17529: On Trust, Distrust, And Mistrust At WPP.

More About Advertising spotlighted troubles at WPP Media, including:

 

• The former head of WPP’s media operation in China received a life imprisonment sentence for charges stemming from a $176 million scam—and two others were also hit with stiff sentences.

 

• The former head of a GroupM division in New York City filed a ‘whistleblower’ lawsuit, charging he was fired for raising red flags that WPP’s trading division illegally retained profits that should have been passed back to clients.

 

Additionally, there’s a class-action lawsuit filed by shareholders charging WPP with deceptively sugarcoating profits last year.

 

It all makes for bad optics, especially given the single White operating company is restructuring itself as a media-first enterprise.

 

WPP CEO Cindy Rose declared, “We want to be a trusted growth partner for our clients in the era of AI.”

 

The corporate website proclaims, “WPP Is The Trusted Growth Partner For The World’s Leading Brands.”

 

Okay, except WPP displays internal distrust. Media is globally viewed with suspicion and concern by clients. And Adland practitioners are consistently rated among the least-trusted professionals.

 

Trust is earned. So is distrust and mistrust.

 

WPP’s China crisis – why is the holding company so accident-prone?

 

By Stephen Foster

 

Any business handling millions, sometimes billions, of other people’s money on ultra-tight margins is open to fraud, indeed it may be tempted to try itself.

 

The former boss of WPP’s media operation (GroupM) in China has been sentenced to life imprisonment, accused of masterminding a $176m scam. Two others have also received stiff sentences. The Chinese judicial system is hardly famed for its transparency but WPP has been careful to distance itself from the three employees. Its business in China, hardly a surprise, has been hammered.

 

That isn’t the only cloud on the horizon though. Over in NYC there’s what’s being termed a $100m ‘whistleblower’ lawsuit from Richard Foster, one-time head of GroupM’s Motion Content Group (whatever that was) alleging that WPP fired him for raising concerns that WPP’s trading division used client spending power to secure cash rebates and volume-based discounts from media owners, illegally retaining profits rather than passing them back to clients. Ring a bell?

 

Also in NYC, there’s a class action by angry shareholders claiming the company failed to appraise them fully of the collapse in profits last summer which, ultimately, led to the departure of CEO Mark Read. Making overly-optimistic noises can be costly.

 

Finally (and there may of course be more) WPP is involved in a long-running dispute in Kenya with the founder and former CEO of WPP Scangroup Bharat Thakrar alleging that WPP, among other things, has been using Scangroup money to prop up the holding company, to the detriment of Scangroup. It’s redolent of other far-flung WPP disputes including its agencies in Australia.

 

Now WPP may deal with all these issues and emerge smelling of roses but they surely affect its ability to trade its way out of current problems. They must be especially galling for all those people at Ogilvy and VML who have just notched up a stellar Cannes Lions, seemingly doing a great job for their clients despite all the noise (and worse) around them.

 

WPP’s biggest problem – in a competitive field – is debt, around £3bn against a total company value of £2.64bn. New CEO Cindy Rose’s first job is to reverse these positions. But it’s hard to see what else she can sell to do it. It’s already sold out of research (Kantar) and PR (FGS Global) without making much of a dent in the debt. That in itself is something of a puzzle.

 

Then there’s what we might politely called proprietary media trading (or broking), the smokey activity behind many of the above issues, including China where media deals seem to have been carved up in a Shanghai poker game. Almost certainly more such cases will emerge, partly because no-one seems to know whether it’s legal or not. The US courts may help us out.

 

This Cannes Lions should be a turning point for WPP. But there’s still a lot of old baggage lurking in the undergrowth.

17158: Swiss Miss For Swatch.

 

Adweek reported Swatch yanked a “slanted eye” ad in China that received more than an eye roll response. Pulling back lashes prompted a backlash—including calls for a boycott. Looks like Swatch got clocked.

 

Swatch Pulls ‘Slanted Eye’ Ad in China Following Backlash

 

The Swiss watchmaker is now facing a boycott in one of its largest markets

 

By Rebecca Stewart

 

Swatch has removed an ad in China that showed an Asian model pulling the corners of his eyes following backlash online.

 

The image was published as part of a campaign that ran on social media platforms in the country, including Weibo, which has over 580 million users.

 

However, many commentators said the pose appeared to mimic the racist “slanted eye” gesture, historically used to mock Asian people.

 

On Saturday (16 August), Swatch apologized in a statement issued on Instagram and Weibo. The brand said it had “taken note of recent concerns regarding the portrayal of a model” and confirmed it had removed the images.

