If seeing this advertisement alone, it will take me some time to find out that is Mao Tze-Tung.
Recently, huangqiu.com (a website belongs to Global Times) reported a German condom advertiser used Mao Tze-Tung’s image on their product advertisement, which was also produced by a world renowned advertising agency, Grey Worldwide. This “brave creativity” raised lots of attention from Chinese people. Below is the new article, and netizen comments from three different popular forums.
Huangqiu.com news article: German experts denounced advertisement insulting Mao Tze-Tung
A German condom advertiser used deceased Chinese former chairman Mao Tze-Tung as the protagonist in their condom advertisement, this series of advertisement also features Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden, in order to show their “creativity”. After this advertisement was published in March, it has been wildly challenged in Germany, especially the anger from oversea Chinese. A local scholar stated that the advertiser despised of discrediting China in order to be outstanding and renowned, this is “unacceptable”.
Adolf Hitler
Lately, a lot of Chinese reported to journalist of Global Times that they saw an advertisement posted on “Ads of the World” website insulted Chinese leader Mao Tze-Tung. After getting the information, the journalist went to the website and found the advertisement which was titled as “Doc Morris Pharmacy: Mao Tze-Tung”. It used Chinese leader’s image, together with Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden to advertise the condom product from a Dutch pharmacy shop.
Osama bin Laden
After that, the Global Times journalist also found out that this advertisement was actually produced by Grey Worldwide, the 2nd largest advertising agency in German. Grey Worldwide has been founded for 50 years, and already set up 428 offices in 97 different countries, which includes Shanghai, China. The journalist tried to call Grey Worldwide on 13th, but since during Easter, no one answered the phone.
Nobody knows whether it was Grey Worldwide didn’t know the advertisement would lead to this kind of consequence or they did it in purpose. Ying Shen, a lady who lives in Berlin expressed her anger to the journalist, she said this advertisement hurt Chinese people’s emotion, and the other party had to apologize. Readers of “Ads of the World” also scored very low for this advertisement, which is 4.5 out of 10. “Associate Chinese leader with Hitler? This is scandalous!” A netizen called Ruipi said.
Alter Burce, an expert of German international media institute explained this advertisement’s original idea in an interview, he said it was created to convert a message as “there is nothing to be afraid of even if it is something as strong as Mao Tze-Tung”; in order to show the condom can provide very strong secure protection. But by doing this, it not only obviously against the base principle in advertising, but also hurt Chinese’s feeling. Alter Burce also stated that “messing up” Chinese leader who is adored by Chinese people with Hitler and Laden was “unacceptable”. Apparently, Grey Worldwide wanted to be different and famous, even at the cost of embarrassing China. According to “Holite Daily” (Sherry: transliteration; a German newspaper), Deutsche Bank has rejected to work with Grey Worldwide because of dissatisfaction of their creative.
This is not the first time that German companies use Chinese leader images in their advertisement. A German insurance company once used Chinese leader as the main character in a TVC; a radio station once even illustrated ornament on a leader’s eyes; some other companies, like Grey Worldwide, juggled Chinese leader images in order to achieve their publicizing purpose. In January 2008, a French company, Citroen, because of juggling Chinese leader Mao Tze-Tung’s image in their advertisement in Spain, made their apology at last (Sherry: didn’t hear about this? Here is a BBC news on it).
Comment from Sohu.com:
搜狐陕西省西安市网友/(from Xian, Shanxi)
Mao Tze-Tung drove invaders out of China which makes him a hero. Chinese people will be agaist whoever scolds him!
搜狐陕西省网友/(from Shanxi)
(The artwork is) Too imaginative, I don’t think it looks alike.
搜狐英国网友/(from England)
It is a nation of no repent.
搜狐网友
Stop the company’s sales in China right now, stop importing all of its products.
搜狐网友
At first I thought German devils were ok, now seems they are the same as Japanese ones. We should resist both Japanese products and German products. German devils have to apologize to Chinese.
搜狐山东省德州市网友/(from Dezhou, Shandong)
Where are hackers? Go and get rid of that website for revenge.
搜狐河南省网友/(from Henan)
Scandalous! Insulting our great Han nation, it must be punished no matter how remote it is!
搜狐陕西省网友/(from Shanxi)
Kao (something like F***)! Why not put Bush with Hitler? Henchman Germans.
搜狐江苏省扬州市网友/(from Yangzhou, Jiangsu)
Support, it favors Mao.
搜狐广东省网友/(from Guangdong)
So our deceased leader is a terrorist?
搜狐辽宁省锦州市网友/(from jinzhou, Liaoning)
Germans still don’t know how to respect others. I start doubt their previous confessions.
搜狐河南省许昌市网友/(from Xuchang, Henan)
Germans have a good insight.
