The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2023
A snail-noodle brand asked 'What does a woman taste like?' on Women's Day
好欢螺's WeChat headline read 《女性，是什么味道？》. The article meant 'don't define women.' The title defined them. China Women's Daily called it out by name.
Haohuanluo (好欢螺) · 2023-03
What happened
On the morning of 8 March 2023, International Women's Day, the luosifen (snail noodle) brand Haohuanluo published a WeChat article titled 《女性，是什么味道？》 — 'Women, what taste are they?' The intended message, buried inside, was that women should not be defined by a single flavour. The headline did the defining.
The backlash was immediate. Critics said the title reduced women to a sensory object — something to be tasted — on the one day meant to celebrate their autonomy. The controversy trended on Weibo. On 9 March, China Women's Daily published a rebuke: riding Women's Day for marketing while insulting women was not cleverness; respect was the bottom line.
Haohuanluo's customer service said the article's intent had been misunderstood and that an internal review was under way. The episode became part of a broader pattern in Chinese marketing: brands reaching for 'edge-ball' (擦边) provocation on social media and discovering that the attention they get is not the attention they wanted.
Why it happened
- The headline was written for clicks, not for meaning — the article's actual message (women are diverse) was the opposite of what the title implied.
- The approval chain checked whether the content was on-brand but not whether the framing was respectful; the 'clever' title passed because nobody asked whom the joke was on.
- Women's Day marketing in China had become a competitive content race; the pressure to stand out pushed the copy toward provocation.
The lesson
If the headline contradicts the message, the headline is the message. On a day about respect, a title that objectises is not edge-ball — it is the brand's actual position.
Sources
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