On December 25, some netizens found that Mercedes-Benz used "squinting" model makeup in advertisements promoted by WeChat Circle of Friends, which aroused public concern.
Caijing Net's auto query found that the Mercedes-Benz video advertisement was also published on its official Weibo account on December 25.
As of press time, Mercedes-Benz has not responded to the matter.
In fact, recently three squirrels have been on the hot search for the use of "squinting eye" model makeup, and have been questioned by netizens about "ugly Chinese"; the character in another cartoon "Lion Boy" has adopted a "squinting eye" shape, which has also caused controversy. Therefore, some netizens believe that in this context, Mercedes-Benz still chooses to push advertisements for "squinting" model makeup, which is questioned as "deliberate".
Some netizens said: "We are not criticizing the appearance of the model, but criticizing this deliberate "high-class face" hanging makeup, criticizing this deliberate catering to the Stereotypical Definition of East Asians in the West." Therefore, Mercedes-Benz to the model makeup is not very appropriate, these days the male lion teenager to three squirrels so fierce, I do not believe Mercedes-Benz is not intentional! ”
Zhang Yiwu, a professor at Peking University, believes that in Western culture, there is indeed a conceptual problem about the image of East Asians, which has also caused dissatisfaction in East Asian communities in Western society. The image we call "squinting" today is actually a set of stereotypes of East Asians in the West. In Western comics, plays, movies, and other mass cultural products, East Asians, especially women, are often portrayed as having high cheekbones, long mouths, and squinting eyes. This is, of course, the appearance of some East Asian women, but the crux of the matter is that the West believes that only such an image represents East Asian women. Since the 20th century, the appearance of these images has often been accompanied by the appearance of the image of East Asian women in the need to represent the image of East Asian women. East Asian women are fixed under such an image, and those cultural products must deliberately use some kind of "folk" atmosphere from East Asia to strengthen the "representation" of these images, so as to form a solidified form, so that people can see at a glance that this is the Western way of looking at East Asian women, which inevitably contains prejudice and rigidity.
Mercedes-Benz is not the first time it has "flipped" in advertising.
In December 2020, mercedes-Benz entrusted a law firm to send a letter to it for promoting the image of basketball star Alan Iverson in the promotion of the 1.33T engine, and Iverson's exclusive brokerage manager in China, Mushi Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., entrusted a law firm to send a letter to it, demanding that Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co., Ltd. and its affiliates stop the infringement, and publicly apologize and compensate for losses.
According to the lawyer's letter, Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co., Ltd. published an advertisement for automotive products through multiple social platforms on December 17 with the theme of "height is not the only criterion for basketball", which used Alan Iverson's name and portrait in a "distorted and alludential way" and made a "derogatory evaluation" of Iverson's physical characteristics.
However, Makushi Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. did not authorize Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co., Ltd. to use Iverson's name and likeness in any commercial advertisement, and the latter's use of his name and portrait "in a distorted and innuendo manner" without iverson's own permission and prior authorization from the brokerage manager constitutes an infringement of Iverson's right to name and portrait. In addition, Mercedes-Benz also rendered its own products in the advertisement by "emphasizing Iverson's physical appearance and background characteristics", infringing Iverson's right to reputation.
Subsequently, Mercedes-Benz officially issued a statement saying that it had stopped the dissemination of the relevant video and apologized to Iverson. The Company has been in direct contact with Iverson's licensing team, expressed its apologies, and has received the understanding of Iverson and its licensing team. The company also said it will review existing creative expressions and process specifications and "reflect on how to take each step more solidly along the way."
Industry insiders said that "black and red is also red" borrowing heat marketing ideas is not advisable, Mercedes-Benz as a high-end car brand, should "have to change the no then encourage", high-quality products and high-quality services are the brand's real "advertising power".