China to Scrutinize Celebrity Endorsements
Ying Zhin | | Aug 31, 2014 02:43 AM EDT |
(Photo : Wordpress)
Efforts to strengthen China's Advertising Law gained ground this week with the filing of a bill that seeks to penalize celebrities who endorse products that fall short of what they promise to do.
The bill, filed before the People's National Congress on Monday, requires that endorsers must try the products themselves before promoting them to the public.
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It is a comprehensive amendment to China's existing Advertising Law, which in recent years has been criticized by consumers for allowing the endorsement of 'fake' products.
If passed, it will mandate the confiscation of the talent fee of any endorser who promotes a product that the public subsequently deems fake or ineffective.
In addition, endorses shall be fined up to twice the amount they were paid for making the endorsement, and shall face other legal liabilities if the products they endorse cause harm to the public.
This proposed measure necessitates that endorsers must first try the products themselves before promoting them to the public, so that their recommendations are based only on factual information as required by law.
Interestingly, the proposed measure will be more of a problem to Chinese male celebrities who have been endorsing feminine care products.
As soon as news of the proposed Advertisement Law amendment made the rounds, consumers took to social media to express their delight, prompting millions of Weibo users to chime in.
They expressed overwhelming support for the measure, which they said was needed to truly protect consumers' interests and rights.
"That's cool! From now on, we'll never see Wang Dongcheng endorsing napkins, Tang Guoqiang selling excavators, and Fu Disheng appearing in ads for feminine care products!," user 2431744157 commented.
Civil law expert Liu Keqi lauded the Advertising Law amendment, saying it would cut down incidents of misled purchases, especially because the public is invariably given to buying products that are endorsed by celebrities they admire.
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