A Chinese commercial for Centrum showing Tom Hiddleston cooking breakfast for a mystery woman has gone viral on social media after the British actor shared the ad on his official Weibo page.

Key points: Hiddleston's post of his Centrum ad received 33,000 likes and was shared 17,000 times

Hiddleston's post of his Centrum ad received 33,000 likes and was shared 17,000 times The British actor's almost perfect Chinese accent also won the hearts of his audience

The British actor's almost perfect Chinese accent also won the hearts of his audience The ad is a rare success in Western companies' attempts to target Chinese buyers

The video was filmed from the point of view of the Chinese viewer watching the commercial, making it appear as if Hiddleston was cooking for the viewer.

"Hey, good morning! I finished early, so I popped by and made you breakfast," the English actor said in the video as he handed the breakfast — a heart-shaped fried egg placed on a plate of cold sliced vegetables — to the woman with a guilty smile.

Tens of thousands of Chinese social media users responded positively to the commercial and reposted the video with enthusiasm.

Hiddleston's original post received more than 33,000 likes and was shared 17,000 times on Weibo.

Tom Hiddleston shared the commercial on his official Weibo page. ( Weibo )

While Western fans found the advertisement "creepy" and "uncomfortable", the video with many romantic elements — tailored to the Chinese market — seemed to work like a charm on the targeted audience.

The almost flawless way Hiddleston said "don't forget your Centrum" in Mandarin also won the hearts of his audience.

"I'm going to buy Centrum! No-one can stop me," one Chinese Hiddleston fan with the nickname Lusenji commented below the video, along with many emojis.

Another Weibo user with the nickname Tom Hiddleston's little Sakya, posted: "Husband, I'm buying it now" along with a screenshot of a virtual shopping cart displaying Centrum products.

Centrum ad a rare success for Western companies

Hiddleston gained his popularity from his casting as Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, and his Chinese fans have given him the nickname Dousen, which phonetically sounds the same as part of his surname — ddleston.

In China, Hiddleston is often being compared with another British actor, Benedict Cumberbatch, who also has millions of followers in the country and fans given him his own Chinese nickname, Juanfu, which literally translates to Curly Sherlock.

Hiddleston handed the woman a plate of breakfast including a heart-shaped fried egg. ( Youtube: Torrilla )

Zhang Kuangjie, an assistant professor of marketing from the Nanyang Technological University, told the BBC the ad appealed to the "fans' fantasies".

"The fact that he speaks very good Chinese [in the ad] further adds to [his] likeability," he said.

"For a Chinese woman to be served by a man is not common in Asia, let alone a Caucasian man, so that's something that adds to that [fantasy] element."

The Centrum ad is a rare success in Western companies' attempts to target Chinese buyers.

Global Times, a Chinese state-owned tabloid, published an article in February titled "Why Western brands' Chinese advertisements always make a fool of themselves", which labelled the advertisements culturally insensitive.

Last November, Fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana released an ad showing a woman of an Asian appearance struggling to eat spaghetti with chopsticks.

Many Chinese consumers said the ad was "racist" and have boycotted the company's products until this day.