Audi advert gets flak

BEIJING: German car brand Audi is facing fierce repercussions on social media over an advert aired in China that is accused of objectifying women. It compares finding a car to finding the perfect wife.

It shows a couple at the altar, before the future motherin-law interrupts to inspect the bride’s body. She pinches the bride-to-be’s nose and ears, scrutinises her teeth and looks at her chest before a caption declares: “an important decision must be made carefully”.

An Audi car and a pointer to the company’s secondhand car sales website then appears.

Comments online see the commercial as “outrageous”. One YouTube user suggested the public “demand a formal explanation and apology from Audi” for discriminating against women. Other commentators suggest the advert may reflect cultural norms.

Audi said the advert had been withdrawn. – The Independent