This article is from WeChat official account:China-Singapore Jingwei (ID: jwview), author: Yan Shu Xin, from the title figure: vision China
Recently, RT-Mart has been “scolded” by hot searches for a list of women’s size recommendations. Although RT-Mart later publicly apologized for its “sparse” statement, it still failed to quell the “popular anger.” Many netizens left messages, hoping that relevant departments would punish them.
The lawyer pointed out that RT-Mart’s actions may have harmed the dignity of some consumers. According to the Consumer Rights Protection Law, in addition to fines, those who engage in such behaviors that damage the dignity of consumers may also face the risk of being ordered to suspend business for rectification and revoking their business licenses.
It is worth mentioning that in recent years, similar incidents have occurred frequently. Three years ago, Juewei Duck Neck was fined 600,000 yuan by the industry and commerce department for “Opening Huangqiang”, a preheating poster for “Double Eleven”.
1. RT-Mart was “cured” on hot search
On the evening of November 11th, some netizens posted a photo from RT-Mart’s women’s size suggestion table. In the size specification column, S corresponds to thin, M corresponds to beauty, L corresponds to “bad”, and XL corresponds to “sparse”. XXL corresponds to “sloppy”. At the same time, the women’s size suggestion form is also marked “only for girls between 18 and 35 years old, please consult customer service according to the body shape”.
▲ Screenshot of RT-Mart’s Women’s Size Suggestion Form on Weibo
After the above photos were exposed, it caused heated discussions among netizens. Some people said, “What is the meaning of such bad language besides selling figure and age anxiety”; some people think that RT-Mart’s behavior is “naked insults to women”; some people feel incredible, “No, no supermarket. Don’t dare to offend guests like this, don’t spray, I doubt the truth.”
However, RT-Mart soon came out to “claim” it. At noon on November 12, RT-Mart’s official Weibo issued an apology letter stating that some RT-Mart stores had improper wording on promotional materials recently, which caused discomfort to the public. RT-Mart apologizes for this matter.
RT-Mart stated that it thoroughly inspected all RT-Mart stores immediately after the incident. After investigation, it was confirmed that there was such a situation in one store. The headquarters has quickly requested the store to remove the problematic promotional materials. RT-Mart will strengthen internal management in the future to ensure that such incidents do not occur again.
▲ RT-Mart’s Weibo release statement response
However, some netizens did not buy it for RT-Mart’s response:
@波波酱啊: It’s just that it’s not good to withdraw the materials, you have to fine it according to regulations!
@舟行处-Eating fish meat: I hope to find out the instigator, is it the eyeball of any means, or the operation of capital?
@包包大人 was a little busy 02: During the whole process of hanging up, no one felt wrong?
@絔家小柒: Don’t apologize, I suggest you drag out the person who posted this sign, let us appreciate it.
@啃着水瓜的羊咩咩: Who can write such a thing? Can you pass the trial?
China-Singapore Jingwei reporters noticed that on November 12, the topic #大润发就女 Size Suggestion Form Apologies# once appeared on Weibo hot search. As of the morning of November 13, it had more than 270 million views.
According to Wind data, RT-Mart is affiliated with Sun Art Retail, which is a Hong Kong-listed company. In the first half of 2020, Sun Art Retail achieved total operating income of 53.562 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.97%; net profit was 2.062 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.76%. As of the close of November 12, Sun Art Retail reported at HK$8.24 per share, down 0.72%.
Second, “sparse” expression is suspected of being illegal?
China-Singapore Jingwei reporter noticed that after RT-Mart issued an apology statement, some netizens said that RT-Mart’s actions were suspected of demeaning and insulting women, and hoped that relevant departments would punish them.
So, is RT-Mart’s expression of “sloppy” illegal or illegal?
Beijing Yunjia Law Firm, Zhao Zhanzhu, pointed out to Zhongxin Jingwei (WeChat ID: jwview) that protection of consumer rights The law stipulates that consumers have the right to respect their personal dignity, national customs and habits, and the right to protect their personal information in accordance with the law when purchasing, using goods and receiving services.
“The practice of RT-Mart may damage the dignity of some consumers.”Zhao Occupation said.
Zhao Occupation introduced that according to the Consumer Rights Protection Law, in addition to civil liability, the administrative department for industry and commerce should order corrections for such behaviors that damage consumers’ personal dignity, which can be singled out or warned based on the circumstances. , Confiscating illegal income, imposing a fine of one to ten times the illegal income, if there is no illegal income, a fine of less than 500,000 yuan; if the circumstances are serious, order to suspend business for rectification and revoke the business license.
As for whether RT-Mart is suspected of infringing on women’s reputation rights, Li Min, a senior partner at Shanghai Hansheng Law Firm, pointed out that the constitution of reputation infringements depends on the infringements it commits to cause specific targets to cause social evaluation Reduced damage results.
