True love? Perfect match? Whatever! A commercial for a Chinese dating and matchmaking site thinks you need to stop being so darn picky and marry to please your family. Obviously, people think this is messed up.
According to ChinaSmack, the recently aired television commercial for Baihe.com uses the catch phrase "Because of Love, Do Not Wait." It shows a young woman being nagged by her grandmother. The young woman finally marries a man she met through the matchmaking service to, as it seems, please the grandmother. You can watch the ad above (subtitles via ChinaSmack).
Long-standing Confucian values instill respect towards elders, but online in China, many feel that the commercial is backwards and manipulative. As noted on South China Morning Post, many on Sina Weibo—China's Twitter—are saying the ad is "hijacking personal sentiments with filial piety."
"Besides the conventional family values, people shall not sacrifice their own happiness to comply with their family members' unreasonable demands," Peng Xiaohui, a prominent sexologist and Central China Normal University professor, is quoted by SCMP as saying.
The commercial did have its defenders, with one saying the ad is implying Baihe.com helps to streamline the marriage process. Another stated that the real issue was older people's old-fashioned way of thinking.
As another net user notes (via ChinaSmack), "They should add a scene at the end where the grandma asks: are you pregnant yet?"
Matchmaking site Baihe under fire over manipulative advert [SCMP]
Chinese Dating Site TV Ad Promotes Being Forced Into Marriage [ChinaSmack]
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