An advertisement for a product promising to increase a woman's breast has triggered a flurry of comments from users, many of whom said the advertisement was degrading to women and akin to pornography. ― Picture from D’Herbs Healthy Sdn Bhd

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 ― An advertisement for a product promising to increase a woman's breast size from a “B” to “D” cup has earned local beauty and health firm D'Herbs Holdings vitriol from Internet users who panned the promotion for being discriminatory and lewd.

The clip posted last week on the MuahSetapak.com Facebook page has since been shared over 6,500 times, liked by over 2,700 people, and triggered a flurry of comments from users, many of whom said the advertisement was degrading to women and akin to pornography.

Some users, however, questioned the authenticity of the video.

In response, Liana Rosli, the woman who played the wife who consumes the breast enhancement powder in the advertisement, confirmed that it was created to promote “Payu Up Collagen” by D'Herbs and that she was paid RM400 for the role.

Liana, who is the daughter of another known local actress Normah Damanhuri, said that she had not expected that the video would go viral on social media or receive such criticism.

“I was aware we were shooting for this product. But I did not expect it would go viral the way it did.

“At this time, I cannot comment further as I do not want more people to get sensitive about this issue,” she said when contacted by Malay Mail Online's ProjekMMO team.

“But what I can state is that Datuk said the video was meant to 'viralkan' his product... so that is enough, I cannot explain further,” added Liana.

Iklan nak bagi tetek beso dari D'HERBS terlajak laris macam KimK. Dah serupa promo movie porn BangBros dah.. Posted by MuahSetapak.com on Friday, December 4, 2015

The advertisement was first uploaded several days ago on the personal Facebook page of Datuk Aliff Syukri, the founder of D'Herbs, but was later taken down following criticism by his followers.

It was uploaded again last Friday, however, on the MuahSetapak.com page and has since been viewed over 680,000 times.

The 2-minute-40-second advertisement shows a male actor looking longingly at a pair of pink balloons and then again at a two melons until his wife, depicted here as flat, white cardboard piece, shakes him out of his stupor.

The video later shows the “cardboard” wife consuming D'Herb's “Payu Up Collagen” and transforming into a well-endowed woman who triggers the man's erection.

“Wrong on so many levels,” Facebook user Jeffri Nasir said in his comment, which has been liked nearly 2,000 times.

“[The advertisement] insults women/wives by depicting her as a cardboard, when small breasts are natural and due to genetics. It sells a herbal product that is not clear about its contents and has not been medically-proven to be a breast enlargement product.

“It uses a transgender model also known as 'maknyah' who actually uses hormone pills to increase her breast size, hormones that real women already have. It is grossly indecent as an advertisement for the general public.

“It also depicts the man as a stupid husband who has nothing else better to do with his time than daydream about objects resembling women's breasts,” he added in the lengthy post.

In another comment, Facebook user Jebat Tuah said he prefers a woman with a regular-sized bosom.

“I don't look at a person’s body, I want a heart that gives love sincerely,” he said.

“And not all men spend 24 hours in a day, seven days a week thinking about breasts and women's buttocks. I think about games, work, what my parents ate today and whether they are in good health, about bills to pay.

“I don't have the time to think about whether a woman has large assets or not,” the user added.

Faced with criticism, Aliff has since taken to Instagram to explain that the advertisement was a mere parody that was recorded in a contest with other applicants.

He also apologised to those who were involved in its production.

“To those who joined the parody/advertisement contest by D'Herbs, I apologise for touching on the sensitivities of others. I, on behalf of those involved, apologise,” he said on his personal Instagram page @aliffsyukriterlajaklaris.

kepada yg join contest perodi/iklan dherbs mohon jaga sensitiviti masyakat���� sy on behalf peserta yg joint contest memohon maaf.. A photo posted by abang terlajak laris (@aliffsyukriterlajaklaris) on Dec 5, 2015 at 3:54am PST

At the time of writing, ProjekMMO has not been able to independently verify if the parody advertisement contest exists and is trying to get in touch with Aliff.