Top 5 politically incorrect ads

In a new video, we count down through five of the most politically incorrect pieces of marketing to come out of China in recent years.

The digital age has brought about a social justice revolution. Calls worldwide have been deafening for greater scrutiny on brands to censor potentially offensive content. Due to the power of vocal online communities, a poorly received campaign going viral can severely tarnish a company’s image within hours, meaning that advertisers have to keep more culturally aware than ever.

As the leading market in Asia, a lot of attention is focused intently on China. However, though the country's financial growth has been phenomenal, the evolution of its creative marketing content has faced problems. Clearly, China is not the only APAC country with problematic advertising, but as seen in this video, outrageous claims, overt sexualisation, and a lack of modern sensitivity are fairly regular occurrences. If China wants to stay ahead of competing nations in the region, avoiding brand mishaps like these will be extremely important.