‘Best girl on the planet’ freed

Image via Wikipedia

There is still a ray of hope on justice prevailing, even in China…

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Waitress who stabbed Chinese official released

05:55 AM Jun 17, 2009

BEIJING - A Chinese karaoke bar waitress who became a folk hero after fatally stabbing a communist official who demanded sex was freed yesterday by a court that ruled she had acted in self-defence, state media said.

The Badong County People's Court exempted Miss Deng Yujiao, 21, from punishment for the crime of intentional injury because she was acting in self-defence, the official People's Daily newspaper said in a brief report on its website.

The report said the court ruled that Miss Deng had limited criminal responsibility and also took into account the fact that she had turned herself in to the police after using a fruit knife to stab 43-year-old Deng Guida, who later died. No further details were given.

Coverage of her case in the entirely state-controlled media has been unusually sympathetic. Popular posts in online forums called Miss Deng "the best girl on the planet", composed lines of verse in classical Chinese that described her as "beautiful and fierce" and dedicated the lyrics of a popular love song Like a Mouse Loves Rice to her.

Her popularity reflects widespread anger in China over abuse of power by Communist cadres, officials and the security forces.

Reflecting the huge interest in the case, at least 500 supporters of Miss Deng gathered at the courthouse, according to Luo Jiajiu, one of the organisers of the rally. But the group was banned from attending the trial.

A similar public outpouring of sympathy followed the case of a man who confessed to killing six Shanghai police officers last year in revenge for torture he allegedly suffered while being interrogated about an allegedly stolen bicycle.

Chinese media reported that the official, Deng Guida, found the waitress in the laundry room of a hotel spa a few floors below the bar where she worked and demanded sex.

When she refused, he allegedly forced her onto a couch and blocked her from leaving. She attacked him with a fruit knife she had in her bag, the report said.

Police said she also attacked his colleague, Huang Dezhi, at the hotel in Badong in the central province of Hubei.

Deng Guida, who ran a local government office for business promotion, is not related to the waitress.

Xinhua news agency reported last month that Huang and another government official who was also at he spa on the night of the stabbing were fired amid investigations, while police shut the spa and were questioning its owners. Huang has also been detained. AGENCIES

From TODAY, World – Wednesday, 17-Jun-2009; see the source article here.

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Thinking out of the box

CREATIVE ADVERTISING

Print ads need to stand out to catch readers’ attention

A PASTE-ON bookmark, an oversized ang pow-like envelope (picture) and a ribbon tied around this newspaper.

These are some examples of how Today advertisers have thought out of the box over the years or — as Mr Philip Koh, managing director of MediaCorp Press, put it — “out of the traditional box-shaped ads”. He said that creative buys like these make a brand and its products or services more noticeable.

According to Mr Arthur Sung, general manager of Starcom Singapore, it is important for print ads to stand out now that readers are becoming more time-starved. This is more so for categories that have little product differentiation and face heavy competition from others in the trade, such as mineral water and shampoos.

“In this day and age, a killer message is insufficient. One needs to have eye-catching message-delivery tactics, too,” he said.

For instance, PHD Singapore’s managing director Ms Pat Lim recalled how an electronics brand once concentrated its ad spend in only one newspaper on a single day and bought out every ad in it. “This was not a creative execution per se but I thought it was creative in how the brand chose not to spend its money in several media. Instead, it made a huge splash in one medium so that readers would see nothing but their ads for that one day!”

That was what HP Singapore did in this paper in 2003. In fact, Today also turned the paper into a broadsheet for the day and used HP’s corporate blue in the masthead.

But getting more creative in print ads need not always be about using fanciful artwork or exploring new territories. Sometimes, it can be as simple — and even cost-effective — as deciding whether to run an ad in full colour or black and white.

“Colour is only one way to pull people in but it will not be effective if the creative message is not clear and desirable. If the creative idea works stronger in a black and white ad, then pursue it and save money on media costs,” Mr Robert Doswell, managing director of Ogilvy RedCard, told Today.

He should know. His agency was behind an innovative series of small, black and white ads for budget airline Jetstar Asia. The idea sounds incongruous at first: Placing ads in the classifieds pages, and in the pet grooming and car accessories categories. Besides being what Mr Doswell described as “a very strong example of an advertisement that we rolled out at the lowest end of the cost scale”, the Jetstar Asia ad campaign caught a lot of attention.

In this case, it was not the artwork or the ad size but the clever ad copy that did the job. For instance, the Jetstar Asia ad in the car accessories section read: “Fly Jetstar Asia to Manila for $99 or buy a tyre”. Said Mr Doswell: “The Jetstar Asia concept worked off the surrounding content rather than being driven by a colour image.”

But MediaCorp Press’ Mr Koh said that it can be tough for ad agencies to keep coming up with new creative ad ideas at times. Also, there are limits to work within, such as ensuring that the creative buy is inserted into or attached to the newspaper in time for it to be delivered to homes.

Added PHD’s Ms Lim: “Cost and, to some extent, the lack of technology, are huge considerations in Singapore.”

For Mr Doswell of Ogilvy RedCard, it is media censorship here that can potentially restrict the media buyer’s creativity. “However, there is always a way around this problem,” he said, citing the example of his agency’s tongue-in-cheek ad for Durex condoms. This showed two balloon-like figures constructed from condoms in a suggestive position.

“If this safe but playful sex education ad can run, then there is always a way for any brand to play within the guidelines.”

From TODAY, Impact – Tuesday, 19-May-2009

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British store admits it boobed in bra row

AFP - Saturday, May 9

LONDON (AFP) - - British retailer Marks & Spencer admitted Friday it had "boobed" in a row over larger-size bras, agreeing to cut prices for DD-plus cup versions to bring them in line with smaller models.

The climbdown, which came after more than 13,000 people signed an online protest, was welcomed by the 26-year-old woman who launched the campaign on social networking website Facebook.

"I'm absolutely delighted on behalf of all of the women in the group," said Beckie Williams, who wears a 30G bra herself. "We have had 13,500 people join us to support us in this cause, so it's absolutely fantastic," she told GMTV.

Her group, Busts 4 Justice, condemned M & S's two-pound (2.2-euro, 3.0-dollar) surcharge on bras bigger than a DD cup, as "criminally unfair" and urged "busty ladies" to "join forces to end this blatant discrimination".

Williams even bought a share worth 3.40 pounds in Marks and Spencer so she could raise her concerns at the firm's annual general meeting in July.

Announcing its climbdown, the retailer took out full-page ads in national newspapers Friday, with the headline "We Boobed" over a picture of a woman sporting a larger-sized bra.

A spokesperson said: "We've heard what our customers are telling us that they are unhappy with the pricing on our DD-plus bras and that basically we've boobed.

From Saturday the store's bra prices will all be the same, regardless of size, he said, adding: "They'll still be made to the same high standards so you get the best support on the high street."

The retailer previously insisted its bras were priced fairly to include the cost of wider straps and better support, and said customers "have told us they are happy to pay a small premium... for the specialist work".

From Yahoo! News; see the source article here.

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