China bans Nike commercial as insult to national dignity

China has banned a Nike television commercial showing US basketball star LeBron James in a battle with an animated cartoon kung fu master, saying the ad insults Chinese national dignity.

The Chamber of Fear commercial was broadcast on local Chinese stations and on state television’s national sports channel before being pulled last month. It shows James in a video game-style setting defeating the kung fu master, two women in traditional Chinese attire and a pair of dragons, considered a sacred symbol in traditional Chinese culture.

The advertisement “violates regulations that mandate that all advertisements in China should uphold national dignity and interest and respect the motherland’s culture”, the State Administration for Radio, Film and Television said in a website statement.

“It also goes against rules that require ads not to contain content that blasphemes national practices and cultures.”

The statement added: “The ad has received an indignant response from Chinese viewers.”

It did not say why the advertisement was considered offensive. But communist officials are sensitive about the use of Chinese cultural symbols by Westerners, and might have been especially angered that the Nike advertisement showed the foreigner winning the fight.

In May, the same agency tightened controls over television programming by banning the use of English words and imported programs that promote “Western ideology and politics”.

Maurice Zhou, a Shanghai spokesman for the Beaverton, Oregon-based Nike Inc. said he would provide the company’s response later today.

The Nike advertisement is part of fast-growing foreign efforts to cash in on the huge popularity of basketball in China and the celebrity of James and other NBA players.

James is a forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers and one of the NBA’s best all-around players. He ranks third in the league in scoring and last week was named the Eastern Conference player of the month.

In an unrelated case, a Chinese cartoonist is suing Nike, claiming that a stick figure in one of its worldwide advertising campaigns was copied from his work.

Nike rejected Zhu’s claims, saying its figure was completely different from his.