Cartier campaign doesn’t ring true for Chinese LGBT community after twin ad puts new spin on relationships

Captions added to video stills raise ire of same-sex marriage advocates who perceive an act of self-censorship for the Chinese market

Male pair defined as father and son, females said to be friends in ring advertisement ahead of Chinese equivalent of Valentine’s Day

Reading Time:3 minutes

Published: 11:00am, 16 Aug 2020Updated: 10:03pm, 16 Aug 2020

For a short time China’s LGBT community thought they were being reflected positively on screen by high-end French jewellery brand Cartier but those hopes were dashed after two versions of the same advertisement were discovered.

In a one-minute advertising video released by Cartier on Weibo – China’s equivalent of Twitter – on Monday, three pairs of young people are seen wearing its signature Trinity rings.

In the video, one straight couple is in an embrace on a rooftop. The other two relationships were more difficult to determine. The pair of two men, who looked similar in age, riding bikes side by side, rubbed each other on the head and high-fived. The two women played music together and laughed.

On Weibo, Cartier wrote, “Trinity rings, witnessing all sorts of love and emotions in the world.”

The advertisement was unveiled two weeks ahead of this year’s Qixi Festival, the Chinese equivalent of Valentine’s Day, prompting many to guess that it showed subtle support for the LGBT community.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x