Li Ning's Spanish Inquisition

Why China's Gymnastics Prince Will Laugh at Spain's Court Jesters

Posted by David Wolf on 08.15.08

David Wolf

Li Ning has been almost unanimously crowned the king of the Olympic ambush marketers, but in one case, the Chinese sportswear company's efforts appear to have publicly backfired. A promotional photo of the Spanish Olympic basketball team ahowed the players, in uniforms sponsored by Li Ning, posing with their eyes narrowed in a caricature of Chinese facial characteristics, was run on Monday by Sid Lowe of the Guardian in the U.K.

The photo created something of an uproar, which ultimately prompted the Chinese embassy in Madrid to issue a statement declaring the ads "ni racista, ni ofensivo" ("Neither racist nor offensive," if my rusty Spanish still serves). Also, the ad was created by another sponsor of the basketball team, a Spanish courier company called Seur, not by Li Ning.

That is the official line, at any rate. For many Chinese, however, that's not good enough. I've heard and read some very unflattering things about Spain in the last few days, some going so far as to lambaste the country for everything from its racial-epithet hurling soccer fans to the horrors of the Inquisition.

One popular website in China questioned how long the relationship between Li Ning and the Spanish basketball team will last after all of this.

I think the relationship between Li Ning and the team will last for some time, and well it should. Here's why.

First, while Li Ning remains focused on matching and hopefully beating Nike and Adidas at home, the company is in the early stages of planning its long-term global expansion efforts. Spain is clearly one place where an incursion into the European market can begin.

Withdrawing much-needed support because of what most Spanish see as a harmless, well-intentioned goof is going to damage Li Ning's reputation in Spain and possibly Europe.

Laughing it off, on the other hand, makes Li Ning look cool and locally attuned in Spain. That's good branding, and therefore a good strategy.

The second reason is Li Ning himself. Despite being a 45-year-old Chinese businessman, Li Ning has a rich sense of humor and a large soft-spot for athletes of any flag. I bet he'll laugh it off, and so will the company.

Li Ning has long-standing ties with Spain, driven (I believe) by his friendship with and deep respect for former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch.

Samaranch was Spain's minister of sport for years and it's not hard to see where the association was made. The company signed an agreement to sponsor Spanish teams in 2002. The deal was renewed Aug. 6 of this year and will last through 2012. As a matter of personal honor, I doubt that agreement would be abrogated, either in letter or spirit.

Finally, this whole tempest is likely to blow over as the online world finds something more substantive to talk about.

Both China and Li Ning know a nonissue when they see it, and cooler heads will keep the ties intact.

Controversial Li Ning promotional photo in Spain

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4 Comments

By Cheol | Fort Lee, NJ August 15, 2008 10:37:01 am:

Mr. Wolf, you are in no position to declare this a non-issue. This issue has clearly established that there are a large number of Asians, which you are not, are indeed pissed off about this and the passive attitudes of a large portion of the public. For you to suggest that Mr. Ning would be cool by blowing this off also implies that not doing so would be uncool. This is not about having a sense of humor. This is not a playground taunt by elementary school children. This is a corporate advertisement in national media. I faced similar taunts as a child and they were never well intentioned. The adults behind this poorly thought out ad clearly should have known better. Had other ethnic minority groups been the target of such and ad, things certainly would have escalated much more rapidly. If you can relate this to the lessons taught in human resources seminars across corporate America, and in precedence established in U.S. courtrooms, the deciding factor in sexual harrassment cases is not the intention of the office jokester. If he or she on the receiving end of the jokes or taunts feels offended, that is where the case ends. You do not pass judgement on the target as not being able to take a joke or being uncool. The same standard should applies here. Those involved should offer an overdue and sincere apology, if they have not already. And the Spanish government would look cool by covering for the mistakes of their athletes and Seur. And in the eyes of an ordinary Asian like me, Li Ning would be cool regardless of what he decides to do with his sponsorship.

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By daryl orris | Minnetonka, MN August 15, 2008 12:54:02 pm:

Dear David,

When I was in Hong Kong and then again in Shanghai I saw Chinese Rap Groups giving a performance at a shopping mall who were all wearing dark make-up to make them appear to be like African-Americans. So there's some weird stuff going on out there in China too.

But the Spanish appear to be weirder. Like they didn't understand what a racial stereotypic gesture would cause?

Bad taste is bad taste in any language.

On another topic: I had a friend attend the games and he said the seats are empty -- is this true? He had also attended an event in Hong Kong and said the same. So what's the deal with this? It appears the TV audience the winner. I haven't heard much about soccer - does it have a huge following?

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By kenneychiu | SAN FRANCISCO, CA August 15, 2008 01:02:31 pm:

Mr. Wolf, I agree with you. I am a American born Chinese who lived a good amount of time in China, Spain and in the U.S. I don't find the photo offensive nor funny. The only people who would get pissed off at it is the people who are incapable of dealing with it. Li Ning is an Olympic Athlete as well as a Business man. So he should have sportsmanship, and a mentality of maximizing profits. I don't believe China or Li Ning will make it an issue. China is the most discriminating race itself. We dicriminate against our own people who are from different cities. But we take it like a joke. Plus, there is so many Mainlander living in Spain. Living in Spain, I learned that Chinese are very welcomed in Spain. I found a lot of Spanairds who knows how to speak Chinese. Spanish kids are learning Chinese at a really young age. But as Cheol Rim said, Li Ning would be cool regardless what he decides to do with his sponsorhip. His people will support him, and we have the numbers. Chinese are everywhere, they're really no way to avoid us. All in all, China and Li Ning has bigger and better things to worry about.

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By quibblenbits | San Francisco, CA August 15, 2008 06:20:32 pm:

I think the whole thing would have gone over better (and much more quickly) if the Spanish team had simply acknowledged that it was offensive to others (not them) and apologized. Whoever their PR firm is should have known that. (by the way, who IS their PR firm?) Instead we hear quotes from very defensive players and press (and reactions) that are running amok. While it's nice to know that the Spanish team meant no harm, it still was insensitive - period.

I've been reading some of the comments and I can't stand hearing, "well the Chinese discriminate too" or "every culture has a derogatory name for this and that". Just because there is discrimination in virtually every country doesn't make an act like this okay. Similarly, attacking Spain as a country and reading the insults all around is also counter productive. If the root of this type of action stems from something deeper like cultural or historical reasons then that is worth exploring and discussing in a mature way.

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