An advertisement in Nanjing has recently drawn wide attention in
China for its bad taste. On a large billboard is an advertisement
for a home-furnishing mall, and in a prominent place are huge
Chinese characters which say "What will you think of after you are
well fed and well dressed?" followed by "Guess..." in smaller
characters. The answer is given in even smaller characters-"It is
home furnishing."
All this looks absolutely innocent and commonplace to people
unfamiliar with Chinese culture. But for the majority of Chinese
people, the advertisement has an apparent sexual implication,
because there is a well-known old Chinese saying: "After being well
fed and clothed, one thinks of sexual pleasure." Apparently, the
"sexual pleasure" that has not appeared on the billboard is the
advertisement's hook.
The advertisement has created an uproar in the Chinese media. Some
criticized the advertisement, saying it is immoral. And some others
think that whether the advertisement is negative or positive
depends on how the audience perceives it. The focus of the debate
is: Should the design of an advertisement be restrained by moral
concerns? To what degree should it be censored? And who will do
so?
Tougher Censorship of Ads
Dong Zui (a writer for Worker's Daily): It is really hard to make a
judgment on this advertisement, which apparently contains nothing
obscene or against social moral codes as specified in the Law of
Advertising. "To see whether an advertisement is unacceptable, we
mainly look at whether it contains obvious words related to obscene
deeds or thoughts," explained a local industrial and commercial
administration spokesperson.
However, this doesn't alter the advertisement's "immoral" nature.
Market economy should be both a "legal economy" and a "moral
economy." The so-called "moral economy" means that the product or
service should not stimulate people's unsavory lusts. For instance,
you should neither sell cigarettes and liquor to children, nor
introduce pornographic books or videos to them. It is the same for
selling condoms by giving public demonstrations, which may arouse a
lascivious imagination, no matter how implicitly it is conducted.
Given this, such acts, though not illegal, are "immoral," or go
against social moral codes.
That which is "immoral" brings out the most ugly things in human
hearts. The advertisement in Nanjing, at least, displays what its
designer is "thinking of after being well fed and clothed."
Prof. Bao Zhongwen (former dean of the Chinese Department of Nanjing
University): How can an advertisement in such bad taste be put
up on the street? Obviously, the ad designer simply wants to get
more public attention by playing with that old saying. In this
sense, the ad is flirtatious and misleading. Such an unsavory
advertisement should be removed immediately.
He
Yuan (a Nanjing citizen): Such an advertisement is not only in bad
taste; it shows the advertiser's poor cultivation and character. I
don't think advertisements like this will draw much attention or
generate huge economic returns.
When designing advertisements, many advertisers are trying to do
all they can to create an infinite space for unsavory imagination,
in a bid to draw attention. But that has proved to be stupid. If
they cannot come up with any beautiful and powerful advertising
words, it will be better for them to use simple and straightforward
language.
Liu Yibin (a writer for China Youth Daily): The failure of the
local industrial and commercial administration to prevent the
emergence of such a distasteful advertisement in Nanjing reveals
obvious problems with management over advertising.
Advertising should be seen as a kind of mass media. A large-sized
billboard placed on the center of a big city will reach as far and
create as big an impact as a newspaper with a circulation of tens
of thousands of copies. One feature of advertising is that it is
exposed to all without discrimination. In the case of television
and newspapers, parents may intervene whenever they feel there is
content unsuitable for their children.
Almost every commercial advertisement is conveying certain
ideological and cultural information, including value or moral
orientation and an outlook on life. Yet the Law of Advertising, the
legal basis for the examination of advertisements, has failed to
provide relevant stipulations on ideological censorship. As a
result, we have a large amount of advertisements that either
excessively advocate the pursuit of money and fun, or debase women.
These have become a worrying source of negative influence in our
society.
I
understand that it is difficult to censor the ideological content
of advertisements because of the ambiguity over what is right and
what is wrong. The Law of Advertising stipulates that there should
not be any obvious words related to pornography or unsavory deeds
or thoughts, there should not be any content exaggerating the
advertisers and debasing others. But that is far from enough to
cover every problem.
In
a society with a complete and sound operational mechanism, there
should be a department to intervene whenever the spread of certain
ideological content creates a negative impact on society. The
industrial and commercial administration, which is in charge of
censoring advertisements, should shoulder such social
responsibility.
So
it seems that the industrial and commercial administration really
needs to employ some sociologists, linguists, psychologists and
other professionals. The government should also authorize the
industrial and commercial administration to form an experts'
committee, which will be specifically in charge of censoring the
ideological content of advertisements.
Too Much Ado About an Ad
Han Che (deputy editor-in-chief of Shandong Business News): As we
all know, the function of the industrial and commercial
administration is to manage the market. But some people are saying
that the administration should also be responsible for censoring
people's thoughts.
