Vietnam cleans up TV dinners
Vietnam's cultural police have banned television advertisements which promote condoms and toilet paper from being shown at
evening mealtimes.
The country's carefully staged opening-up to the outside world has meant that its people are being exposed to many new products
and practices.
But the Ministry of Culture and Information has ruled that some of the modern ways are offending Vietnamese sensibilities. Officials
at the ministry told the BBC that the ban followed numerous complaints from TV viewers.
The complainants said they did not like watching advertisements for condoms, toilet paper and women's sanitary products while
they were eating their evening meal. The ministry said it had made the ruling because the display of such products was unsuitable
to the national psyche, manners and customs.
The ban, which also applies to products for skin complaints, will take effect once it has been published in the government legal
gazette. The products will also be banned from display at concerts and other events for public entertainment. Tampons are not
widely available in Vietnam, but advertisements for sanitary pads are common. The promotion of condoms is only officially
sanctioned to married couples.
But advertising and the increasing popularity of supermarkets are exposing the public to thousands of new products and ideas.
The latest decision does not reflect the concern in some quarters about the spread of HIV/Aids, nor the high number of unwanted
teenage pregnancies.But it will raise concern in the advertising industry, which has experienced a recent growth due in part to
increased TV revenues.
By Clare Arthurs - BBC News service - July 16, 2003
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