for free!

    Unsure? Check out our Newsletter Archive

    Swedish furniture giant IKEA was met with severe backlash from Chinese netizens following its sexist commercial that aired in China.

    After the negative response, the company was forced to pull the advertisement from airing and issue a public apology.

    IKEA issued a statement on its official Weibo page on Tuesday. The company wrote:

    Image via Weibo / IKEA

    IKEA is aware of the case through feedback from Chinese customers. We understand the concern caused by this TV advertisement and sincerely apologize for giving the wrong perception.

    This TV ad tried to show how IKEA can help customers easily and affordably convert a typical living room into a place for celebration. The purpose was to encourage customers to celebrate moments in everyday life.

    IKEA encourages people to live many different lifestyles, and this belief is reflected in our product design and home furnishing solutions. Gender equality is a fundamental part of the IKEA culture and values, which we share with everybody.

    We are thankful for the candid feedback and input from people who care about IKEA and who want to recognize the value of different lifestyles. This provides a good opportunity for IKEA to learn and do better in the future. We have already taken action and will continue to improve our communications moving forward.”

    According to Shanghaiist, the original ad, which ran for 30 seconds, shows how a mother disowns her daughter because she can’t find a boyfriend.

    However, things immediately change as soon as a man appears through the family’s door. The mother and father went as far as redecorating the house, right then and there, with IKEA products to emphasize their change of heart.

    Celebrate every day easily, give your home (or family) more possibilities,” the caption reads at the end of the commercial.

    Some netizens couldn’t help but feel frustrated due to the ad’s negative impact on their lives.

    Every time my mom sees this ad, she complains to me about why I haven’t found a boyfriend. This ad ruins my relationship with my family,” a Weibo user wrote.

    In China, most parents would pressure their daughter to marry before she reaches 27 so she can be saved from being called a “leftover woman” or someone who is still single by the time she reaches 30.

    Featured image via YouTube / BTMG

    Support our Journalism with a Contribution

    Many people might not know this, but despite our large and loyal following which we are immensely grateful for, NextShark is still a small bootstrapped startup that runs on no outside funding or loans.

    Everything you see today is built on the backs of warriors who have sacrificed opportunities to help give Asians all over the world a bigger voice.

    However, we still face many trials and tribulations in our industry, from figuring out the most sustainable business model for independent media companies to facing the current COVID-19 pandemic decimating advertising revenues across the board.

    We hope you consider making a contribution so we can continue to provide you with quality content that informs, educates and inspires the Asian community. Even a $1 contribution goes a long way.  Thank you for everyone's support. We love you all and can't appreciate you guys enough.

    Support NextShark

    Mastercard, Visa, Amex, Discover, Paypal