China tightens up TV ad rules

Sport is popular theme in advertising

China is to tighten up rules on television advertising after a row over a commercial for Nike sports shoes, the country's TV watchdog has said.

Nike last week apologised for an advert showing basketball star LeBron James defeating a cartoon Kung Fu fighter, two dragons and a Chinese woman.

Chinese officials banned the advert as offensive to national dignity.

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) is to publish new rules by April 2005.

The rules will improve the examination of TV advertising content, the official Xinhua news agency quoted SARFT deputy director Ren Qian as saying.

New benchmark

Mr Ren said the guidelines will focus on the design, image, taste and possible psychological impact of adverts.

Beijing has long had tight restrictions on portrayals of nudity or sex.

The US sportswear giant's ad campaign fell foul of rules stating that "all ads in China should uphold national dignity" and respect Chinese culture.

Japanese car maker Toyota suffered a similar fate earlier this year with an advertisement showing traditional Chinese stone lions bowing down in front of a Toyota car.

In its apology, Nike said its advert - styled like a video game, and entitled 'Chamber of Fear' - had been intended to emulate Hong Kong martial arts movies. It was aired on Chinese television before being banned.

"We hope the new regulations will set a distinct criterion for both domestic and overseas ad producers and effectively prevent the recurrence of commercials like 'Chamber of Fear'," said Mr Ren.

The crackdown will apply equally to advertising by Chinese companies. Mr Ren said many of their adverts were tasteless and vulgar, with too much sexual innuendo.

China's Communist government is sensitive about the use of Chinese cultural symbols by the West.

SARFT recently tightened controls on the use of English words on TV, and programmes that promoted "Western ideology and politics".

China's advertising market is growing fast as domestic and foreign firms try to tap the growing consumer power of its 1.3 billion people.