Consumers in China are not happy with Audi’s new advertisement that compares women to used cars.
The commercial, which recently aired in China, starts off with a young couple who is about to get married.
Suddenly, the wedding is interrupted by the groom’s mother, who proceeds to inspect the bride — pulling on her nose and ears, looking at her teeth and then staring at the bride’s chest.
Shortly after, the scene changes, and viewers see an Audi vehicle driving through the street. A male narrator then says “an important decision must be made carefully,” according to CNN. The final sequence of the ad includes a screen grab of used Audis for sale, with the narrator saying, “Only with official certification can you be rest assured.”
The ad immediately sparked controversy on Weibo, China’s Twitter, with people calling Audi’s ad sexist. Some people called it “unacceptable” and “disgusting” while others vowed to boycott the German automaker, CNN reported.
Audi has since pulled the ad — produced by FAW-Volkswagen, the used car division of Volkswagen, Audi’s parent company — and said it is currently conducting a “thorough investigation” to ensure that similar incidents don’t happen again.
“The ad’s perception that has been created for many people does not correspond to the values of our company in any way,” an Audi spokesperson said in a statement to Fortune.
This isn’t the first time an an Audi ad has gone wrong. Last August, Audi pulled an ad in the United Kingdom after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), an independent regulator of advertising across all media in the country, said it promoted reckless driving.