 

“We sincerely apologize for any distress or misunderstanding this may have caused,” the statement concluded.

Swatch, which also makes Omega, Longines, and Tissot watches, generates around 27% of its revenues in the China, Hong Kong, and Macau region. However, sales in the market fell 14.6% year-on-year in July as demand slumped in China.

 

Despite Swatch’s apology, some consumers are still calling for a boycott of its brands.

One Weibo user with more than 1 million followers accused the company of “racism against Chinese,” suggesting regulators should punish the brand.

 

On Instagram, another critic wrote in a comment: “That wasn’t a mistake, it was a deliberate display of supremacy and dominance over others, embedded in your marketing.”

 

In 2023, French luxury brand Dior faced a similar controversy after running an ad showing an Asian model pulling up the corner of her eye.

 

ADWEEK has reached out to Swatch for a further statement. At the time of writing, it had not replied.

16650: Silence Is Deadly Dumb.

 

This Yeco Coco Chicken campaign is explained as follows:

 

In China, the phenomenon of people being addicted to mobile phones is getting increasingly serious. In 2023, people used their phones 116.3 times and 7.2 hours daily. The addiction of family members to phones has silenced countless families.

 

Yeco Coco Chicken, a Chinese chain restaurant, released a series of posters titled “Silent Families” on May 15th the International Day of Families. Through simple illustrations and strong contrasting colors, the posters exaggerate the lack of communication among family members because of addiction to phones. At the same time, the “close” button in the upper right corner reminds people that they should put down their phones and chat with their family members more to find the taste of home.

 

Okay, but wouldn’t people addicted to mobile phones be too obsessed with their devices to notice analog posters?

 

16425: GroupMoney Problems?

 

Adweek reported WPP CEO Mark Read spoke about the 1.8% decline in revenue for Q3, as well as a plan to simplify GroupM. Maybe the revenue drop—along with potential employment instability at GroupM—prompted certain Chinese executives to resort to desperate and drastic measures…?

16422: WPP GroupMess.

MediaPost reported on a WPP employee in China who was terminated from GroupM after being detained in Shanghai by Chinese authorities. Two former employees were also detained, and the story revealed that GroupM China CEO Patrick Xu was questioned by police. While details were sketchy, the alleged violation involved charges of bribery.

 

One thing is certain—Black-owned media, influencers, and publishers did not financially benefit from the Shanghai shenanigans.

 

Additionally, the scenario lets WPP boast that its people “represent perhaps the most diverse example of criminal diversity of any single organisation.”

 

WPP Employee, Others Under Investigation By Authorities In China

 

By Steve McClellan

 

A GroupM employee and two former employees were detained last week in Shanghai by Chinese authorities, according to multiple reports including the Financial Times (which broke the story) and Reuters.

 

Also GroupM China CEO Patrick Xu was reportedly questioned by police but not detained. Xu is also WPP’s country manager for China.

 

It isn’t precisely clear what is behind the detentions and investigation. A source for Reuters said it was related to “rebate mismanagement,” but that is not confirmed. A WPP statement issued midday Monday indicated that the GroupM executive was arrested on charges of bribery and that he has been terminated from the company. The firm said it was cooperating with Chinese authorities on their investigation and conducting its own separate investigation as well.

 

A source familiar with the situation stressed that WPP itself is not a subject of the investigation being conducted by Chinese authorities. That probe for now is limited to the individuals previously employed by the firm who were detained and others outside of the company.

 

The development is significant as WPP sees Greater China as a major growth driver for the firm. It is the firm’s fourth largest market, and has three major hubs there including campuses in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

 

The third campus opened earlier this year in Guangzhou. At the time, WPP said that 5,000 of the firm’s 8,100 people in the region were located on one of the three main campuses.

 

Here is the full WPP statement issued on Monday:

 

“Following the detention of a GroupM China executive on charges of bribery last week, we are cooperating with the authorities and conducting our own investigation with an independent third party.

 

We cannot comment on the details of an active police investigation. However, we are terminating the executive’s employment with the company, and GroupM is suspending trade with any external organisation we understand to be part of the police enquiries.

 

We are absolutely committed to behaving in accordance with the law and our own code of conduct, and will take all necessary action to ensure this is the case within our business.”

 

This story has been updated with input from WPP and other sources.

16003: KFC WTF Brainwave Bucket BS.

 

Edelman in China is responsible for this thoroughly irresponsible KFC Brainwave Bucket bullshit described as follows:

 

Stress and overthinking is pervasive in the chaotic 24-hour metropolis. Recent studies indicate Hong Kong is one of the most stressful cities in the world and ranks #1 in the stress index of employees all around East Asia. However, scientific findings have shown that comfort food relieves the stress response in the brain. KFC is encouraging Hong Kong’s overthinking citizens to think less and indulge more with Finger Lickin’ Good fried chicken.

