Chinese Men Outraged as Comedian Who Coined "Overconfident Men" Goes Public in Advertisement

E-commerce Company Selects Comedian Yang Li as Model
Neologism "Puxinnan" (Men Overconfident Without Basis) Gains Popularity
Yang Li Emerges as a Symbol of Gender Conflict

Chinese female comedian Yang Li. [Source=Yang Li Weibo]

When a Chinese female comedian, previously embroiled in gender-related controversy, was selected as an advertising model, male consumers declared a boycott against the brand.

On October 14, Chinese e-commerce company Jingdong unveiled a poster featuring comedian Yang Li (32) to announce the "Shuangsi" (Double 11, formerly known as Singles' Day), the country's largest annual shopping festival often referred to as China's Black Friday. News of Yang Li's selection as the campaign's advertising model sparked a boycott movement against Jingdong, led primarily by men.

Previously, in 2020, Yang Li appeared on a talk show and remarked, "Why are men so confident when they seem so ordinary?" This comment led to the popularization of the neologism "Puxinnan" (men who are overly confident without any basis) in China, which is similar to the Korean term "Geunjagam" (groundless confidence).

Yang Li was also at the center of a gender controversy in 2021 after becoming a model for Intel laptops. The advertisement included the phrase, "Intel's laptop preferences are more sophisticated than my taste in men." The ad drew criticism from male consumers, prompting Intel to pull the advertisement after just three days. As a result, Yang Li became a prominent figure representing gender conflict among Chinese youth.

On the 14th, Chinese e-commerce company Jingdong released a poster announcing the "Shuangsi" commemorative event. [Source=Weibo]

After Yang Li was chosen as an advertising model for Jingdong, a similar situation unfolded. Following the release of the advertisement, some users on social networking services (SNS) began posting reactions such as, "I have canceled my Jingdong membership," "Are you giving up on male consumers?" and "I will never spend money here." In response, Jingdong's promotion and marketing team issued an apology on its official Weibo account on October 18, just four days later, stating, "We apologize if we have made any customers uncomfortable." The company added, "We have no plans for future collaborations with this celebrity," and promised to "increase benefits to reward consumers who show interest and support."

On the other hand, there have also been many voices defending Jingdong and Yang Li. On October 22, a Chinese media outlet described her as "a female star who entered the male-dominated world of stand-up comedy," and praised her for "becoming a hero to millions of Chinese women with her sharp humor that points out male arrogance." The outlet also highlighted that, during the Intel ad controversy, the hashtag "I am a woman and I support Yang Li" appeared more than 71 million times on Weibo.