HKTB's reusing of ad content from pre-pandemic era: Yay or nay?

 A recent campaign by Hong Kong Tourism Board was thrust into the limelight after netizens called the campaign out for depicting an unrealistic reality of life in the city.

The campaign featured Australian rugby player Nick “Honey Badger” Cummins visiting different attractions around town without wearing masks, which left HongKongers confused. Most Hong Kong-based netizens criticised the intention of the video to create a false image that Hong Kong is business as usual, while in reality the city is still restricted by a set of quarantine measures, according to social monitoring firm CARMA’s GM Charles Cheung. The incident drew 74% negative mentions in terms of media coverage on different channels, said statistics from CARMA.

In response to the incident, the HKTB shelved the videos and said that the contents and presentations of the video series are made for advertising and creative purposes only to give viewers a general look and feel of the excitement in the city and to present the overall Hong Kong lifestyle. It also said it has included a disclaimer under the video player to remind viewers that the scenes and visuals in all promotional materials were made for advertising and creative purposes only.

With the city gradually easing its COVID curbs, the question arises if or not using pre pandemic footages, as done by HKTB, should be an acceptable occurrence – especially if a brand has dished out big bucks to create the campaign.

Simply adding disclaimers does not address consumers’ concerns as it is just a legal cover, said Miuson Chi, general manager of PR and social of Publicis Communications. “I personally think an organisation such as HKTB needs to be more mindful in how it communicates to audiences - foreign or domestic. Similarly, they should be mindful of the consequences on either audience when communicating with the other,” Chi added.

Agreeing with Chi was another individual from the PR industry speaking under anonymity, who said adding of disclaimers is a norm, but the issue at hand, is the expectation of the audience. What they see in reality, does not match that of the campaign.

On the other hand, RFI Asia’s managing director David Ko believed that as long as marketers are conveying their messages that are authentic to the moment, they should not be penalised. Ko said that using footages filmed pre-pandemic is acceptable long as the visuals are not dated and the subject matter is not at odds with the norms of a post-pandemic world.

“Featuring sports and mask-less players is not necessarily sending a wrong message since many sports organisations today do allow players to remove their masks. As long as no irresponsible behaviour is implied it is perfectly acceptable,” said Ko. He added that much of the world has already moved on from the pandemic, so to promote Hong Kong as a desirable destination to the rest of the world, it is necessary for the HKTB to show images that feel natural to the intended target audience.

Get the timing right

How a brand tells the story, depends on the targeted outcome of the campaign. In this case, HKTB wants to remind travellers of the vibrant Hong Kong to the outside countries. But getting the timing right is crucial.

Advertisers have to be prepared that the content of all marketing campaigns are under growing scrutiny of the public and the media, according to Agnes Suen, financial communications director of Hill+Knowlton Strategies.

As such, it is crucial, especially for government entities, to go beyond covering just legal basis and be sensitive about how ad content will be perceived. In question here are the intention and execution of the videos.

“We can understand the urgency the organisation feels to reintroduce the appeal of Hong Kong as the city further eased COVID curb, just that the promotion would have been much better perceived if it featured a genuine message and a tasteful and transparent representation of our beloved city that aligned with public perception,” Suen added.

Although it's not unusual that we would film the promotional video with masks, HKTB might need to consider the response of netizens on what they would be looking at and the feedback on it, said the anonymous source. “With the quarantine rule just relieved last week, people worldwide are more eager to know the latest rules and requirements, instead of the local spots.”

Meanwhile, Publicis' Chi said that the ad campaign “reeks of expat privilege”. "It is common opinion that foreigners in the city do not respect the rules that helped the city stay safe during much of the pandemic. […] It is of utmost importance as an official organisation to be mindful of the messaging they portray, whether it is intentional or consequential,” he added.  

(Photo courtesy: Daily Mail)

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