Swiss watchmaker Swatch apologies for ad showing gesture seen as racist

GENEVA (AP) — Swiss watchmaker Swatch apologized Monday for an ad campaign that upset consumers in China and elsewhere and said it had “immediately removed all related materials worldwide.”

In an image for the Swatch Essentials collection, an Asian male model is shown pulling the edges of his eyelids upward and backward with his fingers — a gesture seen as derogatory and racist, Swiss public broadcaster SRF reported.

Swatch wrote on Instagram that “we sincerely apologize for any distress or misunderstanding this may have caused.” It said it would “treat this matter with the utmost importance.”

SRF reported that the apology was also posted on the Chinese social network Weibo in Chinese and English.