Subaru angers China with Italian Mao advert

Subaru are on the verge of sealing a deal with China’s Chery Motors that should see them producing the Forrester in Chery’s new factory in Dalian, but a new advertisement for Subaru’s Trezia model in Italy may well delay any official seal for the joint venture.

The Italian advertisement which reportedly translates as saying “a high driving position and superior internal space is worthy of a revolution” with a picture of China’s first chairman Mao in the background but with a feminine face superimposed on top. Subaru is not the first company to anger the Chinese internet with an advert that passed certain cultural boundaries, in 2008 Citroen upset the Chinese people in Spain with a picture of Mao Ze Dong with his face crunched up, of course this was prior to the Olympic torch relay issue in Paris which kicked off several months of hatred for all things French in China, of course the mob mentality eventually died away and Citroen enjoyed strong sales in the following years.

There is still a festering wound in China for Japanese actions in World War Two, so Subaru’s rather ill timed advertisement is only likely to affect any on-going negotiations for its joint venture in Dalian with Chery, until at least Subaru delivers a grovelling apology.

Subaru China were unable, or unwilling to comment on any actions taken by Subaru Italy and claimed to have no knowledge of the advertisement when prompted by Chinese media outlets. Expect an internet outcry over the next few days from patriotic Chinese and a boycott of Subaru’s products that will last at least a few days.