The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2025
Meijian's New Year copy said a daughter was 'not worthy' of her husband — then pulled it
Meijian's New Year packaging carried lines read as demeaning to women — one told a son-in-law his wife was 'not worthy' of him. It apologized and pulled them.
Meijian · 2025-01
What happened
梅见 (Meijian) is a green plum wine made by Chongqing Jiangji Winery, the company behind the baijiu brand 江小白 (Jiangxiaobai). Launched in 2019 as 江小白's push into fruit wine, it grew fast — at points outselling the parent's core baijiu — and was seen as the group's important 'second battlefield.' For the 2025 Lunar New Year it released special packaging: New Year posts and couplets (新年帖、对联) written in classical calligraphy, meant to evoke traditional Chinese culture.
Some of the lines on the packaging were read as demeaning to women. One, addressed to a son-in-law, read: '贤婿，你受苦了。我女儿没那么配得上你' — 'Dear son-in-law, you've suffered; my daughter isn't really worthy of you.' Another wished women 'money in your pocket enough to spend like a man's.' Shared online, the copy drew criticism for framing a daughter as lesser than her husband and for treating a man's spending as the standard women should aspire to.
On 13 January 2025 梅见 posted an apology on its official Weibo. Its original intent, it said, had been to celebrate traditional culture through calligraphy; but so many New Year posts and couplets had been produced that its internal review process had loopholes, and some expressions had 'seriously missed the mark.' It apologised for the inappropriate advertising, called it a failure of inexperience and lax review, and said it would immediately pull all the controversial posts and materials and tighten its review process.
Why it happened
- The copy reached for warmth and tradition but landed on a stereotype — a father telling his married daughter she is 'not worthy' of her husband reads as demeaning, however playful the intent.
- The packaging carried many contributed lines, and the brand's review process was not built to catch tone at volume; a line that should never have been approved slipped through with the rest.
- By blaming a 'review loophole,' the brand named the real failure — its own gatekeeping — admitting the offending copy was an accident of process rather than a considered choice.
- New Year marketing leans on emotion and familiarity, which raises the risk that an off-hand line about family roles will strike a nerve the brand did not anticipate.
The lesson
When a brand prints a hundred lines of copy, it owns every one. 'A review loophole' is not a defence — it is a confession. The more hands write your message, the more the brand answers for what ships.
Aftermath
梅见 pulled the controversial New Year posts and related materials and said it would strengthen its internal review and be more prudent, inviting public supervision. The episode was a typical risk in Chinese New Year marketing: brands reach for warmth and tradition and trip over gender roles, and social media turns a packaging line into a national story within hours. For 梅见 the cost was reputational, not financial — a public apology and a withdrawn range — but it landed on a brand that had built much of its identity on the kind of expressive, literary copywriting that this time misfired.
Sources
- Sohu: 梅见回应新年酒文案不尊重女性：内部审核流程存在漏洞，将全面下架 (quotes, apology, 江小白 link)
- Beijing News: 新年酒文案'翻车'，梅见致歉称审核存漏洞 (apology and takedown)
- Tencent News: 梅见回应新年酒文案不尊重女性 (controversial lines and response)
spotted an error? The club wants to know.
More like this
Meijian's sexist New Year copy — 'my daughter isn't good enough for you' — #1 trending
Mei Jian's New Year ads joked a daughter wasn't worthy — then came down
Tinghua liquor's health claims fell apart on CCTV's 3·15 gala — ¥1.8M fine followed
Somewhere, someone solved the problem this company failed at. 2nd Opinion →
Comments · 0
Sign in to join the comments.