Those adherent to conventional moral principles believe that the
advertisement in Nanjing has ideological problems because it plays
with the ancient saying that "one thinks of sexual pleasure after
being well fed and well dressed," and such words can be seen on a
big billboard on the main avenue! Some residents in Nanjing feel
that brings shame on the city, some linguists believe it is
pornographically misleading, and some critics are making a big fuss
over it.
Do
we only think of sexual pleasure if we are well fed and clothed? I
think there are actually numerous options, which of course include
"home furnishings." The advertisement has challenged our
traditional concept and set up a small trap for people thinking
linearly, by designing an unexpected answer. This is really very
creative. In terms of the language itself, there is not a single
word that is unsavory or distasteful. So how could it bring shame
on the city or mislead people pornographically?
As
some insightful people pointed out: Although it looks innocent, it
hides a distasteful ideology. In Liu Yibin's article, he argued
that the fact that such an advertisement was allowed to exist shows
"obvious problems with the country's management over advertising."
And he believed the cause is that "the Law of Advertising, the
legal basis of censoring advertisements, has failed to provide
relevant stipulations on ideology censoring." Given this, he
suggested that the government should authorize the industrial and
commercial administration to censor the ideological content of
advertisements.
I
think such a deduction is problematic. It is necessary to conduct
necessary censoring of the content of advertisements. For instance,
some obviously vulgar, insulting and prejudicial language and
pictures should not be allowed, which I think must be stipulated by
the Law of Advertising. But if the industrial and commercial
administration is authorized to inquire into the ideological
implication behind the language of each advertisement, who can
guarantee that the related officials will not abuse their power?
Who can guarantee that such power will not lead to more corruption?
And who knows whether a trend to criminalize people, solely based
on what they have written and said, will emerge in the advertising
sector?
If
the industrial and commercial administration is given the power of
censoring people's ideology, should other departments, which are
just as important, be accorded the same power? And should everyone
conduct self-examination in order to maintain the purity of
society's ideology?
We
are now living in a much more liberalized society, with its
trademarks of ideological emancipation, rule by law and a tolerance
for diversified personalities. Therefore, the management of society
should be conducted within the legal framework, without randomly
and rudely interfering in the rights of the general public. When
someone says, "being well fed and well dressed," people will
believe he or she is hinting at "sexual pleasure," and then will
conclude that he or she has ideological problems. Frankly, I
believe such is the logic of feudal autarchy.
Gao Lixue (a writer for China Youth Daily): Maybe I am a little bit
sensitive to the word of ideology. But I really cannot understand
how the industrial and commercial administration can interfere in
people's thoughts. Is the industrial and commercial administration
"the office of raising morals of business people?" If not, how can
it interfere in language used by advertisers? Of course, everybody
in China knows what comes next "after being well-fed and clothed."
Even without linguists' reminding, I can see the "pornographic
tendency" hidden behind the lines. But tendency is just a tendency.
It doesn't justify the industrial and commercial administration
interfering in what people think, as long as they don't violate the
Law of Advertising.
I
am not saying that the advertiser is innocent. But this is an
embarrassing situation that we have to live with, as long as we
believe in and want to safeguard legal justice. When a table tennis
player makes a touch ball, the referee can do nothing because the
player doesn't break the rules. Rules and laws are, and can only
be, inflexible. A law with great flexibility cannot be regarded as
law.
Ye
Zhenhua (head of the advertising company that designed the
controversial ad): The ad is the result of a sudden five-minute
inspiration. It takes advantage of people's familiarity with the
ancient saying of "after being well fed and well dressed, one
thinks of sexual pleasure." Our primary goal is to catch the eye of
the audience and impress them. In addition, this ad has been
approved by the related departments and is absolutely legal. I
don't think I am using any loopholes, either. In modern times, the
ancient saying should be interpreted in more innovative ways. After
being well fed and clothed, I think we have a lot more to think
about than sex. For instance, we can buy houses or go traveling.
Clothing, food, housing and transportation are the four
intertwining essential needs of human life. So it is quite logical
for us to say, "after being well fed and clothed, one thinks of
furnishing houses."
An
official from Nanjing Administration for Industry and Commerce: We
have approved this billboard. When we decide whether an
advertisement is acceptable or not, we mainly see whether there is
any obvious word related to pornography and unsavory deeds and
thoughts, or any word that tries to exaggerate the advertiser and
debase competitors. We cannot do anything about this kind of "touch
ball."
Related stipulations of the PRC Law of Advertising:
Article 3: Advertisements should be truthful and conform to
the law and the requirements for promoting socialist and ethical
progress.
Article 7: Contents of advertisements should be healthy,
help improve the quality of commodities and services, protect
consumers' rights, observe social, moral and professional ethic
codes, and safeguard the nation's dignity and interests.
Advertisements should not affect public order or run against
prevailing social customs; and they should not contain
pornographic, superstitious, horrifying, violent or disgusting
content.
Article 32: Outdoor advertisements that may affect social
life or work, and tarnish the image of the city, should not be
permitted.
(Beijing
Review, Issue No. 40)