 

Therefore we created the KFC Brainwave Bucket — a brain-sensing helmet with a built-in headband that analyses people’s brain activity. The data from the helmet is connected to an app which provides real-time biofeedback showing how active the mind is. The helmet design, and the mind-detecting enclosure, is based on KFC’s iconic bucket. People are invited to sit inside the bucket-esque structure and wear the helmet on their head, after which they’re encouraged to switch off and think less with the help of some Finger Lickin’ Good chicken.

 

A fun and lighthearted way to bring the comforting effects of KFC to Hong Kongers, the event launch is being held at KFC’s flagship store on Oct 22 where customers are invited to try the experience for themselves. Those who embrace the comforting qualities of the Colonel’s signature chicken and stop overthinking are rewarded with more fried chicken!

 

In short, the campaign is encouraging stress eating—which has been shown in ‘scientific findings’ to trigger overeating, obesity and mental health issues. Somebody should examine the heads of the idiots involved with this promotional propaganda.

 

15662: Mercedes-Benz Beauty Standards Car Wreck.

 

The New York Post reported on a video advertisement for Mercedes-Benz that was pulled off the road when Chinese social media took offense, complaining that the campaign pushed “Western beauty ideals for Asian women” and portrayed stereotypical “slanted eyes.” Cultural cluelessness from Germany…? Shocking.

 

Mercedes-Benz removes ad with Chinese model over ‘slanted eye’ backlash

 

By Hannah Sparks

 

Chinese social media has been engrossed in an eye-popping debate over ads depicting alleged Western beauty ideals for Asian women, including the usage of makeup to create stereotypical “slanted eyes.”

 

Mercedes-Benz has reportedly removed a recent video advertisement published on Chinese social network Weibo on Dec. 25, after the brand was criticized for doing up a model’s face to give her exaggerated sloping eyes.

 

“Is there any beauty in this makeup?” one critic wrote. “It is not [open for] interpretation. No Chinese will think this kind of ‘beauty’ is attractive,” another added.

 

The Chinese Communist Party’s Global Times said on Tuesday that the hashtag that translates to “Mercedes-Benz model’s makeup is controversial” had gained over 170 million views on Weibo.

 

“The premise is that Chinese cannot let the West shape our aesthetics,” wrote one critic, per Global Times. “For those malicious slanderers, we should maintain sufficient vigilance and counter-attack.”

 

The Post has reached out to Mercedes-Benz to confirm reports.

 

The luxury carmaker is one of the latest in a spate of controversies to take over Chinese social media, as critics lash out against Western brands for promoting Chinese beauty stereotypes in their ads. Earlier this week, Gucci was similarly called out for a new handbag ad that uses “discriminatory” Chinese features.

 

Communication-law professor Zhu Wei, of the state’s China University of Political Science and Law, said in a statement to the Global Times regarding Gucci’s ad, “This is extremely disrespectful to our culture. The disgust and revulsion expressed by the whole society toward this kind of insult should be heard.”

 

Fellow couturier Dior apologized in November following uproar over a handbag advertisement. Beijing-based photographer Chen Man admitted his “immaturity and ignorance” by “perpetuating racial stereotypes” for the shoot, while the fashion house responded by saying that it “respects the feelings of the Chinese people.”

 

It’s not just the upmarket brands who are said to be out of touch. Last week, a model for Chinese snack brand Three Squirrels stood up against the brand’s detractors, asking, “Am I not Chinese?” Consumers had bristled over an unearthed ad campaign from 2019 featuring model Cai Niang Niang, who some said was played up in the ad for her “overly slanted eyes” and posed with her hair in braids, all of which plays into 19th-century Western stereotypes of Chinese people.

 

She wrote on Weibo on Sunday, according to the South China Morning Post, “With small eyes, am I not Chinese? I totally agree with patriotism. However, creating big problems out of normal matters has become a morbid obsession. I hope everybody can have a healthy mindset.”

15427: China Shows Compassionate Concern For Animal Rights…?

 This PETA campaign from China is explained as follows:

 

Every year, countless animals are injured or killed due to online animal shopping in China. Being aware of this problem, PETA would like to call on actions, hoping people could stop shopping for animals online to protect animals.

