World Cup sponsor Hisense draws attention for bold ad saying 'China comes first'

FIFA World Cup sponsor Hisense has drawn attention for displaying its banner ad with a phrase that allegedly violates the advertising regulations in China.  The banner ad with the phrase “China comes first, the world comes second (中國第一 世界第二)” is placed at an eye-catching spot in the FIFA World Cup stadium in Qatar. This has drawn mixed reactions from Chinese netizens, with some saying the brand was being risky as it might be sued for using banned words on its banner, while some praised the boldness of the brand, a check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw on Weibo.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Hisense for a statement. 

However, the phrase "China comes first" has reportedly violated the domestic advertising regulations in China, according to Sina. According to the Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China, advertisements placed in China should not contain words such as "state level", "highest level" or "the best".

The law applies to commercial advertising activities in China of which commodity dealers or service providers directly or indirectly introduce the commodities or services they promote through certain media and forms. The term "advertiser" as used in this Law refers to a natural person, legal person or organisation that designs, produces and publishes advertisements by itself or entrusts others to promote goods or services.

Meanwhile, FIFA is also partnering Hisense to launch FIFA World Cup Daily, bringing celebrities, creators, influencers and legends together to recap the day's play.

To celebrate the FIFA World Cup's global appeal, the show will take a groundbreaking global and local approach to programming, supplementing the matches and reports with original content from 32 creators, one from each competing country.With each episode running 25 minutes, the show will also make use of FIFA's extensive archive, highlighting some of the greatest and unforgettable moments from past tournaments.

Back in October 2021, Hisense announced to be the official sponsor of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: "Technological innovation is the key focus for FIFA and Hisense to join forces again, through Hisense's leading-edge technology and eco-friendly products, we will jointly establish an immersive football viewing and product experience for global footballers."

Separately, this year's World Cup has already triggered a lot of controversies before kick offs. Most recently, World Cup organiser Qatar has reportedly requested for Budweiser to relocate all its beer tents outside the FIFA World Cup stadiums. According to the New York Times, the highest levels of the Qatari state have delivered a message that all related beer tents must be relocated outside the stadiums and there would be no discussion about it. Qatar is a predominantly Muslim country with limited availability to alcohol.

Previously, a media officer for the Qatar FIFA World Cup organising committee had to step in to halt an interview between World Cup ambassador and former footballer Khalid Salman and German broadcaster ZDF as the ambassador described homosexuality as “damage in the mind”.

(Photo courtesy: Hisense's Weibo)

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