Uniquickie? Uniqlo denies changing room sex clip shared on Chinese social media is marketing stunt

Police in Beijing have launched an investigation after a video clip of two people possibly having sex in a changing room was posted online, along with the claim it was shot at an outlet of Uniqlo, the trendy Japanese clothing retailer.

The one-minute video first appeared on WeChat, the social messaging app, late on Tuesday night and went viral. While most internet users expressed shock at the pair’s bold behaviour, others suspected it was just a well-orchestrated marketing scheme.

Companies, especially ones with a young customer base, have embraced “viral marketing” as a way to cut through the fog of advertising and directly reach their audiences through social media.

But the retailer denies the video, purportedly filmed at an outlet in a shopping complex in Sanlitun, came from them.

The statement on the company’s Weibo account also called for customers to “obey social ethics and safeguard social justice, and use the fitting rooms provided by Uniqlo stores correctly and properly.”