Chinese authorities reportedly fine Wanda's subsidiary firm for illegal advertising

The Chinese government has reportedly fined Chinese property developer Wanda Group (萬達地產) ’s subsidiary named 天津靜海萬海置業 for launching a video ad that contains content related to "Buying a house for daughter-in-law" (買房送媳婦).

According to multiple Chinese reports such as Jiemien News and China News, the Jinghai district division of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) (天津市靜海區市場監督管理局) issued an administrative penalty decision on the company as it independently designed and produced a video ad containing content of "Buying a house for daughter-in-law" and released it on Douyin on 25 October 2022.

The authority determined that such behaviour met the criteria which constitute illegal advertising, and therefore imposed a fine of RMB$30,000 on the company.

According to HKEJ, the company was established in 2021 with a registered capital of RMB$2.4 billion. Meanwhile, Wanda Group holds a 60% stake of it.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Wanda Group for a statement.

Don't miss: Nature Republic aloe vera gel removed from Watsons HK and Wuhan stores over false advertising claims

This isn't the first case of Chinese developer using exaggerated phrases in property ads to catch eyeballs. At the beginning of 2022, a report by Xinhua Daily said a banner advertisement appeared near Liujiang Railway Station in Liujiang District, Guangxi Province, which read, "Buy ×× with a down payment of RMB$30,000, buy a house for your wife."

While in Shenzhen, some developers have recently launched a “buy one, get one free” campaign for their housing projects, according to the Security Times. The report said that one of the options of the campaign was to give away houses built by units or enterprises entrusted by qualified real estate companies or construction units (統建樓), but these houses have not yet been built. 

Related articles:

Lazy Marketing apologises for false advertising: How can adland players safeguard creatives' work?
Nature Republic aloe vera gel removed from Watsons HK and Wuhan stores over false advertising claims
Tesla reportedly fined US$2.2 million by South Korea for false advertising
Tesla sued for 'false advertising' on self-driving cars