Snickers encourages Chinese kids to fight in public; Parents not impressed.

A Snickers’ TVC (created by Nitro Shanghai) featuring a classroom fight was shown regularly on major TV channels and Mobile TV in public vehicles in China. Soon after, Chinese kids began copy the “fighting with chocolate weapons” featured in the ad for fun in school, in public, and at home.

“Unlimited vitality beats hunger”

Chinese parents and teachers can’t help but show obvious dissatisfaction, while experts point out the ad is against basic moral standards and should be shut down as soon as possible. A Sina poll was launched to gather overall reactions to the ad. 1,259 votes and even more comments on the ads morality were quickly tallied.

Opinion’s of the ad’s morality is mixed; with a slight tilt toward the conservative.

Charlie and the Chocolate World War III
Mr. Liu, father of a 10-year-old boy, frowned at the ad, “Since it’s a food ad, why not spread more nutrition value of the food for kids’ healthy growth?”He told the journalist that his son in primary school had been keen on brandishing a piece of chocolate whenever felt bored at home. Last time his grandpa came to visit but got smashed by chocolate while entering the door. “What’s the idea of asking kids to copy it? I can’t see any positive value.”

“I took my son and nephew taking a bus, and there the Mobile TV was displaying it. They started imitating, pushing and pulling each other right on the spot. The bus was already crowded, and passengers nearby all stared at me. It made me feel so sorry.” Mrs. Zhang also told the journalist that her 7-year-old son and 9-year-old nephew were quite naughty. It was okay if they just made troubles at home, but the ad indeed instigated kids to make a row in public.

Teachers support censorship; say Snickers ad has “misled” kids.
“It’s very funny, very 无厘头(making fun in a meaningless way), interesting.” During the journalist’s interview, some secondary school and primary school students thought the ad of Snickers adopted popular Japan and South Korea Style, which excited and impressed them. When some classmates imitated the fight in the ad, others would LOL.

In the mean time, quite a few teachers disagreed with the ad, “Isn’t this obviously misleading kids?” Zhao, a teacher of a model secondary school complained, “If I see students fighting in the classroom, I would by all means stop them. But the ad is actually all about fighting, choosing classroom as the location and even the scene of chairs all kicked down.” Zhao said, although an ad targeted at kids couldn’t perfectly integrate artistic quality and education, at least it shouldn’t propagandize wrong stuff.

Experts considered the ad unscrupulous
Jiansheng Tang, deputy director of Legal Study Dept. of City Consumer Protection Committee, stated that “Creativity goes with ethic”, according to students’ Code of Conduct, fighting is definitely forbidden, not to mention in a classroom.

It was apparent that the ad targeted at kids, who are characteristic in poor judging ability and strong imitation ones, which made their copying acts inevitable. Tang expressed that Advertising Law contains items as “comply with social morality and professional ethics”, “must not harm the physical and mental health of minors”. The ad was against these basic moral standards – fighting being a bad deed is acquainted to all, but the ad still played it up, which was really kinda “hateful”. Therefore, he appealed for the shutting down of the ad, returning kids a pure audiovisual environment.

Some comments from netizens on the poll:

新浪网友(广西) /(from Guangxi)
Is one still a man if he never fought?

新浪网友(福建泉州) /(from Quanzhou, Fujian)
Accuse Snickers.

新浪网友(陕西西安)/(from Xian, Shaanxi)
How many Chinese ads have ever considered social influences! Just realized now?

新浪网友(四川成都) /(from Chengdu, Sichuan)
Should ban all boxing shows, which are just fighting here and there, no positive value at all, no ethic. And no some Model, beauty competition, gunfight films, ‘cause kids would copy…
Activity is kids’ nature. Do parents like children stay at home, reading all day long and isolated to the outside?

新浪网友(山西) /(from Shanxi)
Pal: this society is without ethic. Money is ethic.

新浪网友(福建三明) /(from Sanming, Fujian)
Got tits is ma. Got money is mum. Ethic has been eaten by dog since long time ago and this is advertisers’ quality.

新浪网友(江西)/(from Jiangxi)
I think the ad’s got some creativity. The 2 people just made some Street Fighters’ pose, no physical touch at all. Besides, no one said it’s children’s food.

新浪网友(上海)/(from Shanghai)
Sigh, it’s hard to be an advertiser. I mean China’s advertisers.

