Ford car company in China apologises after Marilyn Monroe air vent dress stunt backfires

This is the second time this year the company has been in hot water after it wrongly called 2021 the Year of the Horse

The dress scene from the film The Seven Year Itch is regarded as one of the most iconic in modern cinema

Reading Time:2 minutes

A screen shot of the ad before it was taken down by the car company. Photo: Handout

Published: 4:54pm, 20 May 2021Updated: 4:57pm, 20 May 2021

American car company Ford’s joint venture in China has apologised for an ad copying Marilyn Monroe’s iconic white dress air vent scene, following a backlash from the public and state media.

The scene from the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch is widely regarded as a seminal moment in the history of cinema and is frequently cited as one of the most iconic and influential scenes of all time.

Changan Ford released the advertisement on Weibo on Tuesday, with a short video, saying, “Is it true that according to Japanese manga, boys run so fast that he can make girls’ dresses fly up?

“Today with a young sister clad in a white dress here, let’s re-stage the classical scene in Japanese manga,” the post said.

At the end of the post which was aimed to promote Ford’s new SUV, the company said “Ruijie Plus (the car’s brand) will glut your eyes”.

Ford, like numerous western companies in the Chinese market, has struggled to adjust to local customs and standards. Photo: Getty