SHANGHAI, China — Dolce & Gabbana high-profile catwalk show in Shanghai has been canceled in China after perceived to be a racist marketing campaign.
The marketing campaign video posted on Weibo Monday of a Chinese model attempting to eat Italian food with chopsticks was taken down after less than 24 hours after been published but it was widely shared on Chinese social media platforms.
Screenshots of the comments were widely shared on Chinese social media platforms, along with the trending hashtag BoycottDolce. The Weibo hashtag DGTheGreatShowCancelled has been read 540 million times and mentioned in 74,000 discussions. The brand was reportedly forced to cancel the 500-look runway event presentation by local government authorities, but this has yet to be independently confirmed.
Diet Prada the no-mercy Instagram account that calls out injustices in the fashion industry, who shared screenshots of the Italian designer Stefano’s Instagram controversial DMs. In discontent with the discriminatory marketing campaign, much Chinese celebrity guests have reported that they will not be attending the fashion show.
Gabbana, in particular, has a history of posting insensitive comments on social media and came under fire for calling Selena Gomez “ugly” on Instagram in June, and the Kardashian family “the most cheap people in the world” in July.
Picture from the Dolce and Gabbana China marketing campaign
What can brands learn form the Dolce & Gabbana disaster marketing PR campaign? "Never underestimate the power of today's social media".
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