China, the country that introduced the world to formerly obscure chemicals like melamine and diethylene glycol via a series of product safety scandals, is now hoping to salvage its image through an advertising campaign.
The 30-second ads were commissioned by the Ministry of Commerce and are being broadcast on CNN in the US and Asia, said advertising agency DDB, which made the ad.
The first ad debuted on Nov. 23 and stresses that some Chinese products are made with the help of foreign companies and technology, the ministry said in a statement.
It features a jogger tying the laces of his shoes, which have the label “Made in China with American sports technology” and a model wearing clothes with the label “Made in China with French designers.” Images of MP3 players printed with “Made in China with software from Silicon Valley” are also shown.
A jaunty soundtrack plays over happy Westerners jogging, eating, dancing, posing for a fashion shoot and looking out an aircraft window at a “Made in China, with engineers from all over the world” aircraft engine.
It ends with an American-accented voice saying: “When it says Made-in-China, it really means ‘Made-in-China, Made with the world.’”
The “charm offensive” is designed to promote Chinese-made goods “in a fair and objective way,” to tell overseas consumers “that Chinese companies work with overseas firms to produce quality products,” the English-language China Daily said.
China is struggling to convince a skeptical global audience that it has won a battle to improve safety standards after recent scandals involving everything from pet food and dumplings to children’s toys.
Beijing insists it is getting tough after endless promises to crack down.
Last week, China executed two people for their role in a tainted milk case that killed at least six children and poisoned nearly 300,000 others.
They fell ill last year after drinking milk intentionally laced with melamine, a toxic industrial compound that can give a fake positive on protein tests.
In 2006, around 100 people died in Panama after taking cough syrups containing a Chinese-made sweetner tainted with diethylene glycol, an industrial solvent normally used in antifreeze.
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