Ikea says it will replace ‘sexist’ China TV advert after social media backlash
Would Ikea ‘show such an advert in their home country, Sweden?’ – mainland internet users, especially single women, take to Weibo to decry television commercial
Swedish furniture giant Ikea said it will replace a television advertisement broadcast in mainland China, after backlash from internet users who described the clip as “sexist”.
Ikea said it was aware of the comments online and that it would change the advert.
The around 30 second-long advert shows a Chinese mother telling her daughter “don’t call me your mom if you cannot bring back a boyfriend ”, after which the girl is shown bringing a man who claims to be her boyfriend to the family’s living room. Her parents are pleased and proceed to transform their dining table into a fancy banquet table with the help of various Ikea items, under a caption that says “celebrate everyday easily”.
Chinese internet users, especially single women, have taken to Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, to voice their anger against the advert, some describing it as “sexist and twisted”.
“I just want to ask Ikea would they dare to show such an advert in their home country, Sweden?” a Weibo user wrote.
“Whether having a romantic partner or not is one’s own business and does not need any interference from others, let alone an advertisement,” wrote Ba Ge Zhuan Yong, a Weibo user with more than 6 million followers. The comment has so far received more than 4,000 likes and around 3,000 shares.
