[Updated] Spartan Sweetie Salad Saga Turns Sour

Margaux Schreurs | Jul 23, 2015 11:00 am | 3 comments | 10734 reads

[Updated 7/23, 3.20pm] Read a translation of Sweetie Salad's public apology below.

No, they were not protesting something important, like the Fall of Carthage, and this most certainly isn't Sparta. On Wednesday, approximately two dozen scantily clad "aliens" took to the streets of Sanlitun, wearing nothing more than thin straps of leather to hold back their bulbous pectorals, out on the prowl to promote shake salads from Sweetie Salad.

Unfortunately, the salad saga didn’t end so sweetly, as an unspecified number of the models were arrested and dragged away by the Beijing police for "affecting public order," according to the Global Times. Photos quickly made the rounds on WeChat and the Internet, including yours we presume, showing their orderly formations at Guomao and their tragic downfall on a bridge in Sanlitun.

Allegedly, the Spartans ignored many warnings before the police stopped them in their path. We will keep you updated as more information comes in.

This is the second viral event that Sanlitun has been home to in the past week, after last week's video of a couple having sex in the Uniqlo dressing rooms was apparently seen by everyone in the entire world. Stay classy, SLT.

Sweetie Salad released a public apology on Thursday afternoon, which you can read translated below:

Letter from Sweetie Salad,

Our "Spartans" event yesterday generated far more interest than we had expected. Due to this, the police came and helped us handle the situation and disperse the crowd. Our company had thorough and sincere communication with the police last night regarding the unexpected enthusiasm that arose from the extreme popularity of our event, and there are no more misunderstanding between us and the police. 

“Spartans” was part of Sweetie Salad’s one year anniversary events. The purpose of this event was to highlight Sweetie Salad’s core values, which stand for a nutritious diet and a healthy lifestyle. In order to promote these values, we decided to use the image of Spartans, and hired strong and handsome foreign models as a way to encourage our prospective customers to keep a healthy body shape. 

After the incident yesterday, we sincerely acknowledge our lack of experience in organizing large scale, offline events as a startup company. We abided by the instructions from the police. In the future, we will advertize our brand and core values and serve our customers without affecting public order. 

Thank you for your concern and thank you for your support. Moreover, we truly thank the police for giving us assistance and instruction during our event. 

P.S. We are sorry for all of those concerned about this incident. We will strive to make better products and will pass on the healthy lifestyle to others.

Additional translation by Patrick Li.

More stories by this author here.
Email: margauxschreurs@truerun.com
Instagram: s.xuagram

Photos: ifeng.com

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lynxlynx's picture lynxlynx Submitted by Guest on Thu, 07/30/2015 - 00:42

Guest wrote:

This was the last thing I wanted to see. A group of Europeans disrespecting other cultures as usual. Recently back from my trip to China, I was discussted how foreigners treat or even discuss the Chinese. It is a pity you have lost all aspects of respect to other people. And you surely are not superior to anyone!

What you want to see is irrelevant in this context. They might have been Europeans, they might also be not; the only disrespect comes from your side as you think you can bitch around here as an anon; If you met people disgusting you (spelling, my friend), then you hang out with the wrong kind of people. And regarding superiority: have a talk with some hardcore Han-Chinese how they feel about Tibetans or Mongolians, for example. And then chat with them about "respect".

lynxlynx's picture lynxlynx Submitted by Guest on Thu, 07/23/2015 - 20:53

Guest wrote:

The Chinese have to be the biggest screwups in the known universe. If this were any NORMAL country, the police would have smiled and let it go. But China isn't normal. Unless stupid is the new normal...

Nothing stupid about this here: they obviously had no permission and they also obviously ignored warnings from the police who showed up to end the ... "event". Now the cops here are for sure what they are, but also in the West you need a permission for stunts like that - a formality, yes, but still necessary. And you certainly do not know even a single bum cheeck of the universe, princess, because if you think you can ignore instructions from a police officer just because you are a laowai, half naked or from the 6th century B.C., then it always results in something with the fine name of "obstructing an officer in the performance of his duties" - which usually ends not good in any country, including the normal ones. In Germany, for example, the officer might take you by the hand and start dancing your name with you, which is always sth. difficult and shameful to explain once your friends find out about online. In the U.S., on the other hand, people "obstructing an officer in the performance of his duties" might get shot these days, as it already happened occasionally; well, at least if they are coloured or Latino. So much for "normal" and "screwups".

Sweetie Salad's public apology, however, is a masterpiece, a joy to read.

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