PurCotton's 'self-defense' ad blamed the victim — three apologies made it worse

In January 2021, PurCotton, a Chinese cotton-goods brand owned by listed company Winner Medical, released a short video ad titled 'Self-Defense' for its makeup-removal wipes. The plot: a young woman is followed at night by a man; she wipes off her makeup with the product; the stalker sees her bare face, is repulsed, and flees. The ad framed a woman's appearance as the cause of, and solution to, harassment.

The video was exposed on Douban on January 8 and spread to Weibo, where the topic drew over 130 million views. China Women's Daily published a commentary saying the brand needed to 'cleanse its values.' PurCotton's first response called the video an 'advertising creative' meant to highlight cleaning power. That afternoon it posted a formal apology. On January 10 it posted a longer statement that listed the company's history, patents and quality record — readers mocked it as an 'advertising-style apology,' one per cent contrition and ninety-nine per cent self-promotion.

By January 11 the brand had apologised three times. Winner Medical's securities department confirmed the chairman had personally reviewed the apology letter. The company promised to hold the responsible managers accountable. Each new statement reopened the story rather than closing it, and the episode became a textbook case in how not to handle a brand crisis in China's social-media era.