Meijian (梅见) is Jiangxiaobai's (江小白) plum-wine brand, built over four years into a ¥1 billion+ product line. In early 2025, it launched Chinese New Year gift packaging with bottle cards carrying copy including: 'Son-in-law, you've suffered. Haha, my daughter actually isn't good enough for you. Dad gives you Meijian New Year wine' and 'Girl, may your pockets next year be as full as a man's.'
Consumers called the copy sexist and degrading to women. On January 13, two hashtags — 'Meijian will fully recall all controversial material' and 'Meijian wine copy backlash apology' — hit Weibo trending. That afternoon, Meijian's official Weibo issued an apology, acknowledging the ads had damaged consumer trust, and ordered a full recall of all controversial material.
Jiangxiaobai had built its brand on 'expression bottle' copy — heartfelt messages on bottles were its core asset. Meijian's implosion proved the double edge: when 'heartfelt' becomes 'offensive', the brand's greatest strength cuts deepest.
Recalled all controversial bottles the same day and apologized, but the damage was done: a copy-driven brand's core asset became its deepest wound.
The copy relied on gender stereotypes disguised as humour — 'daughter not good enough' and 'money like a man' are not jokes, they are putdowns.
Jiangxiaobai/Meijian's brand DNA is copy-driven, meaning every copy failure directly wounds the brand's core identity.
New Year wine is a gift product — the bottle copy represents the giver's attitude. Offensive copy embarrasses both giver and receiver.
The approval process failed to flag sexist content before printing, showing 'copy confidence' overrode compliance review.
A copy-first brand lives and dies by its copy. When 'heartfelt' became 'offensive' on gift bottles, the core strength cut deepest. Review failed because nobody questioned the brand's own voice.
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