Last year (2017) Audi released an ad on the Chinese market
and it made worldwide headlines because it was directly comparing a bride to a
used car. The 30 second clip starts in the midst of a marriage ceremony and the
groom’s mother interrupts the ceremony and promptly examines the bride physically
to check if most of her features were still in good condition. The groom’s
mother then walks away from the couple down the aisle and confirms the groom’s
choice and the ad’s tag follows “An important decision must be made carefully”
and a flashy new Audi. This is objectification that we see a lot in
advertisements. As if buying a new Audi and get married required the same level
of decision-making. This ad was eventually banned after all the criticism of
course but these types of ads shouldn’t be published in the first place. The ad
goes on to encourage viewers to visit a website selling “Audi-approved”
secondhand cars and a male voice-over says “Only with an official certification
can you rest easy”. This created uproar in China and Chinese Audi called for
boycotts. Not only was there complaints about the flagrant sexism in the ad but
they also felt like Audi specifically made this ad for the Chinese market without
really caring about the consequences specifically because it was the Chinese market.
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