Cathay Pacific’s new Rugby Sevens ad, posted on Facebook last Monday, has received a wide array of complaints from netizens who do not think that it lives up to its predecessors’ quality.
Cathay promises free Rugby Sevens tickets for those who share the ad, but it was criticised for propagating stereotypes in the one minute long video.
“‘Comical’ four-eyed Asian man dressed as Bruce Lee and Superman, fat drunken white executive in beer bottle costume, white pilot, black trumpet player… This video goes out to the world and this is what you want the world to see Hong Kong as. I’m disappointed, I expected more from this. What a shambles,” said one commentator on Facebook.
Another said: “This is really getting worse year after year. Such a lazy commercial was accepted? If you don’t have a budget then don’t make one…”
“I look forward to this ad every year. Disappointing,” said one.
One opportunistic person on Facebook took the chance to ask about Cathay’s customer service: “Can one of you stop dancing for 5 minutes and get my miles properly transferred into my American account?”
By 3:00pm on Thursday, the video had amassed 2,603 reactions on Facebook and 518 shares.