搜狐浙江省杭州市网友/(from Hangzhou, Zhejiang)
Does it really matter about putting whom onto the condom advertisement? Didn’t French still made Sarkozy’s pig head into a WuduDoll (a cursing doll in China)? Even as a prime minister of a nation, he will still lose this case. Change to another view point, this represented the democracy of western countries, can you do that in China? We shouldn’t always think in the Chinese way (which means being used to durance, being used to speaking highly, being used to kingship, being used to idol adoration), and deny other’s acts. I once read an article written by a westerner, which said that as a dictator, Mao and Hitler were viewed similarly by many western people. Although we can’t treat westerner’s opinion as standard, but as a country who is becoming internationally day by day, we need to share thoughts instead of only aiming at convincing others, isn’t it? I don’t think it is an insult!
搜狐广东省广州市网友/(from Guangzhou, Guangdong)
What’s the big deal? Mao is just one of Chinese people.
搜狐网友
Don’t always talk under the banner of Chinese nation; as a Chinese, I hate that. It can only represent the view of a small group of people. I think it is quite normal, if you want to be criticizing, don’t represent me, I think it’s normal!!!
搜狐广东省汕头市网友/(from Cantou, Shandong)
Completely against it.
Strongly call for world widely no condom, natural and environment-friendly.
搜狐江苏省南通市网友/(from Nantong, Jiangsu)
Chinese are too kind. We can also put their leads in advertisements.
搜狐广东省惠州市网友/(from Huizhou, Guangdong)
Pretty good creative work.
搜狐江苏省常州市网友/(from Changzhou, Jiangsu)
Good, with this condom, we can ensure thousands of German women get impregnation, Germans all change into yellow people.
Comment from Tom.com:
TOM火星网友
Nowadays, Europe and U.S. worship “百无禁忌 (Sherry: means nothing can be forbidden)”. This kind of speech and opinion freedom is not what can be easily understood by Chinese, especially by Mainland Chinese base on the education they received. It is an objective truth that the difference of civilian culture is mostly influenced by different polity and media channels. Westerners misunderstand us is because they don’t really know nowadays China, and the reason why Chinese has hatred towards Japan and French etc. is also directed by some political media channels. As we always say that the world is a big family, but no matter how developed the internet is, emotional distance is way more than the real distance. Appropriate nationalism is patriotic, but too much nationalism will destroy the world peace.
TOM浙江省宁波网友/(from Ningbo, Zhejiang)
Please print my name on the condom! Make me feel good!!
TOM湖南省湘潭网友/(from Xiangtan, Hunan)
This is “Western Civilization”.”
TOM澳大利亚网友/(from Australia)
Who is Hitler, who is Laden, putting Grandpa Mao together with them, the implication is clear. Yes, free speech, but it’s not so free that you can scold other’s image. This kind of advertisement implies that “Mao is terrorist and dictator”. It is even more unacceptable than the Citroen advertisment.
TOM广东省深圳福田区网友/(from Futian, Guangdong)
Germans say bad thing of China, we buy American products; America say bad thing of China, we buy Japanese Products; Japan say bad thing of China, we buy French products; France say bad thing of China, we buy German products.
TOM黑龙江省哈尔滨网友/(from Haerbin, Heilongjiang)
Didn’t German media, companies and experts already against it? This is enough.
TOM广东省深圳宝安区网友/(from Baoan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong)
It is a trick and we all got trapped. The more attention, the happier those Germans will be. So we should block all this product related information in China.
TOM广东省深圳网友/(from Shenzhen, Guangdong)
It doesn’t matter whether a cat is black or white, what matters is if it catches mice. Before, the condom was just a European product, now thanks to you all, it’s well-known throughout China.
Comment from Tianya.com:
我能我爽
Don’t worry about it, we can use Hitler for sanitary towel advertisement too.
胡说一句封杀十年
Mao is out of date! Now we use Hu jin tao!
fjf019011
Not my business, not a big deal.
822101
Chairman is still fighting.
牛吃人的圈地运动
So many Chinese out there have too much time.
生下来就很帅
Haha, people all say German are stubborn, I think they are quite quick-minded! Very creative, talented. It makes me want to buy some to try on.
lanbaidoushi
Just look at the fact, (Mao Tze-Tung) married three times in his life (Yang, He, Jiang) (Sherry: these are Mao’s three wives’ last names), several mistresses, dozens of kids He really has a strong sexual desire, suitable to be the speak person for condom.
egun003
I am not mad. It’s not insulting my feeling, so doesn’t represent me.
Hurryhero
If this happens in western world such as U.S., it’s just a small matter; neither civilians nor both parties will mind it.
Laumn
There is nothing to argue about, people’s images are all built by themselves.
烦烦nds
It shows the Chairman’s image is deep in people’s heart.
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zhaoboshujiao
Rand
Adam Minter
KyleChin
bud
Franz
Gene
bengborba
Tom
chad
xBizz
Mao Ruiqi
Charlie Wang
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Mao killed more innocent people than Hitler and Bin Laden put together.
@Harry Poker
Well that’s arguable, but its important to remember Mao started off as a leader that helped the Chinese people first during a pretty turbulent time, and that his intentions were to help, not to hurt (unlike Bin Laden and Hitler). However I agree with the implication that his plans did go off track.
