Swatch apologises for featuring 'slant eye' pose in promotional ad

Swiss watchmaker Swatch has apologised for publishing an ad featuring a model making a “slant eye” gesture, which triggered backlash on Chinese social media. 

This came after the brand uploaded various images featuring a male model making “slant eye” posts, while promoting its Camo Flash model. The incident has garnered over 1.9k mentions globally over the past few days, with many netizens commenting on the problematic use of stereotypical imagery, accusations of racism and cultural appropriation, and the swift reactions to such controversial incidents, according to media intelligence firm CARMA. 

Swatch's brand sentiments have dropped from 32.3% positive and 11.9% negative to 17.6% positive and 44.7% negative. Associated keywords include "Swatch", "China", "Instagram", "longines", "slant eye", "image", amongst others. 

In response to the backlash, the watchmaker uploaded both English and Chinese statements on its Instagram and Weibo accounts, respectively, stating it has taken note of the recent concerns regarding the portrayal of a model in images for the Swatch ESSENTIALS collection.  

“We treat this matter with the utmost importance and have immediately removed all related materials worldwide. We sincerely apologise for any distress or misunderstanding this may have caused,” added the statement. 

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Swatch for a statement.

However, the statement did not seem to calm netizens’ fire. A check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw that its statement on Instagram drew negative sentiments, with many condemning the brand for discriminating against Asians in its product posters.  

Swatch — the Swiss watchmaker behind brands such as Omega, Longines, and Tissot — is highly reliant on the Chinese market, with approximately 27% of its revenue last year coming from Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau. 

However, for the first half of 2025, the company’s net sales have dropped 7.1% YOY to US$3796 million. The decline in sales was exclusively attributable to weak consumption in China, Hong Kong and Macau.  

Meanwhile, wholesale business in Greater China declined by more than 30%, partly due to the closure of third-party stores, while the group's own retail business performed slightly better with a 15% decline.  

This region’s share of the Group's total sales has fallen from 33% to 24% in the last 18 months. The group expects a slight improvement in consumption in China in the second half of the year.   

In fact, this isn't the first time the brand came under fire. Back in 2023, Swatch revealed that Malaysian authorities raided a number of its stores and confiscated 164 rainbow-coloured watches worth a total of US$14,000 from its Pride collection for LGBTQ connotations. 

It reported that Malaysia's Ministry of Home Affairs raided various outlets across eleven different malls and confiscated watches that came in the colours of the rainbow. Malaysia is known for criminalising same-sex relationships with punishments including caning and jail time.

The seizure was reportedly based on the Printing Presses and Publications Act of 1984 which ensures that content produced does not offend or undermine race relations.

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