Dettol is scrambling to explain itself in China after a five-minute advertisement for its laundry disinfectant triggered calls for a boycott. The video, told from a man's perspective, shows him dumping a girlfriend after learning she once lived with a previous partner, branding her "tainted by other men" and praising a new girlfriend as "pure" and "innocent," per the Global Times. The Standard notes that a reference is also made to women's "chastity," with the claim that such women are "not polluted by men."
The ad's eventual twist has the new girlfriend railing against the man's misogyny and splitting with him, with Dettol offered as an option to take care of "toxic men [who] are just like bacteria," per the BBC. However, some viewers never got that far. "I quit watching after just two minutes," one commenter noted, per the Times. "The video is toxic to people's minds." On Monday, Dettol apologized, saying a third-party creator meant to challenge sexism and promote equality, but that poor wording and lax review turned the message into an insult, particularly to women.
The company said it pulled the ad and accepted complete responsibility, noting that it plans on revamping its content vetting process. One internet analyst said the campaign may have generated attention, but that it also inflicted serious damage on Dettol's image, calling it an example of warped marketing that "poisons public discourse." The BBC notes it's not the first time Dettol has run into this issue: In 2025, the company raised eyebrows with an ad that said a woman had been "returned" before her nuptials, and that "it must be because she was not clean."
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