In this online age, everyone airs their opinion and comments in almost about everything - and advertisement doesn't shy away from it. In Hong Kong, people often perceive some ads as insensitive. There are even complaints about sexism, racism, and being disrespectful.
According to the South China Morning Post, the latest advertisement that raised some viewers' eyebrows is Hong Kong Tourism Board's advert to promote Kowloon's district, Sham Shui Po. The ad was first launched by Discover Hong Kong on Twitter on October 10, and it quickly received a lot of negative comments.
Here, a woman is about to leave Hong Kong to study photography in another country, but her passport went missing. She then saw clues of her passport's whereabouts written by her boyfriend, so she started to search for it around Sham Shui Po.
The woman found herself at an electronics open-air bazaar in Ap Liu Street and ended in a photo equipment shop. The guy waited for her to come by and gave her a camera as a gift for her photography class before they part ways.
However, instead of seeing the ad as a romantic gesture, critics saw it as abusive. Some even said that it is "promoting abusive relationships." Some of the comments read it was "coercive," and the man stealing his girlfriend's passport implied that it was okay to "violate human rights."
AdFest Asia-Pacific president and LEO Digital Network chief creative officer, who created almost 200 TV ads for different brands, said that people complain about almost everything today. "The Tourism Board's advert is just an intimate portrayal [of a couple's relationship]," he said. He then explained that the boyfriend didn't take his girlfriend's passport with force. It was also common for a couple to trick each other and playfully hide something from them. The guy only wanted to give his girl a surprise gift before she leaves. "What's abusive about it?" he asked.
Yahoo News Singapore reported that advertising industry works so hard to get the attention of its potential clients or buyers. It often uses exaggeration and overstatement to put some impact on their ad, but it always falls victim to online detractors.
Another commercial in Hong Kong that receives negative comments is Audi's ad about a middle-aged woman who eyed her son's fiancé at their wedding. She carefully examined the girl to see if she meets the standards she wants for her child. Some people find it as "sexist trash," which made the brand apologized.
Another one that is victimized by the detractors is Ikea. The ad shows a mother scolding her daughter for not bringing her boyfriend to home to meet her parents. The Swedish furniture received criticisms that its commercial "discriminated single women." It then apologized and stopped its advertisement's airing.
Lastly, KFC's campaign featuring a chicken dancing while its head is getting slaughtered in the UK caused an outcry. It received over 750 complaints. Whiners said it was disrespectful and disturbing for vegetarians, vegans, and children to watch. But UK's Advertising Standards Authority stood on its ground and didn't ban the commercial. It said the ad didn't have any "explicit references to animal slaughter" and didn't cause any severe offenses.
