Chelsea restaurant removes 'racist' advert after backlash against East Asian stereotypes
A recently opened high-end restaurant has apologised for a promotional video branded as racist for its stereotypical depictions of East and Southeast Asian people and cultures.
In a since deleted Instagram post, the Ivy Asia Chelsea shared a video in which two women dressed in geisha dresses and holding fans flag down a black rickshaw from an elderly man.
Amid a backdrop of orientalist music, the two heavily made-up women, who are billed as "the ladies'', squabble as they clamber into the vehicle, causing them to fall over backwards as "the driver" is unable to sustain their weight.
Then a man, described as "the hero", comes crashing to the ground from the sky, and paces through the streets while pushing the rickshaw until he reaches the destination: the newly opened Ivy Asia Chelsea on King's Road.
The women, who remain highly animated throughout the minute-long clip, end up on the ground of the restaurant in front of amused customers - mainly white - who turn to look at them while leisurely enjoying their drinks.
Venting her anger at the video, Hau-Yu Tam, head of campaigns at End the Virus of Racism, a campaign group tackling structural anti-Asian racism, said she will complain to the Advertising Standards Authority about the outdated portrayals.
"Right from the very first second when you hear the gong sound effect, it feels like 'here we go again," she told ITV News.
"Throughout the whole clip, the only words the women seem to say is 'taxi'- the rest is unintelligible noises and shrieks. They are completely othered."
"This is a company that likely has access to the best resources out there and yet they choose to put out something as puerile as this. It does not even belong in the school playground."
"We are concerned about the number of people involved in the video- in particular, senior management and those responsible for the concept- must have had some involvement in its sign off."
In a statement issued to ITV News, a spokesperson from The Ivy Asia said: “We would like to sincerely apologise for the offence caused by our marketing video. It was wrong. It was done naively, and it was totally inappropriate and culturally insensitive. We had a complete ignorance of understanding.
"We are conducting an immediate internal review into our marketing processes and publication guidelines to make 100% sure this does not happen again.
"We need to educate ourselves and we are already looking to engage the relevant external bodies to review concept, culture and all internal and external processes.
"We must learn lessons and move forward in a totally new and appropriate way. Once again, we apologise unreservedly."