Dettol pulls China ad after sexism, misogyny backlash

Dettol pulled a disinfectant ad in China after the microdrama-style video drew widespread criticism for sexism and the objectification of women. The roughly five-minute ad was first released in late May, ran nationwide, then was withdrawn on June 21. In the storyline, a male character looks for a partner who is "clean" and "not contaminated by other men," and says his future wife must be a virgin even though he is not. At the end, the female character rejects that view, and the ad closes with narration comparing "toxic men" with germs. On June 22, Dettol apologized on Weibo, acknowledging lapses in content creation and review. The British company said the ad was produced by a third-party agency and was intended to criticize gender bias, but it instead triggered boycott calls and sharp criticism on Weibo and Xiaohongshu.