Lululemon apologises after Japanese drum row at Great Wall yoga event | Marketing & PR
Sportswear brand Lululemon has apologized after a Japanese drum was accidentally featured at a promotional event at the Great Wall of China, causing chaos.
The Canada-based company, known for its luxury leggings, is expanding rapidly in China and will hold a yoga festival on a section of the wall near Beijing in late May.
More than 2,000 people were invited to the event, which was advertised as promoting Chinese culture and healthy living, according to the Chinese state-run tabloid. Global TimesWell-known Chinese actor Zhu Yilong was seen booked to perform.
Zhu joined a drum group at the Great Wall for what was described as a traditional Chinese drumming performance, and posted a photo of himself in front of one of the instruments bearing the Lululemon logo on his account on Weibo, one of China’s largest social media platforms.
Weibo users accused the band of using the Japanese taiko instrument instead of the Chinese dagu drum. According to the Global Times, many people called it inappropriate and degrading. The drum controversy had garnered more than 50 million views on Weibo by Monday, prompting Zhu’s studio Lululemon to respond to the controversy.
brand issued an apology The event “is an unwavering tribute to Chinese culture,” he told Zhu and the public on Weibo on Tuesday.
He said: “Due to limitations in our professional knowledge, we were not able to identify potential controversies initially and are fully aware that we need to be more careful and detailed in the early planning and review process of drum performances.”
The company promised to “learn deep lessons” and adopt a “tougher stance” for future events.
Lululemon has now removed all content related to the drumming event from its website and social media. The Hiiko drum group, which performed with Zhu, also apologized.
The incident underscores the risk that western brands hoping to expand in China run afoul of domestic political and cultural sensitivities.
Last year, outdoor brand Arc’teryx issued an apology after a promotional fireworks display on the Tibetan plateau sparked controversy over potential environmental damage.
The Canadian company, which is partly owned by China’s Anta Group, faced calls for a boycott after its high-altitude display, which featured long choreographed pyrotechnics and colored smoke across snow-covered Himalayan ridges.
Luxury brand Dolce & Gabbana canceled a runway show in Shanghai in 2018 following a backlash over a promotional video showing an Asian model trying to eat Italian food using chopsticks. Social media users criticized the ad for trivializing Chinese culture and portraying Chinese women in a racist manner.
