In the face of widespread skepticism about the “squinting” image on China’s Internet, some businesses and ad makers are still “taking the bull by the horns”. This time, it’s the luxury car brand Mercedes-Benz that is in trouble.
In recent times, a series of events such as the Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts show, the photographer Chen Man’s advertisement for Dior, the release of the movie “Lion Dance Boy” and the commercial of Three Squirrels have caused great controversy on the Internet of China.
The common focus of controversy in several public opinion events is that the content presented shows the stereotype of “squinting eyes” of Chinese in the West. In the opinion of many Chinese netizens, these Chinese works, advertisements, marketing or propaganda are suspected of pandering to Western prejudices, deliberately “ugly” and self-denigration.
According to the news on Dec. 28, some netizens found that a new advertisement released by Mercedes-Benz on its official website, Weibo and WeChat platforms featured a female model with the same “squinting eyes” that caused discomfort to many netizens.
The ad was released by @Mercedes-Benz on Weibo as early as noon on December 25, featuring two Chinese models, one male and one female, and marketing the new-generation four-door coupe. However, the focus of netizens’ attention was on the female model’s dangling-eye makeup in the video, which once again appealed to the Western “yellow-hazard” impression of discrimination.
Prior to this, Mercedes-Benz had released photos of Chinese models in its official platform that were very much in line with Chinese aesthetics.
In addition to Weibo, the Mercedes-Benz ad has also been widely spread in WeChat’s circle of friends and on some video sites. Moreover, almost all of the screenshots of Mercedes-Benz’s advertisement in the circle of friends chose to focus on the close-up of the model’s “hanging eyes”, which made many netizens very uncomfortable.
According to some voices, the reason why the “squinting eyes” ad has caused public anger is not only due to the controversy caused by the “squinting eyes” itself, but also because Mercedes-Benz, knowing the recent public opinion situation, still wants to go against the tide and “work against the wind “, further hurting the feelings of Chinese domestic consumers and trust in the Mercedes-Benz brand.
It is worth mentioning that the intentional formation of “squinting” and “hanging eyes” type of expression effect, such as pulling the corners of the eyes upwards, is now an internationally recognized discriminatory action against Chinese and even Asian people. In June, a Serbian female volleyball player was banned for two matches and fined by the FIVB for pulling the corners of her eyes at her opponent during a match against Thailand.
Even some Western media outlets such as the New York Times have acknowledged in a previous report that “exaggerated Oriental features, amplified by exotic curiosity and a sense of cultural superiority, are deeply imprinted in the collective imagination of Westerners and linger on.”
In response to this matter, the Chinese Communist Party media “People’s Daily” also wrote an article that from a product perspective, it is necessary to fully respect the audience to win the market; from an aesthetic point of view, it is necessary to cultivate a healthy aesthetic taste and cultivate strong aesthetic confidence; from a communication perspective, we must adhere to the effect orientation and avoid “tagging”.
So far, the official Mercedes-Benz has not yet made a public response to the questions raised by the “squinting eyes” ad. Source