@Rand – Dude, Mao was out to help himself, end of. If he had been out to help China, he would have tried harder to make peace with the KMT, he would have fought the Japanese harder instead of laying back and letting the KMT do the heavy lifting (despite CCP propaganda, no more than 10-20% of the Japanese army was deployed against the communists), he would have continued co-operation with the USSR, he would have refrained from his merciless crushing of his communist party adversaries. The guy was a tin-pot dictator in the mold of Kim Jong Il, Enver Hoxha, Pol Pot etc. Despite the incredible despotism and self-interested nature of his rule, even Stalin did a better job of running the USSR than Mao did of running China – at the end of Stalin’s reign the USSR was a superpower, at the end of Mao’s reign the PRC was a schizophrenic basket-case. Putting Mao in the same league as terrosits and dictators is not wrong – particularly given Mao’s funding of ‘fraternal liberation movements’ (AKA terrorists).
I did read one translated comment above that I agreed with, “搜狐陕西省网友/(from Shanxi)
Kao (something like F***)! Why not put Bush with Hitler? Henchman Germans.”
As an American, born and bred, I would put Bush with this group as well.
@warped0ne
Bush has not such a exciting haircut like the other opinion-rapers in the compain and he was elected by 51% of the americans. That would be bad business for the condom company. Also I would suggest, it was a miscalculation in china since Mao has a big reputation in China.
@xfrontier – These weren’t shown in China; but were found by Chinese netizens on international websites, and then posted in Chinese forums.
Honestly, I am a Chinese and I SERIOUSLY do not see a problem with this.
Yes, Mao is a leader of a PARTY (YES, it’s a party, not OUR COUNTRY. You can even push it back to hell if you DON’T like it). He doesn’t REPRESENT any of us. In fact, if not worst, he only brought China a more sophisticated system where it ensures the absolute power of communism under absolute power from a single leader (which sounds a lot like the kings of old times to me). Which in a sense, brought us backwards with a new governing system. I don’t understand WHY you guys like Mao SO much. Also, please remember he killed, him yes (because he COMMANDED it), KILLED university STUDENTS to ENSURE his position and power. Tanks and Guns vs people with not more than a textbook? Hes a freaking MASS murderer just like Hitler and Bin Ladin, then whats wrong with this ad?
Just one question:
How many people did Mao kill?
@ Rand:
Hitler arguably started off as a leader that helped the German people first during a pretty turbulent time (post-WW1, Germany blamed and broke paying reparations). We can say his intentions were to help (the Germans), not to hurt (the Germans). Hitler advocated taking the piss out on the Jews. Mao advocated taking the piss out on the old moneyed and propertied classes, or pretty much anyone he declared as counter-revolutionary.
The parallels are there, but the company probably shouldn’t look to using such an ad in China.
Hahahha.. funny sh*t… I hate mao …
good Creative, but I regret that your goods will can not enter the Chinese market, it would be a great loss.得不偿失啊,商人.
Perhaps Mao was a good leader, perhaps he wasn’t, the point is that China cannot dictate to the rest of the world what is moral, acceptable or offensive. The ad is funny, it is someone’s opinion, and whether you agree with it or not you should be able to look at it without thinking its a conspiracy on the great Chinese nation.
This is very curious. I don’t see any horrible sovietic leader. May be it’s because they were jew ?
{ 10 trackbacks }
RT @DanHarris: How NOT to market condoms http://is.gd/sQHW Interesting comments- "It shows the Chairman’s image is deep in people’s heart."
April 17, 2009Apparently, Grey Worldwide believes any publicity is good publicity. -RT @lovince @DanHarris: How NOT to market condoms http://is.gd/sQHW
April 17, 2009Mao definitely deserves this http://tinyurl.com/d7fczk
April 17, 2009German Creativity? Grey Worldwide under Chinese fire RT @jlojlo @lovince @DanHarris: How NOT to market condoms http://is.gd/sQHW
April 17, 2009RT @vinz_a: Spermatozoïdes Mao, Hitler et Ben Laden, dans une pub pour des préservatifs : http://tinyurl.com/d7fczk
April 17, 2009RT @egoblog: RT @vinz_a: Spermatozoïdes Mao, Hitler et Ben Laden, dans une pub pour des préservatifs : http://tinyurl.com/d7fczk
April 17, 2009Thoughts on this ad campaign?! It's questionable (and intriguing) on so many levels! http://tinyurl.com/d7fczk
April 19, 2009China Modern Culture: Mixed responses to seeing Mao Tze-Tung’s image used in condom advertisement. http://bit.ly/MmZNV @yinh
May 17, 2009RT @Fiona_S: China Modern Culture: Mixed responses to seeing Mao Zedong’s image used in condom ad. http://bit.ly/MmZNV @yinh
May 17, 2009RT @littleredbook Chinese netizens express mixed responses to seeing Mao's image used in condom advertisement http://bit.ly/ZpJ3C
July 23, 2009