Chinese chocolate brand apologises over inappropriate ad content

Chinese chocolate brand Le Conté (金帝巧克力) has apologised following backlash from netizens over a controversial advertisement widely perceived as suggestive and inappropriate.

The ad, which has since been taken down, was intended to promote the brand’s gold bear chocolates. It featured the slogan, “The little bear gets bigger? Now you can hold it!” (小熊變大？是你能握住了！), which many found suggestive.

The ad sparked controversy among netizens, with some comparing it to a breast enhancement promotion—prompting some parents to avoid buying the product for their children, according to AM730.

This led Le Conté to issue an apology on its Xiaohongshu channel, explaining that the platform's system automatically optimised the content, and the brand failed to follow up promptly, resulting in the exposure of inappropriate material. The original intent was to clarify whether the replica bear chocolates were smaller than those from childhood, emphasising their 1:1 reproduction.

Le Conté acknowledged the oversight and announced corrective measures: halting all promotions for the gold bear chocolates, forming a special team to assess advertising risks, and establishing a comprehensive review mechanism to prevent future mistakes.

However, Le Conté's explanation regarding the use of Xiaohongshu's "automatic optimisation," which led to the generation of the contentious content, has been criticised by netizens. Many dismissed the brand's explanation, accusing it of shifting blame onto AI, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE confirmed. Critics noted that such optimisations should rely on the original material; if inappropriate terms were in the copy library, the algorithm wouldn't generate them out of nowhere.

After the initial apology was quickly retracted, Le Conté issued a second statement reaffirming that the controversial image was neither created by humans nor produced using AI, and called on Xiaohongshu to support its claims. Additionally, the brand clarified that the social post was written by a female staff member, countering netizens' suspicions that it was authored by a male.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Le Conté and Xiaohongshu for a statement respectively.

Related articles:

McDonald’s Netherlands pulls AI ad: Is the market ready for iconic brands to go generative?
Chery apologises after SUV fails to climb Tianmen Mountain
HK hot air balloon festival organiser apologises for cancelling flying experiences