Three Squirrels violates advertising law, red scarf poster trends again

[4] Compiled from: Red Star News
 
Recently, Three Squirrels, known as the "national snack," has once again sparked controversy over its marketing posters. After being criticized on social media for a model's makeup in a poster, internet users dug up an advertisement for the "331 Brain Supplement Festival" that Three Squirrels released three years ago, pointing out that the ad is suspected of violating the law.

 

Case review
According to a poster provided by netizens, in the poster printed with “Three Squirrels 331 Brain Supplement Festival,” a Young Pioneer wears a red scarf and holds a snack gift pack labeled “5 Years of Anti-Fraud, 3 Years of Brain Supplement.” Meanwhile, the two posters are also printed with phrases such as “Strive for a great leap in brainpower, keep anti-fraud in mind” and “The spring breeze of reform blows across the land, it’s perfectly fine to eat more Five-Three.” However, these phrases are in traditional Chinese characters.

 

Currently, the aforementioned posters can no longer be found on Three Squirrels' official Weibo account. However, related promotional posters and materials remain accessible on the "Three Squirrels Little Shop" WeChat official account, whose registered entity is Three Squirrels Co., Ltd.
 
[5] Regarding these posters, some netizens pointed out that, according to regulations, information related to the Young Pioneers cannot be used in advertisements. At the same time, the netizen also posted a regulation: The flag, emblem, red scarf, and cadre badges of the Chinese Young Pioneers, along with their patterns, shall not be used in trademarks, commercial advertisements, or commercial activities.

 

 
[6] Advertising Law
Article 58: Anyone who commits any of the following acts shall be ordered by the market supervision and administration department to stop publishing the advertisement, and the advertiser shall be ordered to eliminate the impact within the corresponding scope, and shall be fined not less than one time but not more than three times the advertising expenses; if the advertising expenses cannot be calculated or are obviously low, a fine of not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan shall be imposed; if the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than three times but not more than five times the advertising expenses shall be imposed, and if the advertising expenses cannot be calculated or are obviously low, a fine of not less than 200,000 yuan but not more than one million yuan shall be imposed, and the business license may be revoked, and the advertising review authority shall revoke the advertising review approval document and shall not accept its advertising review application within one year:
……
(12) violating the provisions of Article 39 of this Law by publishing advertisements in primary and secondary schools or kindergartens, or by using items related to primary and secondary school students or young children;
……
 
"Several Provisions on the Production and Use of the Young Pioneers' Flag, Emblem, Red Scarf, and Cadre Signs"
The Young Pioneers' flag, emblem, red scarf, and cadre signs and their patterns shall not be used for trademarks, commercial advertisements, or commercial activities.

 

 
[1] The author's perspective
The aforementioned red scarf poster was not recently released by Three Squirrels, but rather dates back to 2019. Although Three Squirrels expressed willingness to actively cooperate in removing the poster at that time, it can still be seen on its official media platforms to this day, in violation of Article 58 of the Advertising Law. Three Squirrels, having repeatedly failed to correct the issue, may face the risk of penalties.
 
Thus it can be seen that the internet and netizens have memories. Mistakes will not be forgotten with the passage of time, so whether for enterprises or individuals, we should actively cooperate in rectification, rather than allowing mistakes to continue to spread. As an enterprise, Three Squirrels should humbly accept supervision and criticism from consumers, regulatory authorities, and the media, take this as a lesson, correct shortcomings, and avoid such problems from recurring.