The debate over the Dior campaign in China shows the complicated relationships that lie between international brands and various cultural backgrounds. Advertisements require a high level of cultural sensitivity because mistakes can turn into disasters. Dior’s acts of cultural disrespect to China raise the possibility that they are not fully addressing cultural differences in their target market.
The statement “Channel your feline fierceness,” along with an image of an Asian model pulling up her eye, has been seen as a discriminational sign from not only Chinese people but also Asians all over the world. Dior removed the post quickly, which suggests that they realized the problem, but no public statement was made. They gave people a chance to wonder why they didn’t explain it and apologize for it.
Reactions from Chinese netizens are different, some ask for apologies and cut brand relations, whereas others think the criticism is way too much.
For me, these viewpoints illustrate how difficult it is for international brands to develop various markets including advertisements. I think international brands must avoid controversial images so that they don’t discriminate against people in the world and discourage potential buyers because once they get scars on their brands like Victoria’s Secret, they would lose their popularity and buying power.