Hong Kong's new tourism advert accused of romanticising 'abusive' behaviour

In the competitive world of terrible tourist board adverts, there’s a new contender to the throne

What says romance to you? Is it someone buying you roses? Running you a bubble bath? Stealing your passport?

If it’s the latter, you’ll probably find the new advert from the Hong Kong tourist board quirkily endearing. For everyone else, the questionable message seems to be that violating your girlfriend’s human rights is A-OK – as long as you’re doing it for love.

The ad, first tweeted by Discover Hong Kong on 10 October, shows a girl furiously searching for her passport, worried she’s going to miss an imminent flight.

Instead she finds a note from her ex (or possibly current) boyfriend, giving her a clue to follow – she must go to Wong Kee Flea Market if she wants to be able to leave the country as planned.

“I knew that he was upset about me leaving Hong Kong for my photography degree,” she says in a voiceover, after his phone goes straight to voicemail.

She ends up on a treasure hunt around the Sham Shui Po in Hong Kong, visiting spots where the couple shared happy memories together, from a bric-a-brac shop to a stall selling vinyls. “Your boyfriend is so sweet,” says the stallholder as he hands over the next clue. That’s one word for it.

Finally she finds her erstwhile boyfriend in a camera shop, where he presents her with a new camera so she can “put my photo up on your dorm door".

The clip ends with the pair standing together smiling (rather than with her attempting to strangle him with the camera strap, which might be a more natural response to his ulcer-inducing stunt).

The video swiftly attracted numerous negative comments online, with many pointing out that the central premise was far from romantic.

“So he’s LITERALLY covertly manipulating conditions in order to control a woman’s ability to leave. That’s coercion and is abusive,” replied Rachel Zadar, while Amanda Panda commented: “Coercion and control are not romantic or cute and shouldn’t be used to market anything, except maybe mace. You might want to update the cultural narrative you’re peddling to be non-abusive. Not a good look for Hong Kong.”

The Independent has asked the Hong Kong Tourism Board for comment.

It’s not the first time a tourist board has massively missed the mark when it comes to marketing campaigns.

Singapore Tourist Board (STB) hit headlines in 2014 when it released what was quickly dubbed the worst advert ever.

Attempting to attract more Filipino visitors, the film followed a grinning couple as they celebrated their anniversary in Singapore, complete with the cheesiest script imaginable.

The whole thing wrapped up with the woman surprising her husband with a present – a positive pregnancy test in a jewellery box.

The ad was ridiculed so extensively that STB wasted no time in removing it from its social media platforms. A spokesperson said it “was not resonating well with audiences”.

More recently, Lithuania raised eyebrows with its racy new tagline for capital city Vilnius: “Nobody knows where it is, but when you find it – it’s amazing. Vilnius: the G-spot of Europe”.