Furniture retailer Ikea China has apologised and retracted a commercial criticised for allegedly prejudice toward single people.

Public backlash was aired on social media following the appearance of the 30-second advertisement, with the tagline “Celebrate every day in an easy way”, on Sina Weibo.

It featured a woman harshly telling her daughter over dinner, “Don’t call me ‘mom’ anymore if you cannot bring a boyfriend home”.

It then lightened up when the doorbell rang and a young man was revealed holding flowers, reports Marketing Interactive. The daughter coyly introduced him as her boyfriend, and suddenly Ikea furniture popped up all over the living room. The dinner then turned into a welcome party.