Photo: Screenshot of Geely account at Toutiao

Chinese automaker Geely on Wednesday apologized for an advertisement that some say used an image of a Y-20, a military transport aircraft, after the China Aviation Industry Culture Center last week urged the company to withdraw the advertisement.

Geely denied that the image in question contained a Y-20 aircraft, saying it was a copyrighted stock image brought and downloaded by an advertisement design firm in Shanghai that Geely hired for the campaign. 

The image was used only to demonstrate the car's sizeable interior, Geely said in the statement, but it apologized for reposting content made by internet users that associates the car with the Y-20 aircraft. Geely has been using the advertisement as early as the beginning of April.

After discussions with the China Aviation Industry Culture Center, a subsidiary of the State-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the advertisement was withdrawn, Geely said. 

Earlier this week the center sent a letter to Geely, calling on the company to cease using the image of the Y-20 without AVIC authorization and demanding immediate deletion and an apology. 

According to the AVIC letter, Geely had taken an image from a Y-20 commercial advertisement used in March and July without authorization, and the carmaker has been publishing content on media platforms such as Toutiao.

"It is false advertisement and has infringed on the legitimate rights of AVIC," the letter read, going on to demand Geely's written reply within seven days. 

Global Times