 

We chose 3 types of animals that was frequently bought online, and created a surreal rescue scene of unboxing. The moment the package is opened, it seems to be at the scene of a terrible disaster. After a long transit of tortures, the animal is full of blood and wounds, unconscious and desperate. The buyer has to become a rescue team, rushing to save the dying animal. As for the disaster settings, we used the same dramatic way by putting a real catastrophe setting inside different shipping box, and turning the buyer into a rescue team, which largely strengthened the tense atmosphere of rescue.

 

Hmmm. Comparing animal abuse to disasters and catastrophes seems a little harsh even by PETA standards. But coming from China…?

 

15419: Welcome To Miller Bad Timing…

 

Perfect timing, Miller Genuine Draft!

 

14728: Dream Flight, Nightmare Air Disaster.

It kinda looks like these folks are dreaming of airline crashes.

14368: Holding Holding Company CEOs Accountable…?

Newsweek reported on workers at a Chinese home improvement company being whipped with belts—as well as ordered to eat cockroaches and drink urine—for failing to meet sales goals. Imagine if the CEOS of White holding companies were held to similarly rigorous standards of performance and faced such punishments for financial flops? The Big 4 could change their names to WPeePee, Omnicockroach, Pubeltcis Groupe and IPeeG.

Managers Caught on Video Whipping Staff and Forcing Them to Drink Urine for Missing Sales Targets

By David Brennan

Three managers at a home improvement company in China have been jailed after reportedly forcing employees to eat cockroaches and drink urine as punishment for missing sales targets.

According to the South China Morning Post, the abusive behavior came to light after videos emerged on social media showing workers being whipped with a belt and drinking an unidentified yellow liquid while holding their noses.

Though the footage has now been taken down, local media sites were able to capture screenshots of the videos showing abuse. The employees were working for a home renovation company in the southwestern province of Guizhou, the BBC noted.

The footage prompted a wave of outrage as it spread on social media site Weibo. Additional posts allegedly showed screenshots of messages from managers threatening a host of other punishments for workers, including eating cockroaches.

The revelations sparked the hashtag “employees who failed to meet their goals forced to drink urine,” which has now been viewed almost 540,000 times.

The punishments were apparently part of a wider culture of abuse at the company, which included forcing underperforming employees to sell condoms and sanitary pads on the street, drink toilet water or vinegar and have their heads shaved.

Others were forced to eat large amounts of wasabi mustard, China’s Global Times reported. One screengrab translated by the newspaper explained: “If employees couldn’t sign enough orders by the end of the month, their team leader had to eat three cockroaches for every order their team was short.”

Police from the Honghuagang district released a statement describing the incidents “humiliating corporal punishment,” ABC News noted.

The company had also withheld workers’ salaries for the past two months, with employees scared to complain in fear of losing their jobs. One staff member said the managers threatened to reduce their severance pay if they resigned.

Police in Zunyi county arrested three managers, two of whom were sentenced to 10 days in jail and one to five days. The culprits were only identified by their last names—Guo, Cai, and Huang.

The Post suggested that reports of abuse in the workplace are becoming more common as slowing economic growth in China prompts labor unrest and demands for improved worker rights.

Previous reports have detailed workers slapping each other at a company event to improve motivation, or crawling around public roads and kissing dumpsters as punishments or in team-building exercises, the BBC added.

14311: Chop Chop.

This cooking utensils campaign from China would probably not cut it with PETA.

13934: Cookies For Gender Equality.

Gee, even Chinese restaurants are jumping on the diverted diversity bandwagon.

13825: Enter The Little Dragon.

Advertising Age reported China loves hip hop too.

Rapper’s Delight: China’s Hip-Hop Talent Showcase Boosts Brands

By Angela Doland

A rapper named Little Dragon struts across a stage, baseball cap slung low on his forehead. The camera cuts to glistening McDonald’s chicken wings, and Little Dragon plugs the product in a rap couplet—in Mandarin. “Hip-hop snack box/share it and it’s better.”

Welcome to “The Rap of China,” a new singing contest and a major vehicle for sponsorships and product placements. It’s also the first rap talent show in a country not known as a thriving hotbed of hip-hop culture. More: It’s a massive hit. The online video platform that shows it, iQiyi, says there have been over 2 billion combined views in 10 episodes of the show, in which Chinese rappers in huge gold chains and slouchy sweats try to outdo each other.

It’s a success with sponsors too, including local brands Nongfu Spring water and Xiaomi electronics, as well as Absolut vodka, Chevrolet Camaro and McDonald’s. As is standard in China, sponsor content and product placements are a huge part of the show, and nobody is surprised to see a supposed rebel rapping about the pleasure of sharing McDonald’s snack boxes.

