Tobacco products once again topped the advertising blacklist in
2006 as a number of cigarette manufacturers tried to find ways to
circumvent the existing ban.
China has banned tobacco advertising since 1992.
However, advertising goes on under various disguises, according
to the latest annual survey of the advertising standards authority
under Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce.
The survey was based on the mass media, from printed
publications, broadcasting networks, to the Internet. It examined
about 3.8 million advertisements.
Nearly 0.3 percent of them came under suspicion of law breaking,
down 0.5 percent from the previous year, the survey showed.
However, the tobacco industry remained the main transgressor for
the second year in a row. It avoided the banned advertising
outlets, and instead switched to sponsorships of sporting events,
cultural events, and "brand stretching" the use of tobacco brands
in conjunction with the other product brands.
"Brand stretching" is widely used in TV commercials.
"The mass media must exercise self-discipline when balancing
profits against the social conscience," said Wang Weiming,
assistant professor with the Beijing-based Communication University
of China.
Also making the blacklist were textiles, medical services,
footwear, and alcohol.
(China Daily February 3, 2007)