9月19日，始祖鸟赞助艺术家蔡国强在西藏喜马拉雅山脉江孜热龙地区完成了一场名为《升龙》的烟花 表演。三幕彩色烟花沿3000米山脊燃放，形成"升龙"景观。 活动视频发布后迅速引发争议，引发公众对高原生态环境破坏的担忧，指责始祖鸟定位户外品牌但又破 坏户外场域。之后始祖鸟和蔡国强方面均进行了道歉，但公众并不买账。 道歉发布后，始祖鸟在海外社交媒体平台发表的英文说明内容被网友发现与国内版本存在差异，被 指"甩锅"中国团队。海外版本中没有强调承诺会对破坏生态环境的行为进行复核和补救的内容。更严重 的是，海外版本中提到的"与中国团队沟通调整工作方式"被质疑有 "甩锅"嫌疑。 针对这场烟花秀，有行业的专家将其称为"极具侵入性的行为"。青藏高原环境十分特殊，低温少雨的环 境会降低生物活性，从而降低分解速度。外来物质可能过了几年还存在，加重生态负担。外界声光刺激 可能引发动物的应激反应，影响其生活节奏和繁殖周期。 同时，此次事件暴露了始祖鸟在品牌营销边界把控上的问题。始祖鸟作为一个户外品牌，倡导人们走向 户外，但这一行为又破坏了户外场域，与其长期倡导的"敬畏自然""可持续"理念形成冲突。 这一事件的影响仍在发酵。9月22日开 ...

Core Viewpoint - The controversy surrounding Swatch's ESSENTIALS series advertisement highlights the cultural disconnect faced by multinational brands in the global market, revealing systemic failures in cross-cultural marketing strategies [1] Group 1: Market Reaction - Following the initial success of a limited edition watch, Swatch's sales in China, which accounted for one-third of the group's global revenue, experienced a significant downturn after the controversial advertisement was released [2] - After the advertisement was published, negative comments about the brand surged from 62% to 89%, and the search volume for the term "boycott" increased by 3700% [2][3] - Sales personnel reported a 63% drop in foot traffic at Beijing SKP mall, and the average resale price of Swatch watches fell by 12%, indicating a direct impact on sales [3] Group 2: Cultural Sensitivity and Creative Review - The creative review process for advertisements involves multiple levels of scrutiny, yet the cultural blind spots of multinational companies often lead to significant oversights [4] - The failure to incorporate Asian perspectives in the creative process resulted in a misinterpretation of cultural expressions, which can trigger historical sensitivities [4] - Previous controversies involving similar cultural missteps by other brands have not led to effective learning or changes in industry practices, indicating a persistent issue in cross-cultural training [4][5] Group 3: Crisis Management Failures - Swatch's response to the crisis violated the "golden 48 hours" rule in crisis management, leading to a missed opportunity to guide public sentiment effectively [6] - The vague language in the company's apology failed to address the core issue of racial discrimination, further aggravating consumer distrust [6][7] - The perception that Swatch profits from the Chinese market without showing adequate respect for its culture has led to a significant erosion of trust among consumers [7] Group 4: Lessons for Global Brands - The Swatch incident reflects a broader anxiety among multinational brands in adapting to the cultural nuances of emerging markets, where cultural adaptability is becoming a core competitive advantage [8] - Successful brands have established cultural insight centers to understand local sensitivities and have empowered local teams with creative veto rights to prevent cultural missteps [8] - The ultimate question remains whether brands are willing to invest the necessary effort to understand and respect the cultural intricacies of markets where they generate significant revenue [9]