General Motors, which is expanding its presence in China, is now feeling some heat from an ad that a number of groups have deemed racist. Why? Because song lyrics talk about the "land of Fu Manchu." It also says the people say "ching-ching chop suey." Whoops.
The ad is for the Chevy Trax, a cool little crossover that we don't get in America but our neighbors to the North in Canada do.
It shows an old Chevy drop a 1920's man off, and he is then picked up by the hip kids in the Chevy Trax. It appears those kids still have sensibilities regarding race relations that were present in the '20s too.
The song makes a few little quips which, surprise surprise, a number of people have found offensive.
GM removed the content from the ad as soon as it received complaints, but the damage was done. These are the lyrics you'll get to hear in the ad:
Now, in the land of Fu Manchu,
The girls all now do the Suzie-Q,
Clap their hands in the centre of the floor
Saying ‘ching-ching, chop suey, swing some more’
Yeah, not the best decision.