Overview

• Swatch issued a bilingual apology on its Weibo and Instagram accounts on August 16 and said it had removed all related advertisements worldwide.
• The ‘Slanted Eye’ images showed an Asian model stretching his eyes in a pose widely viewed as a racist caricature.
• Chinese social media users condemned the advertisement for recalling historical racist taunts about Asian features.
• The incident underscores the power of online commentary in China to prompt rapid corporate responses.
• With about 27% of its group sales tied to Greater China and a 14.6% drop in 2024 revenue, Swatch faces heightened reputational risk in the market.