Recently, "Lele Tea uses Lu Xun's image to promote new products" has caused controversy
Lele Tea Joint Publishing House
Lu Xun has become an "old smoke cavity"?
On April 23, World Book Day, Lele Tea and Yilin Publishing House launched the "Smoke Cavity Oolong" co-branded milk tea to pay tribute to the writer Lu Xun. In addition to the portrait of Lu Xun holding milk tea printed on the body of the cup, "Smoke Cavity Oolong" also launched a booklet, acrylic stand, paper bag, etc. printed with Lu Xun's portrait, and the promotional slogan of the product is "Old Smoke Cavity, New Youth".
It is reported that when ordering in the applet, the first thing that popped up on the page was Mr. Lu Xun's avatar. In terms of products, the packaging of the relevant cups is also printed with the image of Mr. Lu Xun.
According to reports, through a two-day visit to a number of Lele tea stores in Shanghai, the reporter found that Mr. Lu Xun's image is used frequently and intensively in the offline consumption scene of milk tea shops.
Lu Xun's family has sent a lawyer's letter
However, the launch of "Smoke Cavity Oolong" has caused a lot of controversy, and some netizens pointed out that the word "Smoke Cavity" is disrespectful to Lu Xun.
In this regard, Mr. Zhou Lingfei, the eldest grandson of Lu Xun and the president of the Lu Xun Cultural Foundation, said that Shanghai Zhu Miaochun Law Firm has issued a lawyer's letter to Lelecha and Jiangsu Yilin Publishing House Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Jiangsu Yilin).
Lu Xun's family and the Lu Xun Cultural Foundation demanded that Lelecha and Jiangsu Yilin should immediately stop infringing on Lu Xun's portrait rights after receiving the lawyer's letter; Lelecha and Jiangsu Yilin should clarify the facts, eliminate the impact, and apologize in the corresponding national media and official WeChat public accounts for 10 consecutive days within 5 days from the date of receipt of the lawyer's letter; finally, Lelecha and Jiangsu Yilin should contact the lawyer for the corresponding compensation matters immediately after receiving the lawyer's letter.
On April 29, Lele Tea's official applet showed that the "Smoke Cavity Oolong" can still be purchased normally, but the cup used is the ordinary cup of Lele Tea, not the cup printed with Lu Xun's image.
The clerks of many Lele Tea stores said that the "smoke cavity oolong" cups and related peripherals in many stores have been sold out on the 27th, and all stores now no longer sell cups and peripherals printed with Lu Xun's image.
On April 28, the joint tweet on April 23 of Lele Tea's official public account has been deleted. The relevant person in charge of Lele Tea said that Lele Tea has removed the relevant propaganda and surrounding products from the shelves. As for whether it will be re-listed, it said, "Pay attention to our follow-up official actions, and it is uncertain now."
Lele Tea apologized and said: It was not well thought out and has been rectified
On the evening of April 29, Lelecha issued an apology statement through its official Weibo, saying that Lelecha donated 200,000 yuan to the "Love Books" project of the China Children and Teenagers' Fund on this year's World Book Day, and at the same time used Mr. Lu Xun and his literature-related peripherals and propaganda when launching new products. The original intention of Lele Tea is to encourage Chinese young people to love reading and move forward on the occasion of "World Book Day" through public welfare donations and tribute to Lu Xun's literature. However, due to poor consideration, the relevant rights and interests of Mr. Lu Xun's portrait right were neglected, Mr. Lu Xun's portrait right was infringed, and Mr. Lu Xun's relatives and Lu Xun Cultural Foundation were also troubled.
Lelecha said that Lelecha contacted the lawyer to apologize as soon as it received the lawyer's letter from Shanghai Zhu Miaochun Law Firm on April 24, and expressed its willingness to make remedial measures, and began to communicate and sell related new products on April 25, and notified stores across the country to remove relevant packaging materials and peripherals, and as of the afternoon of April 26, the rectification has been fully completed.
Shanghainese Fiction Writer: "Old Smoking Chamber" is reminiscent of "Old Smoking Gun"
Regarding this matter, Hu Baotan, the author of the Shanghainese novel "Alley", believes:
The old smoking gun, also called "old gun" in Shanghainese. "Qing Barnyard Banknotes: Shanghai Dialect" (a collection of notes compiled by Xu Ke in the late Qing Dynasty and the early years of the Republic of China): "The old gun is also known as an opium smoker. "The gun is the opium gun, the tool for smoking opium, which resembles a gun. In "Shanghai Proverbs and Illustrations" (published by Shanghai Bookstore Publishing House), the fortieth article is "Old Gun", which talks about the harm of people eating opium and becoming "old guns". After the popularity of cigarettes (paper cigarettes), the old gun referred to people who were addicted to smoking. The term is sometimes a bit derogatory in Shanghai's daily life, after all, "old guns" must be annoying to people who don't eat cigarettes. Of course, "old gunslinger" is basically derogatory.
He said that Lele Tea used Lu Xun and his image, which made people inevitably think of the meaning of "old smoking gun", after all, everyone was too impressed by his smoking. The "new youth" should learn and inherit the spirit of Lu Xun, not the "smoke cavity" mentioned by Lele Cha.
Under related topics, some netizens commented, "When I saw this yesterday, I knew that it wouldn't take long for it to cause controversy and be taken off the shelves."
Media Commentary: It's a business cultural event
A negative case that touches the bottom line of public emotion
In business promotion and brand building, companies often seek to combine with cultural symbols in order to achieve a deeper level of emotional resonance and brand identity. As long as it is reasonable and legal, and is widely recognized and accepted by the society, the convergence and integration of business and culture is not only common in modern society, but also can be a win-win situation, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
Red Star News commentators said that if cultural symbols are abused in commercial marketing and the minimum cultural understanding and respect are missing, it may not only cause public disgust and damage the brand image, but also cause unnecessary legal trouble.
The "Smoke Cavity Oolong" incident is a typical negative case of commercial and cultural activities touching the bottom line of public emotion, which warns enterprises to take into account social responsibility and cultural ethics while pursuing economic benefits, and face the public and the market with a more mature and responsible attitude.
What do you think about this?
Source: Comprehensive Orange Persimmon Interactive, Red Star News, Red Star Review, Southern Metropolis Daily, News Morning Post, etc
Editor: Li Weiqi