Recently, the flagship store of the mainland home appliance company Supor was exposed to have mass-posted allegedly vulgar advertisements generated by AI, promoting cleaning appliances with scenarios of opposite sexes invading private spaces such as toilets and bathrooms. Supor admitted on August 5 that there were loopholes in the content management and publishing review of authorized stores, and all the videos involved have been taken down.
According to public information, Supor was established in 1998 and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2004, specializing in kitchenware, small kitchen appliances, and other products. In 2025, Supor still held a relatively high market share in the mainland market for kitchenware and small kitchen appliances.
Reports from mainland Chinese media outlets indicated that a video posted by the account “Supor Personal Care Appliance Flagship Store” showed a woman suddenly entering a restroom where two men were present, followed by a demonstration using a Supor steam cleaner.
The account also posted videos with captions like “A girl is taking a bath, and an uncle comes in to scrub her back” and “A girl is in the bathroom, and a cleaning uncle comes in to clean” with phrases like “Uncle never seen before” used to attract clicks. Several videos were flagged by the platform as “suspected to use AI-generated technology.”
An article by “Shell Finance” on August 6 reported that at the time, the store page displayed that the business had official authorization from the Supor brand, had around 1.217 million fans, sold 809,000 products, and ranked 8th on the platform’s list of lifestyle electric appliance brands.
The account was certified as Zhengzhou Taoqing Network Technology Co., Ltd., not Zhejiang Supor Co., Ltd. Store customer service previously claimed that the store was an official authorized flagship store of Supor. However, when asked about the video publishing process and whether it had been reviewed by the official Supor authority, the customer service replied, “Not very clear.”
A company information search platform showed that Zhengzhou Taoqing Network Technology Co., Ltd. was established in August 2024 with a registered capital of 1 million yuan. The company was listed as having operating abnormalities on February 19, 2025, and July 17, 2026, due to “failure to contact the registered address or operating location.”
The related content has sparked public outrage. Some criticized the ads for using intimate scenes to attract traffic, feeling it was “embarrassing and inappropriate.” Others questioned, “AI couldn’t have come up with invading a men’s restroom scenario on its own, right?”
On August 5, Supor responded that after discovering the issue, all the videos involved were taken down on the same day, and they conducted a comprehensive review of the video material review process.
Quoting industry insiders, “New Yellow River” reported that in the past, producing an e-commerce short video could cost hundreds to thousands of yuan and take several days. By using AI, the cost of a single video could reduce to a few yuan, and it could be completed in about half an hour.
Another industry expert stated that some operational teams wouldn’t allocate high costs for manual review for low-cost AI advertisements. From content generation, advertising placement to performance optimization, almost everything is handled by the system. Traditional steps such as planning, brand, and legal review in advertising could be condensed, leading to the direct release of content that is vulgar, misleading, or suspected of false advertising.
Marketing psychology scholar and Chief Operating Officer of Speedway Network, Xun Guanlong, mentioned that AI involvement in marketing has become a trend, but brands should not solely pursue technological efficiency and should also focus on content authenticity and user experience.
The controversy comes at a time when Supor’s performance is also declining. The company’s semi-annual report for the first half of 2026, released in July, showed that the operating income was 11.41 billion yuan, a 0.59% decrease year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 868 million yuan, down by 7.70%.
In 2025, Supor’s sales expenses increased to 2.409 billion yuan, a 10.41% year-on-year increase; research and development expenses were 476 million yuan, growing by 1.33%. The company had stated in its 2025 annual report that it was testing the application of AI in graphics, text, short videos, and live streaming to enhance marketing efficiency.