It’s 2026 – why are brands still objectifying women to sell e-bikes, air-conditioners and more?
From Chinese e-bikes to TVs and air-conditioners, sexually objectifying ads continue to spark backlash. Their persistence reflects how readily women’s bodies are still used to grab attention.
Even as we move into 2026, brands continue to rely on the objectification of women to market a diverse range of products, from electric scooters to air-conditioners. This trend highlights the ongoing societal issue of using women's bodies as a means to grab attention, rather than showcasing the products themselves. A recent example is the Chinese e-bike brand Luyuan, which faced intense backlash on Douyin, a Chinese social media platform, after releasing an advertisement featuring a young woman seductively posing with an electric scooter.
The ad was quickly removed and the brand issued an apology, citing the objectification of women as the reason.
A similar case came to light with Dettol, a cleaning product brand, which also pulled a microdrama centered around a man looking for a "clean" partner, only to have viewers reject the message and demand an apology. Netizens accused the ad of reinforcing misogynistic stereotypes, rather than addressing them. Despite these setbacks, brands persist in utilizing attractive female content creators to showcase their products, often wearing revealing clothing in the process.
This strategy relies on the assumption that a woman's body is the most effective way to capture attention and sell products.
Advertising veterans Daniel Ko and Loo Yong Ping, both with decades of experience in the industry, have found no concrete data supporting the effectiveness of sexual imagery in selling products. They attribute the industry's fixation on performance metrics, such as clicks, views, and reactions, to a misguided belief that these numbers equate to success.
Ko and Loo both emphasize that controversy, while sometimes generating public discourse, is not a valid measure of a campaign's success, especially in the long-term context of brand building.
Experts argue that objectification is a reflection of persistent gender inequality in society. Dr. Michelle Ho, an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore's Department of Communications and New Media, states that even though we are in 2026, not 1996, the issue remains prevalent due to the same entrenched gender norms that sexualize and objectify women.
Exposure to such imagery can further perpetuate harmful attitudes, creating a vicious cycle of normalizing non-consensual content. A study by SG Her Empowerment found that younger men, who grew up with greater access to sexual content, are more likely to condone spousal violence.
While some may argue that objectification is necessary to capture attention, experts like Ko and Loo maintain that there are alternative methods to achieve marketing objectives without resorting to such low-brow tactics. They stress the importance of evolving beyond outdated gendered attitudes to create a healthier environment for future generations.
Written by urgent.news from Channel News Asia's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
