Nike isn’t scoring gold in China for putting out an Olympics ad that shows an athlete licking a ping pong bat. Charming?

Nike has not, of late, really been making news that win them applause all round or send sneakerheads to their stores to splurge. It does not help that their sales growth since last year have been described as “choppy” (read: dismal). Now, more negative news are shared online just days to the opening of the Paris Games this weekend. Emerging from China is the outrage with a Nike Olympics commerical that showed an Asian woman—presumably playing the role of an athlete—licking the rim of a ping pong bat before, it seems, receiving an opponent’s shot. The one-and-half-minute ad, titled Am I a Bad Person and narrated by an actor, not athlete—William Dafoe, features other stars, such as Kobe Bryant, Serena Williams, Cristiano Ronaldo, but not one of them could be identified to apply their tongues to any sporting equipment. It is unclear why that shot was included or how it shows Olympic sporting spirit.

No Olympic sport, as far as we are aware, involves the tongue (if not used as an organ of speech) or requires the salivated lubrication of a part of a sporting equipment. Could Nike be trying to communicate the fierceness that is evident in some sports? Or the show of fearlessness, such as in movies, where brutal female assasins lustily tongue-wash their bloodied swords to elicit anxiety in their targets? Puzzling still is that the licking of the bat’s edge is a close-up profile shot, allowing the curve of the pliant tongue and the contact with the edge of the bat to be seen clearly. Unsurprisingly, the ensuing disgust. Although it is a quick lick, it is not fast enough for viewers to omit insinuation of the carnal. Or, 性暗示 (xing an shi)—sexually suggestive.

Chinese Netizens are livid with the depiction of someone they presume represented their nation’s athletes. On Weibo, the ad has been trending for all the wrong reasons. A hashtag pointing to the lick garnered 53 millions views. Social media users are adamant that they have never seen anyone passing their tongue over the edge of a bat. Many say that kissing the it is not unusual, but licking is totally bizarre. Some even consider the act as targeting China. “故意的呀，谁不知道我们是乒乓球第一 (it’s intentional. Who doesn’t know we’re ping pong’s number one?).” Another added, “我从来没见过哪个运动员有过这动作，不知道为什么要拍成这样。还有谁会再买这个牌子 (I’ve never seen any athele perform such an action. Don’t know why they need to shoot it this way. Who will still buy this brand)?” Would Nike be too busy with the Olympics to notice the furore?

Screen shot: nike/youtube