SK-II's 'aging anxiety' ad told Chinese women they'd be 'leftover' if unmarried by 27

SK-II, Procter & Gamble's premium skincare brand, released a viral video in 2016 called 'Marriage Market Takeover' as part of its '#ChangeDestiny' campaign. The video featured Chinese women over 25 — considered 'sheng nu' or 'leftover women' in Chinese society — confronting their parents' pressure to marry.

The video was emotionally powerful and went viral, generating over 50 million views. But the reaction was mixed: while many women praised the brand for addressing a real social pressure, others accused SK-II of exploiting women's anxiety about aging and marriage to sell expensive skincare cream. The implicit message — that your skin determines your marriageability — was criticized as regressive.

The case illustrated the difficulty of 'purpose-driven marketing' in a culture with complex gender dynamics. SK-II's campaign was well-intentioned but walked a fine line between empowering women and reinforcing the very anxiety it claimed to challenge. The brand's product — anti-aging cream — was inseparable from the message, and the contradiction was not lost on the audience.