Beijing, August 13: Luxury brand Cartier has been at the receiving end after it released a Valentine-themed ad which appears to show a gay couple who are described in a caption as depicting "father-son" love. The French brand posted the video ad on the Chinese social media platform Weibo promoting its 'Trinity" ring. The ad has been promoted just ahead of the late-August Qixi Festival, one of China's traditional Valentine's day equivalents. The video ends with the message- "How far would you go for love?”

The ad features couples in romantic settings and groups of people in cars and at beach bonfires wearing the signature tri-colour bands. It ends with the message, "How far would you go for love?" Ad to Cure Gays & Lesbians in a Prominent Newspaper: LGBTQ Activist Harrish Iyer Makes the Publication Apologise!.

The ad clip ends with the message, “How far would you go for love?” While users appeared with messages of support and praise as well as pride-flag emojis. But, the caption below the ad created more confusion and ridicule as the two men appeared to be of the same age and didn't display the 'father-son bonding'.

Cartier's Video Featuring Two Men Stirs Controversy Around LGBTQ in China: 

According to an AFP report, online content in China, especially content depicting LGBT people, is subject to heavy and often falls under forced applied censorship. This is not the first time that the marketing campaign of a foreign brand has gone wrong in China. Luxury fashion brands Versace, Coach and Givenchy apologised in 2019 for making perceived affronts to China's national sovereignty with T-shirts listing Hong Kong and Taiwan as separate countries.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 13, 2020 03:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).