An Audi commercial that aired in movie halls and online in China is drawing ire for comparing women to used cars - another bump in the road for the German automaker, which once enjoyed nearly limitless growth in the country.
The advertisement opens in a pastoral setting, with a bride and a groom about to take their vows. But suddenly the mother of the groom interrupts, rushing up the aisle to "inspect" her would-be daughter-in-law. She inspects the bride's nose, ears and teeth closely before giving a "yes" nod to the marriage.
The commercial then cuts away to footage of a red Audi sedan zipping along an empty highway, as a man's voice declares: "An important decision must be made carefully."
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An animation in the same ad encourages viewers to visit a website selling "Audi-approved" secondhand cars.
"Only with an official certification can you rest easy," a male voice-over says.
The ad has been widely criticised on the social media. The Weibo hashtag "Audi second-hand car ad" had been viewed more than 300,000 times by midday Wednesday.
This is not the first time a commercial in China has gone viral for all the wrong reasons.
Last year, a Chinese firm apologised for a racist laundry detergent ad, in which a Chinese woman throws a black man covered in paint into a washing machine. The man emerges from the wash as a clean, light-skinned Chinese man.
