Ad showing woman avoid sexual assault by using make-up remover withdrawn after it causes outrage online
- Chinese company Purcotton’s ad showing a young woman wiping away her make-up to scare off a male pursuer was attacked for ‘demonising’ sexual assault victims
- Purcotton apologised and tried to defend the ad, before saying sorry again and pulling it. ‘How can you make fun of a woman being followed,’ a Weibo user wrote
A Chinese company’s video advertisement for women’s make-up remover wipes has been panned by online critics, leading the company to withdraw it and issue two apologies.
Purcotton, owned by Winner Medical Co. released the video last week on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, showing a young woman scaring off a would-be attacker with her naked, make-up-free face after using the cleansing wipes.
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Chinese ‘victim-shaming’ ad for make-up remover pulled
The 26-second ad was pulled after online users denounced it for “demonising” female sexual assault victims.
The offending ad showed a young woman walking down a street at night and being followed by a masked man. As the stalker gets closer, the woman pulls out a cleansing wipe to quickly remove her make-up and “scare off” the would-be assailant with her naked face.
As he grabs her from behind, she turns to show him her now make-up-free face, which causes the visibly disgusted attacker to flee.