China: subway passengers kick adidas advertisements
Commuters in the Chinese city of Xujiahui are using adidas advertisements to relieve their stress – by kicking them. The three advertisements – which are on mat-wrapped pillars in the city’s subway station – were intended to encourage people to stretch and limber up during the waiting time. But many people seem to think the padding is there as a stress reliever.
“Don’t waste your wait,” says the writing on the padding added to the pillars.
One Chinese blogger wrote of the ads: “If you have been scolded by your boss or had a fight with your girlfriend, go kick the pillars.”
Liu Gaoxia, a psychologist at Shanghai Soul Garden Psychological Counselling Centre, said: “The pillars are like the sand bags we use to direct people to release their pressure by punching or kicking. However, a public space is not an ideal place to do that as it may lead to people hurting themselves or others.”
The fact that it is a public area has deterred some people who might otherwise wish to do so from taking out their frustrations on the pillars. “I dare not kick or punch in front of so many people,” one a passenger told local media.
Meanwhile, the ad’s creators at adidas insist they were intended to raise awareness, rather than encourage people to hit and kick them. “We wanted to raise the awareness of sports and help people make efficient use of their waiting time,” said Huang Xiaoqiang, director of the marketing and communication at adidas China.
The advertisements were a response to a recent survey by the World Health Organisation, which found that more than 30% of residents in the city are in sub-health condition, which means a state between health and illness.
