LG Poland apologizes after misconceived V60 ThinQ TikTok ad goes viral

The LG V60 ThinQ offers a neat dual screen accessory that not only enhances productivity but also offers much improved protection and grip compared to a similar accessory that the G8X ThinQ shipped with earlier. Given the utility of the case and its reasonable price of US$100, it shouldn't be too hard for LG to sell it to the target audience.

But LG Poland's inexpedient approach to marketing the V60 ThinQ's dual screen accessory comes as a shocker at a time when society as a whole is endeavoring to uproot sexism both in personal and professional spheres.

In a now-deleted video posted on LG Polska's (now changed to LG Poland) official TikTok page, a creepy old man (who is actually an actor in prosthetics going by his TikTok profile) is seen taking inappropriate photos of a young woman climbing stairs without her knowledge using his dual screen LG device. The woman, upon hearing the camera shutter, turns back and grabs the phone from the man but only finds his selfies. She apologizes and returns the device. However, unbeknownst to her, the "old man" is actually able to swipe those inappropriate photos on the dual screen accessory.

The video, which has already garnered 20 million views on TikTok, was actually created by user @sawardega and was used by LG Poland for its promotion. Although the video has been taken down — both by LG Poland and from the creator's profile — it has become viral on other social media platforms.

As a responsible publication, we do not condone such inappropriate promotions and hence will not be linking the said video.

LG has now apologized to its LG Poland TikTok audience and also sent a statement to Phone Arena. The company said,

A recent video posted by LG Poland failed to follow the proper approval process for social media content. It did not live up to the standards and policy of LG Electronics and was immediately removed. We apologize for any offense this ill-conceived video may have caused. We will strive to prevent such an occurrence from happening again in the future."

While LG has been quick to take down this misconceived ad, it does highlight that companies do take societal sensibilities for granted at times. A little effort in ensuring that promotional videos conform with company policies can go a long way in preventing such thoughtless marketing.

On a related note, videos that are apparently vexatious, absurd, objectionable, and even downright unethical abound on platforms such as TikTok, prompting many netizens, especially in India, to bring down the app's rating on the Google Play Store as a sign of protest.