“From this standard, the above-mentioned size chart does not seem to achieve the purpose of detracting from the reputation and dignity of others and lowering the society’s evaluation of specific people.” Li Min told Zhongxin Jingwei.
3. Do you remember the Juewei Duck Neck who was fined 600,000 3 years ago?
In fact, in recent years, many companies have openly challenged women’s bottom line in marketing.
In 2017 “Double Eleven”, a pre-heated poster launched by Juewei Duck Neck on its Tmall flagship store sparked heated discussion. A woman on the poster is wearing shorts, lying on the bed with shackles, and is accompanied by the text “fresh and juicy, do you want it?” At that time, many netizens thought that Juewei Duck Neck’s move was an inductive propaganda method, and the pictures and wording were vulgar “open yellow accents” and were consuming women.
▲Juewei Duck Neck 2017 Double Eleven Preheating Poster
Subsequently, the Industrial and Commercial Bureau of Changsha City, Hunan Province immediately intervened in the investigation. On December 22, 2017, the industry and commerce department issued an administrative penalty decision to Changsha Juewei Food Marketing Co., Ltd., ordering it to stop publishing illegal advertisements and imposeA fine of 600,000 yuan was imposed.
On the same day, Juewei Foods published an “Apology Letter” on its official website, stating that it apologized for the adverse effects caused by the content of the “Double Eleven” sales advertisement and accepted the punishment decision made by the industrial and commercial department. At the same time, the position of the person in charge of Changsha Juewei Food Marketing Co., Ltd. was removed, and the e-commerce team of the marketing company was notified and criticized, and the quarterly bonus was deducted.
Unlikely. On March 7, 2019, on the eve of Women’s Day, the Crystal Orange Hotel sent a tweet with the headline “Women are not good at this session, too ridiculous”. The cover is a picture of a woman lying in a bathtub, and the article itself It is a marketing essay. Many netizens have criticized such implied terms.
On March 8, Crystal Orange Hotel issued an apology statement on its official Weibo, stating that it accepts criticism from the media and netizens and sincerely apologizes, especially to women The apology made them feel unhappy in this beautiful holiday.
Crystal Orange Hotel stated that the main content of the WeChat push on March 7 was originally intended to praise women’s independence and encourage women to bravely pursue themselves and not be bound by rules, but the title of the tweet is indeed improper and will be used as Quit, fully reflect.
It’s already 2020, and similar things happen frequently. On the evening of October 10 this year, the condom brand Jissbon launched a vulgar marketing campaign to tease female genitals in its official online flagship store. After being scolded by netizens, related content was deleted that night.
On the afternoon of October 11, Jissbon’s official Weibo issued a statement of apology, apologizing for the discomfort caused to the public due to the lax content review, and seriously educate and punish the relevant staff, and deeply reflect on the matter. In the future, the training and education of employees will be further strengthened, as well as the management of official content releases, so that all employees of the brand and consumers will establish a positive and positive connection.
Only one month later, RT-Mart was “cured” on the hot search again.
“In recent years, many companies have had similar incidents. This shows that the public relations logic of companies and their market development speed are difficult to match.”Jiang, senior researcher, Pangu Think Tank Han said in an interview with Sino-Singapore Jingwei.
Jiang Han said that in theory, all external statements of a company should be checked by the public relations team. However, companies such as RT-Mart obviously did not do it. It is purely based on some individual subjective assumptions. It is difficult to guarantee that it will not Something went wrong.
It is worth mentioning thatOn the morning of November 13th, a reporter from China-Singapore Jingwei called RT-Mart’s headquarters, hoping to learn about the follow-up handling of the above-mentioned incidents. The relevant staff said that the headquarters phone needed “real-name transfer”. However, when asked if he could transfer to the corporate public relations office, the staff member said that “there is no one responsible for public relations.”
Shi Shusi, a well-known commentator, pointed out that the similar behavior of RT-Mart and other companies can be said to be “shaking hands and face marketing”, the purpose is to gain eyeballs, but the result is “intelligence is wronged by cleverness”, which not only offends It hurts consumers and damages its own brand.
Shi Shusi believes that the emergence of such slogans is, to some extent, related to the current popular subculture, “For example, like the Tucao Conference, everything is ridiculous. I mistake boredom for humor and vulgarity for humor. Performance can be tolerated, but doing business in this way is very scary to me. It is for fun and funny, so as to hurt others, disrespect others’ personality, and even violate the law.”
Shi Shusi said, The RT-Mart’s incident reminds us that in the context of National Entertainment, companies must have boundary awareness in their operations, “In addition to not breaking the law, they must also have conscience and common sense. Deal with the fierce market When competing, instead of blindly gaining attention, it is better to use your mind to create value for customers, speak with products and services.”
This article is from WeChat official account:China-Singapore Jingwei (ID: jwview), author: Yan Shu Xin, from the title figure: vision China