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t1ons through in China. On entry to Ch ' M g ime 111 getting th eir marketing communica-
required to be unleashed by them thina hcD.onal~ sensed a?out a great market potential which ~
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American company was found very r~ug . rategi~ marketing communicati on. Very soon, therefore , the
attempt McDonald published an d a~ ive _in unfolding a series ~f innovative advertisements. In one such
before a McDonald official a d b a . w fere it was shown that a Chinese customer in kneeling down position
ff . l d th Ch. . n egging or acceptance of his expired discount coupon. In the ad the McDonald
0
ICla assu re e mese customer that his coupon will be honoured since their valid ity had been extended
for the w~ole year. The Chinese public, in general, was not feeling happy about the advertisement and there
was con 5 ,derable un~asiness in the atmosphere. The targeted customers of McDonald, per say, co uld not
understand the mean mg of the ad. First of all, why a consumer would kneel down for a McDonald burger and
second why on earth a Chinese man would be so poor that would compel him even to beg for extension of
a simple discounting period. Different questions were buzzing around the big cities like Shanghai, Shenzhen,
Chengdu , Tianjin, Xiamen and Xi'an where the advertisement was released. McDonald was waiting for increas-
ing customers after the release of the ad but on the contrary it was going down quickly. The company was
soon to realise that they had hurt the feelings of the Chinese customers. Immediately the company issued
statement across the country expressing deep regret over the issue and apologised fo r the mishap. lt t ook
the help of Ronald McDonald, the clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food
restaurant chain, to explain to the public that real intentio_n behind the_ill fated ad "':as to c~eate ~umor. In big
size hoarding it was seen that the Ronald McDo~ald was in a apologet1_c posture with tag line ~ McDonald's
1

humor is 'discounted' this time. On seeing reaction and counter reaction over the ad the China Advertising
Association also came heavily on the compan~. It blamed the company_ for violation of the ~~nd itions of the
sanct· d ch· Ad rtising Association, in fact cleared the advertisement on the cond1t1on that th e Mc
10n or er. . ma ve . h f · f bl'
Donald would not use the kneeling down position int e ma1version meant or the pu 1c.

Source: The China Daily, 23 June 2005.

 ' I

sox 3.11 # onald 's ad banned in China

American fa5t _food _giant M cDonald's had a testi ng time in getting th eir marketing communica- ·, r-j_ - -.
tions_th rough in China. On entry to China McDonald sensed about a great market potential which -
required to be unleashed by them t hrough strategic marketing comm unication. Very soon, therefore, th e
American company was fo und very active in unfolding a series of innovative advertisements. Jn one such
attempt McDonald published an ad where it was shown that a Chinese customer in kneeli ng down po sition
before a McDonald official and begging for acceptance of his expired discount co upon. fn the ad t he M cDonald
official assured th e Chin ese customer that his coupon will be honoured since t heir validity had been extended
for the whol e year. The Chinese public, in general, was not feeling happy about th e advertisement and there
was considerable uneasiness in the atmosphere. The targeted customers of McDonald, per say, could not
understand th e mean ing of the ad. First of all, why a consumer would kneel down fo r a McDonald burger and
second why on earth a Chinese man would be so poor that would compel him even to beg for extensio n of
a simple discounting period. Different questions were buzzing around the big cities like Shanghai, Shenzhen,
Chengdu, Tianjin, Xiamen and Xi'an where the advertisement was released. McDonald was waiting fo r increas-
ing customers after the release of the ad but on the contrary it was going down qu ickly. The company w as
soon to realise that they had hurt the feelings of the Chinese customers. Immediately the company issu ed
statement across the country expressing deep regret over the issue and apologised fo r the mishap. It t oo k
the help of Ronald McDonald, the clown character used as the primary mascot of t he McDonald's fast-food
restaurant chain, to explain to the public that real intention behind the ill fated ad was to create humor. In b ig
size hoarding it was seen that the Ronald McDonald was in a apologetic posture with tag fi ne as "McDona[d 's
humor is discounted' this time. On seeing reaction and counter reaction over the ad the China Advertising
1

Association also came heavily on the company. It blamed the company for violation of t he conditions of the
sanction order. China Advertis ing Association, in fact cleared the advertisement on the condition that the Mc
Donald wou ld not use the kneeling down position in the final version meant for the public.
Source: The China Daily, 23 June 2005.