WHOOPS.
Gotta love these hard lessons in international marketing!
More on the debacle from CNN:
It began with a yoga festival organized by Lululemon on the Great Wall on May 30, according to Chinese state-run tabloid Global Times.
Billed as an event promoting Chinese culture and wellness, more than 2,000 guests laid down their mats on the ancient stone of the country's most iconic landmark to practice yoga under the sun, according to a now-deleted press release by the brand.
One prominent guest was Chinese actor Zhu Yilong, known for his roles in popular movies and television shows like 'Guardian,' 'The Story of Minglan' and 'Lighting Up the Stars.' At the festival, he joined a drum troupe in performing on what was initially described as a traditional Chinese drum, Global Times reported.
But the provenance of the drum soon came into question - with social media users and musicians claiming it appeared to resemble a Japanese Taiko drum instead.
That's right: China's drum nerds noticed a problem.
Both countries have large ceremonial drums, but there are small design differences between the two nations.
If you remember anything about world history in the last century (particularly World War 2), you may understand why the Chinese would be upset about a Japanese instrument being placed on top of the Great Wall!
The drum drama went viral this past week, garnering more than 50 million views on Chinese social media site Weibo by Monday, Global Times reported.
Lululemon profusely apologized and said it was looking into the matter.
Due to limitations in our professional knowledge, we were unable to fully identify potential controversies initially, and we fully recognize that we should be more cautious and thorough in the early planning and review process of the drum performances.
The company has scrubbed all footage and posts associated with the event.
But many Chinese social media users remain unsatisfied with the statements.
It wasn't bad enough that your brand name is impossible for Chinese people to pronounce? You had to go and insult their whole country?
(Company founder Chip Wilson said in a 2005 interview that he chose the name "Lululemon" because it is hard for East Asians to pronounce the letter "L," making it sound more exotic to them. He said, and I quote, "It's funny to watch them try and say it." 😂)
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