The cosmetic brand NARS came under fire after the company employed Kai Ko, an actor from Taiwan for its latest marketing campaign event last Friday in Taiwan.
Ko was invited as a guest spokesperson to the NARS 1st Speakeasy Orgasm event at the Huashan 1914 Creative Park, Taipei, Taiwan on June 29, promoting NARS’s newest Orgasm collection.
He later posted event photos both on China’s twitter-like Weibo and Instagram, saying thanks to the organizer and expressing his excitement for making a public appearance again. “I have long been waiting for new jobs. I would be grateful as long as I got one,” Ko said on site.
Ko was the leading actor in the movie You Are the Apple of My Eye in 2011, which shot him into the spotlight and he accumulated numerous fans.
His career met with a fatal crisis four years ago in Beijing after being caught doing drugs with Jackie Chan’s son Jaycee Chan and was arrested by the police.
He soon “disappeared” from the public eye following his wide-spread interview with state broadcaster CCTV, in which he wore a prison garb and was in tears, apologizing for “setting a very bad example”.
His high-key return was soon criticized on social media with Nars being accused of using celebrities linked to drug abuse as tens of thousands of netizens commented and reminded others about his scandalous past.
A boycott of NARS was even proposed by a netizen screen-named Bingxiayouyu, with the hashtag “An eye shadow will send your money to the drug dealers”. The Weibo post was shared by over 30,000 netizens and “liked” by over 20,000 netizens. And supporters have been listing alternatives for the renowned brand.
Facing heated controversy, NARS released its official apology on Weibo on July 1.
“The NARS Chinese mainland team is sorry to hear that a NARS team from another region invited a particular celebrity to our event. We have noticed the negative feeling we have brought to the public. And we’d like to make our apology. In the future, NARS will offer our honored clients improved products and services. Thanks for your attention and advice."
However, NARS’s apology was seen as insincere play of words and pushed the brand into an even more awkward situation. The announcement has received over 20,000 comments and shares, with netizens calling for further feedback from its head office instead of a regional “Chinese mainland team”.
Ko’s post about the event was promptly deleted after being asked by the brand. He also posted a “follow up” photo on Instagram, with a gloomy face expression with caption “Delete… Delete them all”. The photo was later deleted by Ko.
NARS was originally a U.S. makeup brand founded by Francois Nars in 1994, and was acquired by Shiseido in 2000.
