CCTV forces celebrity duo off the air

Korean celebrity Kim Hee Sun, who stars in local conglomerate TCL's mobile phone campaign, and China's national football coach Bora Milutinovic, a spokesman for four local brands, had their ads pulled. "Media reports don't offer a cause, implications or whether the ban will be extended to local and provincial stations, said an agency chief. Agencies speculate that the ban could be linked to China's first-ever qualification for the World Cup, which authorities have used to whip up patriotic sentiment.

"I'm guessing that as soon as World Cup fever dies down and the Government stops using it to unify the nation, the ban will be lifted," said J. Walter Thompson's Northeast Asia area director Tom Doctoroff.

There is however concern that CCTV could "strong arm the Government into expanding the ban to provincial stations. If this happens, agencies believe the ban will have a greater impact on local brands and agencies than their multinational counterparts. "(Local brands) think foreign celebrities add respectability. But as an equity building proposition, foreign celebrities don't work that well in China, said the agency head.