China fines a company over a Dove chocolate “situationship” ad

November 12, 2026 / 7:53 AM EST / CBS/AFP

Chinese authorities have fined a company the equivalent of about $120,000 over an advertisement it created for American chocolate brand Dove that featured a woman in a "situationship," saying on Thursday it promoted the "wrong views on marriage and relationships."

The video, first posted online in August, showed a woman getting chocolates from a man with whom she was in a "situationship" after her boyfriend ignored her.

The clip caused a stir online in China, with some social media users saying it promoted infidelity, prompting Dove to issue an apology.

Zongzheng Food — the company that created the ad and that operates a Dove store on Chinese e-commerce platform Kuaishou — was fined 800,000 yuan ($120,000) last month, Shanghai authorities said on Thursday.

The ad "packaged being unfaithful in a relationship as a 'sweet experience,' promoting wrong views on marriage and relationships and violating good social customs," the Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Administration said in a statement.

China is facing a demographic crisis after its birth rate halved over the past decade, and in response authorities have heavily promoted traditional family structures.

Marriage registrations from January to September were down 9.8%…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/