Dettol faces backlash in China over ad linking women's sexual history to cleanliness

Dettol, the antibacterial liquid soap brand owned by British consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser, is facing fierce criticism in China after running an advertisement accused of promoting sexist attitudes.

The Telegraph and the BBC reported June 23 that the ad, released by Dettol in China, drew sharp condemnation for what critics called the spread of harmful sexual stereotypes.

The controversy centers on a five-minute short drama produced to promote the brand's multipurpose disinfectant.

In the ad, a man searching for a marriage partner says he wants a "clean woman" — one "untouched by other men."

When he discovers that his girlfriend previously lived with another man, he calls her "dirty" and "contaminated," adding, "She may not be my first love, but my future wife cannot be like that."

He then meets a new girlfriend with no prior relationships and celebrates that she is "clean" and "unsullied by other men."

The ad does include a twist in its final act.

The new girlfriend, having overheard the man's remarks about his ex, confronts him over his misogynistic attitude and breaks up with him.

She then delivers the product pitch, saying, "A toxic man is like bacteria — you need to get rid of him completely with Dettol for peace of mind."

Despite the reversal, Chinese internet users criticized Dettol for linking female purity to the brand's sanitizing and disinfecting functions.

Critical comments flooded Weibo, China's social media platform, with users writing things like "This ad is truly low-class" and "I will never use Dettol products again."

As the backlash grew and calls for a boycott emerged, Dettol pulled the ad from all online platforms. The company issued a formal apology through its official Weibo account on June 22 and again in a statement on June 23.

"Our original intent was to criticize gender discrimination and stereotypes, but some scenes that spread online distorted the ad's core message and caused offense to many people, including women," the company said, adding that it "takes full responsibility for the flawed content creation and inadequate review process."