Swiss watchmaker Swatch apologised on Monday for an advertising campaign that angered consumers in China and beyond, announcing it had “immediately removed all related materials worldwide.”

The controversy began after an image for the Swatch Essentials collection showed an Asian male model pulling the edges of his eyelids upward and backward with his fingers, a gesture widely seen as derogatory and racist, Swiss public broadcaster SRF reported.

Swatch wrote on Instagram: “We sincerely apologise for any distress or misunderstanding this may have caused.” The company added it would “treat this matter with the utmost importance.”

According to SRF, the same apology was also posted on the Chinese social network Weibo, in both Chinese and English.

But many online critics were unconvinced. Calls for a boycott of Swatch Group brands, which include Blancpain, Longines, and Tissot, continued to grow.

A Weibo user with more than one million followers accused the company of “racism against Chinese” and urged regulators to punish it, reported The Guardian. Others accused Swatch of deliberate discrimination.

One comment read: “The brand’s image has collapsed. (Swatch) thinks they can just apologise and salvage everything? It’s not that simple.”

China is one of Swatch Group’s largest markets, but the brand has faced headwinds there. In July, it reported an 11.2% drop in net sales for the first six months of the year, attributing the slump “exclusively” to weak demand in China.

The fallout mirrors previous incidents involving international fashion houses in China. In 2018, Italian brand Dolce & Gabbana faced criticism after posting promotional videos of a Chinese model struggling to eat Italian food with chopsticks.

In 2023, French brand Dior provoked outrage with an ad showing a model pulling up the corner of her eye.