新浪网友(上海) /(from Shanghai)
Various kinds of Health Products tell kids to send gifts, are they healthy ads? Why I don’t see no one ask to ban these ads? How come is Snickers’ ad bloody or violent? Nowadays instructors can’t teach kids well but just look for excuses here and there. If kids push each other on a bus, don’t the parents know to stop and educate? Students’ tussle in classroom doesn’t come after this ad, and if teachers can’t educate, don’t find excuses!

四川手机用户/(Mobile user from Sichuan)
European and U.S.’s ads are filled up of sex, violence and blood scenes, then are their societies losing control? Kids are innocent and need parents’ guidance and illumination. The reason why China’s ads are boring and lack of creativity is largely related to the Chinese conservative views.

新浪网友(广东) /(from Guangdong)
@四川手机用户/(Mobile user from Sichuan)
This is totally taking it for granted. Can you name any European or U.S. ad about kids are “filled up of sex, violence and blood scenes”… Protecting children is a fundamental principle, how can you don’t have this concept?

新浪网友(北京) /(from Beijing)
If this can be called violence, the hurl on streets is way worse than this. Here is not a bit of scratch or even spittle.

湖南手机用户/(Mobile user from Hunan)
You are making something out of damn nothing. Can’t educate children well and just know to blame the outside.

新浪网友(上海) /(from Shanghai)
Psycho. It’s a good ad.

新浪网友(山东) /(from Shandong)
This is not fight at all. It’s not even close to fights in Harbin(Veronica: a northeastern city in China).

新浪网友(广东) /(from Shandong)
I can’t see any problem of it, and the idea is not bad.

新浪网友(浙江)/(from Zhejiang)
Magnifying trivial stuff.

新浪网友(河南郑州) /(from Zhengzhou, Henan)
Creativities dry up because the too much social culture’s frame. Is mentality really so fragile?

新浪网友 hxr1249
Not bad. Beautify many things. Harmonize violence. I think it’s very creative.
How many boys never saw fighting games? Who didn’t contend with buddies for small rarities? Those are all joshes. The world is always accompanied with violence, which is not likely to disappear. What’s important is how we view it. The fairy-tale-like expression in the ad is 100 times’ better than the ugly reality. If this is already violence that we can’t face, shall we not to face reality neither. To refuse to eat for fear of choking is wrong, isn’t it? I also work at designing…

新浪网友(河北保定) /(from Baoding, Hebei)
Chinese’s typical concrete thinking- not how to guide but how to hide. Without ads, these stuffs won’t be seen by kids?

河南手机用户 手机看新闻 /(Mobile user from Henan)
Very creative ad. The previous ad of Snickers was also good. The product tastes good too! Support!

新浪网友(北京) /(from Beijing)
Parents didn’t teach children well and push the responsibility to ads, Chinese… Who doesn’t have those young and naughty years? Why didn’t my son copy it after watching? Normal kids also have thinking and can tell right and wrong, right? The parent in the article, if your kid wants to copy, then you give some appropriate education, and I think the problem will not occur any more. Nowadays parents are all like this- don’t educate children well and blame this or that, like everybody is responsible to teaching your kids. Are Chinese’s minds more and more naïve??

新浪网友(浙江宁波)/(from Zhejiang)
Isn’t this ad quite awesome? Very creative, so much better than those that just wasting money.

Related Posts:

1. Adidas; Perfectly Capturing the Chinese Spirit This series of ads from Adidas capture the Chinese spirit completely. It’s not just the universal hope that any country has of winning the most gold medals; it goes much deeper. As everyone knows, China is one of the oldest...
2. General Motors; How Buick beat Volkswagen in China. GM’s title sponsorship/co-branding with CCTV-4: “Shanghai General Motors reminds you to watch CCTV-4″. This simple ad made Buick the #1 car in China. In 2005 GM’s Buick brand surpassed Volkswagen and claimed the title of top automobile sold in China....
3. “Sissy” star revitalizes Chinese folk arts; represents major Chinese brands. Xiao Shenyang is a recent entertainment phenomenon, not because he’s new to the Chinese folk scene, but because his “sissy” performances breathe new life into an old, tired art form. Renhe’s recent Chinese medicine TVC adopted Xiao Shenyang’s TV comedy...
4. Chinese “Viagra”; He’s good, I’m good; Sex drugs promote family happiness. Chinese are too shy to talk about sex publicly. For the few ads related to sex on TV (there are no Viagra or condom ads on TV in China), they must adopt a fairly indirect and funny way to tell...
5. Pepsi; Inspiring the deaf. The TVC features a young man going through all obstacles and shut himself down from the surrounding denotative “noise” to reach the music stage, which echos with Pepsi’s recently national rock band contest that we have covered in a previous...

Tagged as: Snickers