The campaign that went too far?
A campaign about the Beijing Olympics produced for Amnesty International France was considered so aggressive by its creators that they decided to call off its release.
Advertising agency TBWA\Paris did however seek permission from their client to present the project at the Cannes Lions advertising festival. And it even received a prize. Since then the images, which show Chinese prisoners tortured with the help of Olympics sports equipment, have been circulated on blogs and forums in China, causing outrage in the country.
The photos deemed "too aggressive" by their creators
China's fury against the Campaign
Amongst a bombardment of insults and death threats hurled across the web towards France, we found these reasonably moderate opinions on Anti-CNN.com:
"Jarod47":
"Yehao":
"Ahp":
"If the police treated a prisoner like they do in these scenarios, he or she would face serious punishment"
Our Observer posted this comment, directed at TBWA\Paris, on a forum for advertising professionals, Adsoftheworld.com. F Shi works for Ogilvy in Beijing.
Let me tell you about social responsibility. Advertising should be based on the truth. You should be able to tell that an advert is a creation and not a news bulletin. But your campaign, while visually perfect, is lacking accurate information about China. Are you sure that people will be able to tell the difference between a visual creation and a factual message? If the answer is no, then you're making a mistake."
"This was perhaps a little brutal"
Marie Holzman is a French specialist on China and works as a human rights activist with the association "Solidarité Chine"
It makes me think of another case that happened recently. The Samuel Bollendorf exhibition was supposed to have been displayed at the World Forum on Human Rights at the International Convention Centre in Nantes, but some associations opposed it. The organisers compromised: they removed the exhibition, but kept a photo of it on their poster.
If you don't fight against these dictators, they'll eventually arrive on your doorstep. And it's happening faster than I feared."
Comments
Ads on China's Human Right Abuses
Submitted by Gaal Aldrazz on Sat, 19/07/2008 - 09:04.China is certainly a sheer human right abusers but also very focused on achieving development for all its population, thus bringin them out of poverty. For those who have seen what is poverty like, they will understand that any of western huma rigths standards are unfortunately far away from the basic needs of the poor chinese man and woman.
Nevertheless, why should independent association self-censure their work? Isn't it very role in society to bring about the shocking and disturbing facts sot aht our collective opinion may react a little more than the week when Tibetans decided to make their just cause known to the world?
Do we have really have to wait until young Tibetans without hope of a bright and free future resort to an armed struggle?
China is not just a human right abuse but supports worst regimes that perpetuate atrocities for protecting their power in the UN and securing their access to resoruces, like many other western power: Burma, North Korea, Zimbabwe,Sudan and Eritrea are just blatant examples.
What is more concerning to me is the short memory of our collective opinion and our political leaders surfs on this: how can Mr Sarkozy represent France at the opening of the Olympics when Tibet, Burma, Sudan, Zimbabwe are open wounds?
In Today's China, the first
Submitted by Dong X. (not verified) on Fri, 11/07/2008 - 06:03.In Today's China, the first priority is to develop the economy. Don't forget the government needs to bring a quarter of the world population from sheer poverty into prosperity. The Chinese government doesn't have the perfect track record in human right. But feeding and clothing 1.3 billion people are more important than allowing dissidents to express his opinions especially when such expression might instigate social unrest. China is at a different stage than the western country when human rights are concerned.
Today accusing the Chinese government of human right violation is utterly unpopular among the average Chinese people. There are no people who need more freedom in China than the Chinese. Isn't it ironic that the ultimate human right beneficiaries would reject western's "good-will" calling?
China/human rights
Submitted by Nick Bowman (not verified) on Thu, 10/07/2008 - 15:26.It seems to me that we remain far too ethno-centric when we look at the Chinese situation. I would be the last person to support human rights abuses, but the Chinese perspective is different from a wetern perspective. In order to feed and house it's population the Chinese have always put the needs of the state above the rights of the individual. Individuals that threaten the state and disruption of Chinese society are therefore treated more harshly than we in the west regard as fair and reasonable. In London or Paris, freedom of speech and action within a liberal society is what we have been brought up to enjoy...but those same freedoms are not necessarily right for a different society with different values. And we should respect the rights of different cultures to operate differently to our own.
China kills most people
Submitted by Rangzen (not verified) on Thu, 10/07/2008 - 11:42.China's human rights condition is the worst in the world. One fact is very clear that China executes more people in a year than the rest of the world put together. China's human rights record in Tibet is appalling. Hundreds of Tibetan protesters have been disappeared the March protests this year. Relatives of those disappeared protesters still have no idea where they are and what happened to them.