Swatch Accused of 'Clear Racism' in Latest Ad

Swiss watchmaker Swatch apologized Monday for an ad campaign that upset consumers in China and elsewhere and said it had "immediately removed all related materials worldwide," per the AP. In an image for the Swatch Essentials collection, an Asian male model is shown pulling the edges of his eyelids upward and backward with his fingers, a gesture seen as derogatory and racist, Swiss public broadcaster SRF reported. Swatch wrote on Instagram that "we sincerely apologize for any distress or misunderstanding this may have caused," adding it would "treat this matter with the utmost importance."

SRF reported that the apology was also posted on the Chinese social network Weibo in Chinese and English. Not everyone was satisfied with the brand's mea culpa, leading to calls for a boycott, per CBS News. "I don't get why clear racism against Asians [is] constantly being tolerated and normalized," one detractor wrote in the Instagram comments. "If this happened to any other racial minority group this would definitely not be tolerated."