A new Chinese commercial for a Cartier ring has drawn scepticism for portraying people who viewers believe were meant to be gay couples as family or friends.
The 60-second clip shows several groups of people, including a man and a woman being obviously romantic, as well as two men cycling together, and two women. The commercial has no dialogue or text until the end, when it says: “How far would you go for love?”
According to local media, Cartier also posted static adverts on its Tmall store page. Under an image of two women it said: “Mutual understanding beyond words. Witness our everlasting friendship.”
A photograph of the two men said they were father and son. When it was pointed out the men were very close in age, different text was posted that said: “Father and son are like brothers.”
One internet user said: “It’s weird to use a ring to explain the relationship between father and son.” They added that it appeared they were obviously meant to be a couple.
“They look three years apart in age at most. Also, I’ve never heard of fathers and sons wearing matching rings,” said another on Weibo.
Others decried China’s censorship, saying such actions “obliterate the value of all cultures”.
“The campaign was much better when it stayed in the area of ambiguity. Now it makes me feel like being gay is something to be ashamed of,” said a Douban user after the static ads were posted.
Cartier 在中國的廣告為了符合国情，硬生生把已經拍好的男同志情侶說成是父子，把女同志情侶說成是朋友
— Faiching➰廢青💉 𝐀𝐂𝐀𝐁 (@tropicalvoid) August 12, 2020
大概因為父子買對戒真的太怪了，所以他們又加了一句「父子亦是兄弟」https://t.co/xcB8dmi3aI pic.twitter.com/Kx5UTBnm8y
Homosexuality is not illegal in China, but it was officially listed as a mental disorder until 2001. LGBTQI rights still occupy a fraught space and discrimination is common. Since 2017 TV and online portrayals of what the censors consider to be “abnormal sexual behaviours”, including same-sex relationships, have been banned by the China Netcasting Services Association.
Cartier’s Trinity ring was designed in 1924, with the three intertwined bands of different metals symbolising different aspects of a relationship. Despite recent campaigns calling on wearers to “give your own meaning to Trinity”, after more than 80 years it remains associated with romance and engagements.
The ad was released just weeks before Qixi festival, China’s equivalent of Valentine’s Day.
Yanzi Peng, the director of the China Rainbow media awards, told CNN businesses should be “more courageous”, but also suggested the Cartier ad may have been made to contribute to LGBTQ+ visibility while getting past the censors.
Sup China reported that previous ads which pushed the censors’ envelope were warmly received by viewers.
A spokeswoman for Cartier said the depicted stories were “inspired by love”.
“Each tells the story of romantic, friendship, or family love ... As such, one of the stories features the unique bond between a father and his son, enjoying a joyful and playful bike ride together, symbolizing the journey of life when there will be moments of parting ways.”
• Additional reporting by Pei Lin Wu.
