On scenic sidewalks alongside Australia’s Sydney Harbor, a posse of pandas are seen holidaying with reckless abandon. They litter wantonly, spray graffiti and even urinate in public in a trail of pandemonium.

The bizarre spectacle, fortunately, wasn’t real. The boorish bears were actually part of an ad campaign commissioned by China’s state-run broadcaster cajoling Chinese travelers to mind their Ps and Qs while traveling overseas. Or as the ad put it: “Be a good panda, be a good tourist.”

But that message, however well-intentioned, didn’t go down well with many Chinese viewers.

Dozens took to social media to castigate China Central Television, which aired the ad on primetime over the recent National Day holidays, for perpetuating pejorative stereotypes about Chinese tourists.