A PR Lesson: The Chinese Way of Dealing With The Widening Wealth Gap

Mario’s Public Marketing Campaign Idea #2163 – Because rich people are getting too rich, we’re going to stop allowing public billboard advertising of luxury items because it will too painfully remind the poor people who see the luxury ads that the wealth gap between them and the richer rich people is getting bigger. In other words, the rich getting rich is certainly OK, but let’s be sensitive, let’s not throw it in their face. Hmm?…that PR strategy not likely to go over real well at the weekly client brainstorming meeting…

Yet, here it is in the real world:

(March 21, 2011, AFP) “Beijing targets luxury ads amid wealth gap – China’s capital has banned outdoor advertising that promotes hedonistic or high-end lifestyles as the government seeks to ease public concerns about the country’s widening wealth gap.” The Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce said in a recent statement that businesses were given an April 15 deadline to rectify such ads, along with any that excessively promote “foreign” things. It gave no details on which “foreign” things were deemed objectionable. Such promotions help create a politically “unhealthy” climate, it said. Newly forbidden words include “supreme”, “royal”, “luxury” or “high class”, which are widely used in Chinese promotions for houses, vehicles and wines, it said.

Could you imagine the headlines in the U.S. if the government banned luxury advertising on billboards because it made the lower and middle classes feel bad, ie., was “politically unhealthy” ? This is another example of how Beijing’s policy-making approach takes into account the harmony of the society in the decisions they make; a value and concept virtually non-existent in American politics. I would be remiss if I did not point out that Beijing is taking the challenge of improving the live’s of it’s lower income citizens very seriously; unlike we might suggest, the United States where the decline of the middle class is being virtually ignored by politicians who have long since forgotten their role, their duty, and what the words responsible leadership means.

On a related note of luxury according to a post by Tim Wilson at our www.sanyaexpat.com website, For those of you who don’t recognize the word Sanya, that’s on China’s tropical Hainan Island, where property prices went higher than anywhere else in China in 2010.

Foreign-registered yachts will be able to stay in Hainan waters for up to 183 days a year as of April 15, up from the current allowed annual stay of 15 days, according to a Xinhua News Agency report.

The new rules will allow foreign yachts to apply for a pass valid for 30 days, and to extend this pass up to a maximum of two times. Once these passes have expired, the yacht must leave Hainan waters, but can return within the year, enabling the yacht to stay for a combined total of up to 183 days per year. The new regulations will also allow foreign yachts to go through entry and exit procedures at more ports on the island. Chen Zhifeng, deputy chief of Hainan Customs, said that Hainan plans to raise the number of yacht ports on the island to 13, from the current three, according to the report.

Well, once again let’s consider our priorities; the need to balance military security against incoming money. The shores of Hainan Island are dotted with dozens of China’s military bases responsible for patrolling the region’s waters and also supposed home to a not-so-secret nuclear submarine base. So until recently, the coastal waters around the island were not exactly open territory to leisure boating. Yet, common sense and the desire for money begins to itch. Rich people with luxury yachts? And they want to hang out at our island? Heck, let ‘em stay and spend their money!

On that note of riches and splendor, along with stock markets rallying in the face of some of the world’s worst catastrophes, economic uncertainties, costs and suffering, enjoy the weekend. Greed, like it or not, is still winning, folks.

Cheers,

Mario
Shanghai

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