Dessert company receives ‘foot fetish’ criticism amid accusations that it used Chinese word for ‘sexual pleasure’ in controversial ad
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenFran Luin BeijingPublished: 6:00pm, 15 Apr 2026The premium ice cream brand Magnum has taken down its Chinese advertisements that visually link its product to women’s feet wearing ballet pumps after they triggered an online backlash.
The brand from the Netherlands posted a controversial advertisement for its new pistachio ice cream in January 2026.
The advert suggests the ice cream looks like a woman’s feet wearing a pair of half chocolate, half light green-coloured ballet pumps.
The slogan that goes with the visual says that the product is inspired by ballet pumps that often feature contrasting colours and that the product is a “pleasant masterpiece”.
Recently, the ad sparked backlash as online observers found the analogy far-fetched, speculating that Magnum was “smuggling in soft porn vibes”.
Their reasons for coming to that conclusion were that ballet pumps rarely feature pistachio colour and the specific Chinese word for “pleasant” that the advert uses is often used to describe sexual pleasure.
“It seems that Magnum ad producer has a foot fetish,” an online observer said.
