Mbappe controversy rocks sponsors: How Chinese consumer backlash could hit global brands and stocks | Today’s news
French soccer star Kylian Mbappe’s perceived insult to the founder of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong, has sparked strong reactions from the country and forced the World Cup winner to issue a public apology.
This episode highlights how carefully international brands must tread in China, the world’s second largest consumer. This is where making a direct remark against something or someone the Chinese hold in high esteem can lead to massive consumer backlash.
Shares of On Holding AG, Eastroc Beverage Group Co. and China Mengniu Dairy Co., which are all sponsors of Mbappe, fell on Tuesday as investors weighed the impact of the high-profile brand losing value in the country almost overnight.
Here are some other companies that have faced similar backlash in China:
1. Dolce & Gabbana: D&G had to cancel a Shanghai fashion show after facing backlash from Chinese celebrities over an ad that showed a Chinese woman having trouble eating pizza with chopsticks.
2. Sample book: Swiss watchmaker Swatch had to apologize in 2025 and withdraw an ad in which an Asian model pulled the corners of her eyes up and back in a “slant-eye” pose, which was seen as a racist attack on Asian features.
3. Coach and Givenchy: The two companies’ brand ambassadors in China severed ties with them in 2019 over products they claimed identified Taiwan and Hong Kong as countries, not territories of the PRC.
4. Mercedes: The automaker had to apologize to the Chinese people after it quoted the Dalai Lama in an Instagram post next to one of its luxury cars.
5. NBA: China is one of the NBA’s biggest markets, and when a Houston Rockets official tweeted in support of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019, Beijing didn’t take it lightly.
The NBA had to issue a statement regretting the tweet, a move that in turn angered some politicians in the US who said it was censorship of free speech. The incident called into question the decades-long partnership between the NBA and CCTV, China’s state broadcaster, causing an 18-month blackout that ended in 2022.
The NBA used to play preseason games in China, but the tour was halted for six long years after the incident and only resumed last year.
With Bloomberg, Reuters inputs
