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Lingerie ad has a pitch going out of tune

A Chinese lingerie company did not expect a far-reaching publicity after it launched a billboard ad campaign in Shenzhen, a city bordering Hong Kong, for one of its underwear products branded Diana.

The ad features a model with chestnut-toned hair just like the late British Princess of Wales to promote its dark-blue bra and knickers. Wearing a silver crown and necklace, the model has a cello and bow in her hands, looking down at a Western child. The ad also has a slogan, reading "Feel the romance of British royalty."

British journalist Sam Chambers came across the billboard ad when he was at the Shenzhen Airport on August 31, the day marking the 13th anniversary of Princess Diana's death in a car accident. The image of the ad struck Chambers as a "half-naked Diana doppelganger."

Chambers' story about the ad was published in Daily Mail on September 1, which caused a controversy among British readers as some said they were shocked while others gave a shrug-off attitude.

The Guangdong-based underwear company Jealousy International today told Shanghai Daily it is purely a misunderstanding to link the ad with the late Princess of Wales.

A spokeswoman of the Jealousy International said the ad for the company's Diana brand underwear wasinspired by the Greek Goddess of Moon Artemis, also known as Diana.

The spokeswaman didn't explain the ad slogan, but she said the underwears were designed by French designers and the brand was registered in 1995, two years before Diana's car accident.



 

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