Posted on 12/06/2004 12:32:36 PM PST by BenLurkin
BEIJING (AP) - China has banned a Nike television commercial showing U.S. basketball star LeBron James in a battle with an animated cartoon kung fu master, saying the ad insults Chinese national dignity. The commercial, titled "Chamber of Fear," was broadcast on local Chinese stations and on state television's national sports channel before being pulled last month. It shows James, the Cleveland Cavaliers' reigning NBA rookie of the year, in a video game-style setting defeating the kung fu master, two women in traditional Chinese attire and a pair of dragons, considered a sacred symbol in traditional Chinese culture.
The advertisement "violates regulations that mandate that all advertisements in China should uphold national dignity and interest and respect the motherland's culture," the State Administration for Radio, Film and Television said on a statement posted Monday on its Web site.
"It also goes against rules that require ads not to contain content that blasphemes national practices and cultures."
The statement added: "The ad has received an indignant response from Chinese viewers."
It did not say why the advertisement was considered offensive. But communist officials are sensitive about the use of Chinese cultural symbols by Westerners, and might have been especially angered that the Nike advertisement showed the foreigner winning the fight.
Maurice Zhou, a spokesman in Shanghai for Beaverton, Oregon-based Nike Inc. said the company had no response except to say that it "respected the government's decision."
"We respect and follow the Chinese government's laws and regulations," Zhou said. He said he could not elaborate.
The Chinese television regulator tightened controls over programming in May by prohibiting the use of English words and imported programs that promote "Western ideology and politics."
The Nike advertisement is part of fast-growing foreign efforts to cash in on the huge popularity of basketball in China and the celebrity of James and other NBA players.
Nike based the ads for the 19-year-old James' Air Zoom LeBron II sneakers on films featuring martial arts icon Bruce Lee. James, who is a fan of Lee's work, said he was sorry that some found the ads offensive.
"It was never intended to hurt anybody or any culture or anything like that" James said following practice in Cleveland on Monday. "We put the ads together basically for kids."
James signed a seven-year, $90 million endorsement deal with Nike shortly before turning pro.
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Associated Press sports writer Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed to this report.
AP-ES-12-06-04 1518EST
"We respect and follow the Chinese government's laws and regulations," Zhou said. He said he could not elaborate.
Spineless toadies.
The bigger issue is that the Chinese communist are currently holding tho their own warped view of "nationalism" which is a Nazi like Nationalism on all levels -- including this racial/ethnic issue of the superiority of their race and culture.
The Chinese government is a disgrace to Chinese national dignity.
Oh, and Go Cavs.
"The bigger issue is that the Chinese communist are currently holding tho their own warped view of "nationalism" which is a Nazi like Nationalism on all levels -- including this racial/ethnic issue of the superiority of their race and culture."
Absolutely correct.
The Chicom regime IS an insult to China's nation dignity.
So silly that the CCP bans this commercial and yet refuses to apologize for the many crimes against Chinese culture that they themselves have committed. No one has done so much damage to traditional Chinese culture as the Chinese communist party.
Uh, yeah. Hello, Cultural Revolution anyone? What a bunch of hypocrites.
Hey, forget the Chinese, what do you have against AMD?
Those 64-bit processors rule the roost. :)
The NBA is an insult to basketball.
I have nothing against AMD...thats why I have over 3000 posts at the official AMD processor support forum!
MD
They seem to be top dog now, don't they? Very impressive, considering the firepower stacked against them!
This is kind of ridiculous, considering the fact that the current Chinese regime is one of the biggest human rights violators. They've taken over Tibet and murdered thousands of people there, and they crack down hard on any religion practiced at all (Christianity, Buddhism, Falun Gong, you name it). As far as "protecting" Chinese culture, that's fairly laughable. They will sell anyone up the river, as long as it's them making the buck.
I guess they tried to "sneak" one over on the Chinese....
And then, at the end of the video, he charges into the stands and delivers a wild-eyed smack-down to numerous fans...
He defeats the kung fu master by scoring 2 points! Obviously kung fu masters are not masters of the half court press.
I think Marvel comics needs to create a new superhero - Dunkman. This Black superhero challenges the forces of evil to games of 21. We know who always wins...
No. Not the Cavs!
Not really...Chipzilla is getting too big for it's britches. Overall AMD is leading in Price, Quality, Features, Innovation, Performance, & Power usage. Even Intels golden boy's over at DELL are feeling the heat from consumers that want to have an AMD cpu in there DELL machine...
MD
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