In what is believed to be a first in Chinese media history, Beijing
Evening News Daily paid tribute to an advertisement which could have
offended political sensibilities in the mainland.
The ad, created by Euro RSCG Great Ocean Partnership Beijing for client
Coolbid.com (www.coolbid.com), was developed using symbols which are
familiar - and potentially sensitive - to consumers in China. One ad
uses a Cultural Revolution symbol showing a group of people raising
their arms to chest level, signalling the power that a united group has.
Another ad (shown above) uses words which, if taken out of context,
might be politically sensitive - an axe can be used to kill people, but
in the Coolbid ad, symbolises the efforts of a group of people to cut
prices.
Coolbid.com was launched last December, and the ad campaign covered
print, the Internet and outdoor.
The ecommerce site turns the traditional notion of auctions on its head
by not selling products to the highest bidder; instead, as more and more
people go online to bid, the prices start falling.
- See pages 20-28 for the new, expanded Internet section in MEDIA,
called CReATION.
