The situation of medical and health programs playing "edge ball" has once again attracted attention. The two sessions of the National People's Congress in 2024 are about to be held, Xia Li, a deputy to the National People's Congress and a senior technician of the China Electronics Network Communications Research Institute, suggested that the governance of medical and health programs and medical advertisements should be strengthened, and the law enforcement of illegal programs should be strengthened. He told a reporter from Nandu that his family also "preferred" all kinds of health programs, which troubled him, and hoped that the suggestions would attract the attention of relevant departments and rectify illegal programs.
The chaos of medical and health advertising has always existed, and rectification actions have been carried out in various places over the years, but it seems that there is little effect. Xia Li sighed, "Many elderly people's desire for life and trust in the country believe in this kind of advertisement, which can cause loss of money, delay time, and pay the price of life." As a child, in the face of such needs of the elderly, it is ineffective and exhausting. "I believe a lot of people resonate with this, especially on TV platforms, because the elderly are an important TV audience, this kind of advertising is ubiquitous. Some advertisements are clearly violated, but onlookers always have a sense of powerlessness and can't do anything about them.
The kind of advertising chaos mentioned by Xia Li is mainly manifested in two aspects, one is the packaging of celebrities, publishing medical advertisements in the form of news or health lectures, and fictitious identities of famous doctors and experts. From 2014 to 2017, Liu Hongbin took turns to play the role of the ancestral Miao medicine heir, Peking University expert, health care expert, ancestral old Chinese medicine practitioner, the fifth generation of Mongolian medicine, etc., active in various health programs of some local satellite TV, and has successively promoted 9 kinds of medicines and health care products such as Miao Xian cough and asthma prescription, Tianshan Snow Lotus, Miao family living bone formula, and Mongolian medicine heart and brain formula. The words of this "miracle doctor" are very old-fashioned and even outdated, but their impact is so great that it even goes beyond the scope of advertising.
The marketing model of celebrity packaging is very confusing, and this kind of advertising is usually broadcast in the form of health programs. For the elderly, this marketing method is very effective, because the audience will subconsciously think that this is a public welfare program, and there is a lack of prevention against the advertising traps behind it. It is worth noting that after Liu Hongbin was **, the State Administration for Market Regulation launched a special operation, and local regulatory actions were also followed-up, focusing on investigating and prosecuting advertisements for "miracle doctors" and "miracle medicines", etc., and this kind of chaos has gradually eased in recent years.
The second is exaggerated publicity, which can be said to be the most criticized problem in pharmaceutical advertising. Some things are obviously health care products, but the advertisements hint at the efficacy of the medicine, and many advertisements rely on playing "edge balls" to obtain the communication effect. This problem has existed for a long time, and there are countless enforcement actions on a case-by-case basis. However, what is puzzling is that even if such ads are regulated and advertisers are fined, they often do not have a disciplinary effect. Being punished in one place, and then changing places, this kind of advertising still appears unscrupulously on various platforms.
From special laws to departmental rules, there is actually no shortage of norms for advertising chaos, but the problems are frequently explained, or the lack of supervision or the intensity is insufficient, resulting in the cost of violating the law is too low. Take a product promoted by Liu Hongbin, and its advertiser said, "A person who is paralyzed in bed can get up and walk after applying the medicine, of course, there is an exaggeration." But such an exaggerated promotional video is also available now! It's advertising, after all. This perception is very representative, reflecting a deformed advertising business ecology that is currently prevalent. In such an environment, the mere emphasis on intensifying the crackdown may pale in comparison. Xia Li also mentioned that the problems of the platform, supervision and other aspects may require all parties to bear more responsibility, so that this kind of advertising chaos can gradually fade out of our sight.
Wenl Garden.