Tsinghua graduate becomes a nanny, earning as much as 35,000 yuan a month? False advertising!
Compiled from The Paper
Recently, according to the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, Shanghai Youjie Domestic Services Co., Ltd. was fined 200,000 yuan by the Songjiang District Market Supervision Administration for 'false or misleading commercial publicity.'
The administrative penalty decision states: Shanghai Youjie Domestic Services Co., Ltd. published an advertisement stating that a female graduate from Tsinghua University was applying to be a nanny in order to attract attention. The 'profile photo' of the woman in the advertisement was created by the person concerned via the internet and entrusted others to modify and fabricate using computer software, and such a person does not exist. The company wrote commercial promotion content under the title 'Tsinghua - Nanny [35k] Housekeeper,' which is false information.
Case review
In May 2021, Shanghai Youjie Domestic Services Company released a news report titled 'Tsinghua Graduate Seeking a Job as a Nanny,' which sparked heated discussion.
The company staff once stated that the woman who graduated from Tsinghua University and applied for a nanny position 'has already started working,' and falsely claimed that 'the Tsinghua degree is genuine.' Other highly educated employees of the company can all provide verification through the CHSI website.
Subsequent media reports stated that the company released the 'Tsinghua Graduate Job-Seeking Nanny,' and the photo on the job-seeking resume was very likely not of the job seeker herself, but of a sophomore girl from a university in Zhejiang. The photo was based on her picture, with someone else's eyes photoshopped onto it.
On June 16, 2021, the Songjiang District Market Supervision Administration of Shanghai filed a case against the involved domestic service company for suspected false advertising.
"Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 4
Advertisements shall not contain false or misleading content, nor deceive or mislead consumers.
Advertisers shall be responsible for the truthfulness of the advertising content.
[1] The author's perspective
False advertising refers to the act in commercial activities where operators use advertisements or other methods to provide information about goods or services that does not match the actual content, causing misunderstanding among clients or consumers. False advertising violates the principle of honesty and credibility, breaches recognized business standards, and is a serious form of unfair competition.
In this case, the woman in the picture has a delicate appearance, and coupled with a 'high education,' the housekeeping company wanted to use these gimmicks to attract potential customers' attention, increase discussion, and thus achieve promotional effects. However, no matter how much publicity there is, one cannot fabricate a person or forge a photo to deceive the public. Although this promotional tactic made the housekeeping company instantly popular, it also came at a considerable cost, ultimately resulting in widespread criticism. Furthermore, housekeeping is a service industry that easily involves family privacy. If a company's reputation is poor, which employer would dare to cooperate with them? From an industry perspective, it is evident that such unfair competition is looked down upon by peers; from a business perspective, such dishonesty disappoints consumers.
