Canadian athleisure brand Lululemon has apologized after a promotional event on the Great Wall of China mistakenly featured a Japanese taiko drum, sparking an uproar in China. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
The company, headquartered in Canada and known for its upscale yoga leggings, has been growing rapidly in China and organized a yoga festival in late May on a section of the wall near Beijing. According to the Chinese state-run tabloid Global Times, more than 2,000 people were invited to the event, which was advertised as promoting Chinese culture and wellness. Well-known Chinese actor Zhu Yilong was booked to perform.
Zhu joined a drum group on the Great Wall for what was described as a traditional Chinese drum performance and posted a picture of himself in front of one of the instruments, which had the Lululemon logo, on his Weibo account. Weibo users accused the group of using a Japanese taiko instrument rather than a Chinese dagu drum. Many described this as inappropriate and insulting. Drum discussions had gathered more than 50 million views on Weibo by Monday, and Zhu's studio called on Lululemon to respond to the controversy.
The brand posted an apology to Zhu and the general public on Weibo on Tuesday, saying the event had been "intended to unwaveringly pay tribute to Chinese culture." It said: "Due to limitations in our professional knowledge, we were unable to identify potential controversies initially, and we fully recognize that we should be more cautious and thorough in the early planning and review process of the drum performances." The company pledged to "learn profound lessons" and to adopt "a more rigorous attitude" for future events.
Lululemon has now removed all content related to the drum event from its website and social media. The Hiiko drum troupe that performed with Zhu also apologized. The incident highlights the risks for Western brands hoping to expand in China of falling foul of domestic political and cultural sensibilities.
Last year, the outdoor brand Arc'teryx issued an apology after a promotional fireworks display on the Tibetan plateau caused controversy over potential environmental damage. The Canadian company, part-owned by China's Anta Group, faced calls for boycotts after the high-altitude show involving long stretches of choreographed pyrotechnics and colored smoke along snow-topped Himalayan ridgelines. In 2018, the luxury brand Dolce & Gabbana canceled a catwalk show in Shanghai after an outcry over a promotional video that showed an Asian model trying to eat Italian food using chopsticks. Social media users criticized the advert for trivializing Chinese culture and depicting Chinese women in a racist way.