Friday, June 09, 2017

#ICYMI Watsons issues apology statement following public outcry from Legenda Cun Raya video


#ICYMI

Everyone has heard of the video from Watsons that went viral a few days ago, and was labelled by many as tasteless, inconsiderate, and racist.

Watsons has since pulled down that video, but like most things social media, what goes up does not come down. For those of you who have yet to see it, please find it below. A word of caution though, it's 15 minutes long.




The next day, Watsons issued an apology that many netizens don't view to be an apology. Haven't read it? Here you go:



Moving from that, yesterday another apology was issued, which came with #MaafkanWatsons.





Read it below:

APOLOGY STATEMENT
Caryn Loh, General Manager and Country Head of Watsons Malaysia
WATSONS ‘LEGENDA CUN RAYA’ VIDEO

Kuala Lumpur, 8 June 2017 – We deeply and sincerely apologize for our recent “Legenda Cun Raya” video which was released on social media in Malaysia. The 15 minute video was inspired by the Malay legend Dayang Senandong made popular in the 1965 movie “Dayang Senandong’. It was our intention to convey concepts of inner and outer beauty, unfortunately the video instead offended many.

Regretfully, we acknowledge that the “Legenda Cun Raya” video is not in-line with the values that we hold dearly in Malaysia. Watsons Malaysia takes responsibility for the video and its content and is truly sorry that some elements have offended the general public.

Watsons Malaysia following the feedback from the general public, immediately removed the video and we appreciate your honest feedback especially leading into an important celebration like Hari Raya.

Moving forward we will continue to listen to the general public and our loyal customers. On behalf of Watsons Malaysia we humbly seek your forgiveness and deeply regret any harm that we have caused.


Conspiracy theorists out there says it's a marketing ploy to get everyone talking about their brand.

If that was truly the reason for going to all that trouble, I would say they have succeeded.

My personal opinion? I myself have been a loyal Watsons user, and I feel that sometimes things just get overlooked. But what DID went through my mind was that the quality of the video was sub-par, and their attempt at humour was very poor, especially coming from a star-studded cast. Suffice to say, I wasn't impressed.

Guardian also released their own Raya video, and comparing those two, I think Guardian did a better job.





What say you?

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