BEIJING, June 23 — Dettol has apologised after an advertising campaign intended to call out misogyny instead sparked accusations of sexism in China, with critics saying the British hygiene brand reinforced the very stereotypes it claimed to condemn, the BBC reported.

The five-minute advert, styled as one of China’s hugely popular micro-dramas, opens with a man declaring he wants a woman who is “clean” and “not tainted by other men” — remarks that quickly drew outrage online.

Only in its closing moments does the campaign reveal its intended message. The man’s girlfriend rejects his misogynistic views, breaks up with him and Dettol likens “toxic men” to bacteria, positioning its multipurpose disinfectant as the solution.

But for many viewers, the damage had already been done.

Instead of applauding the campaign’s anti-sexism message, many accused Dettol of objectifying women and equating female “purity” with the disinfecting power of its products. The advert soon triggered widespread criticism on Chinese social media, with some users calling for a boycott of the brand.

Dettol has since removed the advert and issued a public apology.

According to the BBC, the company said the campaign had been intended to challenge gender stereotypes, but acknowledged that snippets shared online had distorted its message and fuelled misunderstanding.

“We recognise that it has offended many people, especially women. We take responsibility for any negligence in creating and reviewing the content of the advert,” the company said in a statement released yesterday.

It also pledged to review its content moderation processes.

Dettol said its mission has always been to protect families’ health, but added that true protection also means “safeguarding the dignity of every individual and their right to be treated equally.”

Much of the backlash centred on the advert’s repeated references to women’s “cleanliness” and “purity”, with critics arguing that the campaign relied on sexist tropes before attempting to subvert them.

“What a trashy advertisement. It’s left me speechless,” one user wrote on Weibo.

Another commented: “What a hopeless company. What is their senior management doing? I’m never using Dettol again. There are so many brands in the market after all.”

Manya Koetse, founder of the Eye on Digital China newsletter, said the campaign had become “quite a mess for a brand whose entire business revolves around cleanliness”.

“Even if the intention was to portray the male character as being in the wrong, the message was conveyed so poorly that it backfired spectacularly,” she said.

The controversy is the second time in as many years that Dettol has found itself under fire over an advertising campaign in China.

Last year, the Reckitt-owned brand also faced backlash after another advert featured the line: “The woman was ‘returned’ just before her wedding; it must be because she was not clean” — a campaign that similarly drew criticism for its portrayal of women.