Nike challenges Chinese stereotypes, Benetton slammed for migrant ads: International round-up

 

Nike urges Chinese parents not to underestimate their kids

Nike is challenging Chinese parents to stop being overprotective or underestimate their children’s sporting ability through its ‘Don’t Call Me Precious’ campaign.

Produced alongside R/GA Shanghai, the campaign features a series of videos starring some of China’s up and coming sports stars in running boxing, football and basketball – all aged between 10 and 13.

The youngsters can be heard urging the adults in their life to let them have a go.

“You think we’re just kids who need to be protected from tiring ourselves, from failure. In your eyes we’re just supposed to be well-behaved, obedient and adorable. To those who under estimate us, watch this,” they say.

The campaign aims to resist the trend of saccharine parental sentimentality towards children in China with the featured kids making it very clear they don’t want to be babied.

The digital campaign will be supported by out-of-home advertising and a “meme generator” which enables kids to create their own inspirational posters.

Steve Tsoi, vice-president of marketing for Nike Greater China, says: “When it comes to sports, children have the grit, determination and fearlessness of adults.

“They aren’t constrained by their age, but they’re sometimes constrained by parents’ fears of them falling or failing. We wanted to help overcome this overprotectiveness by reframing ‘young athletes’ as athletes who happen to be young,” he says.

READ MORE: Kids in China don’t like to be ‘babied’ – R/GA campaign for Nike

Benetton slammed over ad campaign featuring migrants

Italian clothing firm United Colors of Benetton has been slammed for featuring images of migrants in its latest advertising campaign.

The ads, which appeared online and in Italian newspaper La Repubblica, show migrants being rescued from the Mediterranean Sea.

SOS Méditerranée, the German charity behind the real-life rescue, criticised Benetton for using pictures of “people in distress” claiming it “fully dissociates” itself from the campaign which displays pictures of their team. While Italy’s interior minister Matteo Salvini labelled the concept “despicable”.

Benetton has yet to respond.

READ MORE: Italy migrants: Benetton criticised over ad campaign

Apple fined AU$9m following investigation by Australian consumer watchdog

Apple has been hit with a AU$9m fine from the federal court after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched legal action claiming the tech giant made false and misleading claims to customers with faulty iPhones and iPads.

According to the consumer watchdog, Apple told consumers it couldn’t inspect or repair faulty devices for free if they’d previously been repaired by a third party.

The ACCC launched legal action in April last year after it received numerous complaints regarding “error 53” which reportedly disabled some Apple devices after an operating system update was downloaded.

Apple has since said that between February 2015 to February 2016 it misdirected at least 275 Australian customers who were seeking compensation, according to reports.

ACCC commissioner Sarah Court says: “The court declared the mere fact that an iPhone or iPad had been repaired by someone other than Apple did not, and could not, result in the consumer guarantees ceasing to apply, or the consumer’s right to a remedy being extinguished.”

It is understood Apple has offered to compensate about 5,000 customers whose devices were disabled by “error 53”.

READ MORE: Apple fined $9m for misleading Australian customers with faulty iPhones and iPads

Snickers creates escape room to launch new flavours

Snickers has created an ‘escape room’ called the ‘Hunger Bunker’ to celebrate the launch of its three new flavours in the US – sweet and salty, fiery and espresso.

As part of the experience, which is located in New York City, participants are locked inside the room for a period of time while they attempt to solve a number of puzzles to help them escape.

They will be asked to solve three challenges in 10 minutes. Fail to complete the tasks and the player will either be labelled ‘wimpy’, ‘irritable’ or ‘indecisive’ – each of which is associated with one of the new chocolate bars, which Snickers says can fix their mood.

The new flavours are part of the brand’s wider ‘You’re Not You When You’re Hungry’ campaign.

“Our fans have adventurous tastes and are craving new flavours, and experiences, from Snickers. We feel the Snickers Hunger Bunker is a unique way to highlight the intensity of our new flavours and give our fans a satisfying experience,” says Michael Italia, senior brand manager for the Snickers.

READ MORE: Snickers created a ‘Hunger Bunker’ escape room to launch three new candy bar flavours

Adidas delivers free footballs to Indians through interactive campaign

Indians who work together as a team will be rewarded with free footballs from sportswear giant Adidas.

Leaning on World Cup Fever, Adidas’s latest interactive campaign includes a giant billboard (featuring the word ‘Goal’) in Delhi which has a rope dangling from it. The rope is too heavy for one person to tug but once it is pulled by a number of people it releases a football which the brand hopes will inspire locals to start an impromptu game.

While cricket is its national sport, India’s love of football is growing and Adidas India’s senior marketing director Sean Van Wyk says: “The idea of this innovative billboard was to celebrate and reward the spirit of coming together as a team. The pure joy on their faces to kick the official World Cup football around the field was an amazing sight. Sport really does have the power to change lives.”

The campaign has been promoted across social media and was produced alongside Carat and its sister agency Posterscope.

It is also designed to build awareness of the TelStar, the official football of the Russia World Cup.

READ MORE: Carat World Cup campaign for Adidas delivers free footballs for Indians