Big investment, big payback

Doing a rap show “was kind of a gamble—before it actually started, nobody knew what would happen,” says Kevin Cao, iQiyi’s commercial marketing director. “We put a lot of time and resources into it, investing more than $30 million.” The program has more than made that back, taking in almost $46 million in ads and sponsorships.

One reason for its success is that mainstream stars appear too. Heartthrob Kris Wu, an actor-singer and former boy band member, is a celebrity mentor for the rappers, and though people online mocked his hip-hop credentials, he draws huge audiences. His catchphrase “Can you freestyle?” became a meme that publicized the show all over China’s internet.

Until now, rap had been more subculture in China than mainstream, but nonetheless attracted government attention. In 2015, the Ministry of Culture blacklisted 120 songs, including hip-hop tunes, because of their subject matter (from flatulence to suicide). But the Communist Party apparently doesn’t object to rap music itself, since the state broadcaster put it in a propaganda video in 2015. That song sampled speeches by President Xi Jinping and included lyrics like “Reform the supply side and upgrade the economy.”

Online TV boom

IQiyi, part of Chinese search giant Baidu, originally planned to hold a mainstream singing contest, a common form of TV entertainment in China, and had collected $46 million from sponsors to do so, Cao says. When iQiyi scrapped that project to go the rap route, it returned the $46 million and started over.

China has 751 million people online, according to official statistics, and online TV has been stealing ad dollars away from traditional TV in China as it has elsewhere. Each of the local internet giants owns a big video platform: Baidu has iQiyi, Tencent Holdings has Tencent Video and Alibaba Group Holding owns Youku Tudou. Most of the programming is free to watch, though people who buy subscriptions for a few dollars a month get extra content and see fewer ads. With so many people skipping interruptive ads now, more branded content is being built into the shows, from song lyrics to branded “stickers” dancing across the screens.

Chinese brands, more than multinationals, have embraced the zany sponsorship opportunities as they tend to be more experimental with their marketing. But foreign brands seemed to grasp the potential of rap on the mainland. Ruey Ku, Publicis media content general manager in greater China, says she believes “foreign brands saw the high relevance of hip-hop culture with the youth they’re targeting.”

McDonald’s and Absolut were among three sponsors that came on board before shooting started, iQiyi says. Some sponsors joined afterward. McDonald’s, the second-biggest sponsor, went all in; it tapped Wu to appear in commercials, and it has a snack box to match.

The show’s top sponsorship cost $18 million and went to Chinese water brand Nongfu Spring, the name of which is emblazoned on the show’s logo. That’s at the high end for sponsorships of online TV but still affordable compared with traditional or satellite TV, where prices for a top show can run four times that.

Merchandise is another potential revenue stream. IQiyi created a brand called R!ch for the show, including big golden chain necklaces that feature in the contest. They’re on sale on iQiyi’s online shopping mall for $14 each. The company is also working on licensing deals with other brands.

But one of the biggest beneficiaries of the show has undoubtedly been the New York clothing brand Supreme, which Wu, the show’s star, wears. On search engine Baidu, queries about Supreme are up about 170% this summer compared with the same period last year, according to Kantar Media CIC. That’s just a stroke of luck for the Supreme brand: IQiyi says it’s not a product placement.

13799: Ancient Chinese Sex Secrets.

The Chinese office of a White advertising agency owned by a Japanese holding company produced this campaign for Playboy condoms that would never have been approved in the U.S. Now that’s diversity in action!

13776: Stereotypes Made In China.

Campaign presented “The top five most politically incorrect ads from China”—featuring a collection of culturally clueless communications created by the communist country. Yet when it comes to stereotypical and racist garbage, is China really any worse than the U.S. or U.K.? The offensive shit being excreted by White-dominated countries is no ancient Chinese secret.

The top five most politically incorrect ads from China

There are corners of the world where advertising, even by global brands, seems stuck in an era where wives are compared to used cars.

By Rick Boost

In a new video, we count down through five of the most politically incorrect pieces of marketing to come out of China in recent years.

The digital age has brought about a social justice revolution. Calls worldwide have been deafening for greater scrutiny on brands to censor potentially offensive content. Due to the power of vocal online communities, a poorly received campaign going viral can severely tarnish a company’s image within hours, meaning that advertisers have to keep more culturally aware than ever.

As the leading market in Asia, a lot of attention is focused intently on China. However, though the country’s financial growth has been phenomenal, the evolution of its creative marketing content has faced problems. Clearly, China is not the only APAC country with problematic advertising, but as seen in this video, outrageous claims, overt sexualisation, and a lack of modern sensitivity are fairly regular occurrences. If China wants to stay ahead of competing nations in the region, avoiding brand mishaps like these will be extremely important.