Lifeweek editor apologizes after property slogan causes outrage

A controversial advertisement run by a Beijing-based magazine alongside a story about Osama bin Laden's death appeared by "coincidence", an insider revealed to METRO on Monday.

On May 10, Lifeweek carried a large front-page portrait of the al-Qaida leader to accompany a cover story on the raid on his hideout by United States special forces. Juxtaposed at the foot of the page was a promotion for a Beijing real estate development that carried the headline: "Choosing a residence is very important."

Pictures of the magazine cover went viral online and sparked heated debate online about whether it was intentional. However, a staff member in the publishers' advertising department who did not want to be identified said the whole episode was "a coincidence".

"Neither the editorial desk nor advertising department knew what each other were putting in the issue, as the two departments work separately," she said. "It can't be called creativity, as we didn't deliberately want to create such an effect."

Zhu Wei, editor-in-chief of Lifeweek, responded to the incident by offering an apology on his Sina micro blog. "I didn't see the ad when doing a final check of the magazine and we are told that the company who ordered the ad didn't know the cover story beforehand," he wrote. He promised the magazine will improve its checks to prevent a repeat of the "mistake".

In reports by Beijing Morning Post, a netizen known as "Gaoshanxiadehuanan" claimed he was the mastermind who planned the controversial slogan and advertisement. "As the death of Bin Laden was the biggest news that week, I guessed the magazine would develop a cover story," he was quoted as saying. "The result shows that I guessed it."

However, Xu Zhiming, a veteran adverting planner and founder of the Longzhimei Advertisement Bookstore, cast serious doubt on the boast.

"As far as I'm concerned, the advertising company could have purchased that (front-page) position well before Bin Laden's death, so how could he guess the cover story?" he said. "Sometimes, a delicately-designed ad that is closely related to the big news can have a negative effect on an enterprise."

China Daily

(China Daily 05/17/2011)