Pizzahut ad removed after visually impaired protest

Pizzahut withdrew a 15-second advertisement in Zhengzhou after accusations it made fun of the visually impaired.

People with visual impairments protested in front of a Pizzahut restaurant at the intersection of Er Qi Road and Dong Taikang Road at 10 am on Wednesday. They said the Pizzahut ad was discriminatory.

The online ad tried to introduce a shrimp ball, Pizzahut's latest product, by making a pun. In Chinese, "shrimp" and "blindness" share the same sound.

The advertisement portrayed a shrimp, holding a walking stick, rolling and forming a ball as the Chinese character for "blindness" appears on screen.

Fu Long, who is visually impaired, said the advertisement was hurtful. The protester requested Pizzahut to withdraw the ad and post an apology.

"I hope Pizzahut will no longer produce ads that target minorities," Fu said.

In response to the protest, Pizzahut issued an apology on its website.