Dove Apologizes, Pulls Video After 'Ambiguous Partner' Ad Sparks Backlash

Dove has apologized and removed a short video from its Douyin page after the ad copy for a gift box triggered criticism online for what users called improper values.

The video, posted during the Qixi Festival period on August 23 to promote Dove's colorful gift box, described a woman sharing the chocolate with an ambiguous romantic interest after her boyfriend had not bought it for her.

The caption said she had asked her boyfriend for the Dove gift box for a long time without success, then shared it with an ambiguous partner while her boyfriend was away. It said the other person drove two hours to deliver the gift and that it was "very sweet."

The copy quickly drew criticism across Chinese social media, with users accusing it of glamorizing emotional boundary-crossing in a relationship. Some mocked the product as "green hat chocolate," a Chinese phrase associated with being cheated on, saying the campaign damaged Dove's long-running image of devoted romance.

In an apology statement issued yesterday, Dove said the video was created and posted by a third-party store operations team that had not strictly followed the brand's content review process. The company said it remained responsible because the content appeared on an official Dove channel.

"We failed to discover and stop the content from going online in time, betraying consumers' trust in the brand," the statement said.

Dove said the wording and values expressed in the video were clearly inappropriate and inconsistent with the sincerity, warmth and respect the brand seeks to convey. It also apologized for what it described as an inappropriate response by the store's customer service team after consumers raised questions.

The company said it had removed the video, reviewed the incident, strengthened training for relevant staff, tightened management of partner operations teams and would improve content approval procedures.

The Qixi Festival, often called Chinese Valentine's Day, is a traditional celebration held on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.