Swatch, the Swiss watchmaker, has come under intense scrutiny and backlash in China over an advertisement featuring an Asian model making a gesture interpreted as ‘slanted eyes,’ which many have deemed racially insensitive. Following a significant uproar on Chinese social media, the company has issued an official apology, stating that the ad was inappropriate and should never have been created. In response to the controversy, Swatch has pulled the ad and is facing a decline in stock values as it grapples with the ramifications of this cultural misstep.