Korean dairy company apologises over advert portraying women as cows to be milked

A Korean dairy company has come under fire for an advert that bizarrely depicts women as cows waiting to be milked.

At the beginning of the advert, a man can be seen carrying a large film camera as he explores the woods. He then reaches a stream, where he finds women who are drinking the clear water and stretching in a field, and begins to film.

“We finally succeeded in capturing them on camera at a pristine location where nature is preserved in its purity,” the man says.

“They drink clean water from pure nature, consume an eco-friendly organic diet, and live peacefully in a placid environment. I will try to approach them cautiously.”

But the women are soon interrupted by the sound of the man accidentally stepping on and snapping a twig. This noise, inexplicably, causes them to abruptly transform into cows. Then, they begin to moo.

No, we’re not sure why either.

The advert then ends with a description of the product: “Clean water, organic feed, 100% pure Seoul Milk. Organic milk from an organic ranch in the pleasant nature of Cheongjang.”

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Seoul Milk first posted the advert on their YouTube channel on November 29, but following the outrage is sparked, the video was removed on December 8, The Korea Herald reported.

The outlet also reported that customers had promised to boycott Seoul Milk products. One angry customer wrote on the company’s Instagram page: “I will never drink Seoul Milk again. Humans should never be described as cattle, and spy-camming can never be used as advertisement material.”

Although the original video has been taken down, it hasn’t stopped people from resharing the advert and commenting on it.

“To think that an advertisement like this could come out in 2021...” another viewer commented.

Someone else wrote: “What on earth were they thinking of creating this ad?”

Meanwhile, another outlet Koreaboo reported that viewers had compared the situation of the man filming the women while hiding behind a rock to molka – illegal filming – which the publication describes as an “ongoing problem” in South Korea.

Amid the controversy, Seoul Milk uploaded a statement to their website.

“We sincerely apologize to everyone who felt uncomfortable with the milk commercial,” the milk company said. “We are accepting this matter with a heavy heart and will conduct an internal review, and take extra care to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. We bow our heads in apology.”