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There is heated discussion in the media over who is actually being hurt and whose sense of harmony is destroyed by such "luxury ads." While these are important questions, the more important issue is the moral and ethical dimension. The Beijing government is also promoting a culture of creativity. The ethical and moral dimension of advertising can be understood as the ethical and moral dimension of a creative culture, as advertising is part of the process of creating modern culture.
A simple but often ignored fact is that in evaluating an ad or a creative idea, economic value is not the only or the highest criteria. A creative idea that can make money may also be vulgar, indecent or even against universal human values. Many of the criticized luxury ads were actually very creative. For example, one real estate ad said: "By obtaining thousands of mansions, I'll accommodate all the 'white collars' so they can all be very happy." This is taken from a famous poem written by a well-known poet named Du Fu in China's Tang Dynasty. The original goes like this, "By obtaining thousands of mansions, I'll accommodate all the poor so they can all be very happy."
By changing "the poor" to "the white collars" this advertisement shows the shift in esthetics and standards, cultural tastes and moral views -- from sympathy for the humble and the poor to pandering to the rich. This is the opposite direction from the trend toward universal human values. However, looking only at the sense of creativity, this ad wisely uses a famous traditional poem and makes good use of popular classical literature, which can be regarded as very creative and innovative. However, we must state clearly that no matter how creative an ad is, if it violates universal human values it is still a failure even if it brings temporary economic benefit. In addition to economic benefit, we must also consider the social and moral significance of ads and other creative output.
We must change the concept that a creative idea is "good" if it makes money. Good creative ideas must be beneficial to human civilization. Such good ideas will definitely have a positive moral and ethical dimension. We must shift the focus away from an economic orientation in the business of creativity.
Not only are many vulgar and indecent ads creative, but the approaches of criminals are also very creative. A shocking example is the 9/11 terrorist attack. If we put the moral dimension aside, we have to admit that the creativity of that attack gives it a place in history. The precise arrangements, high efficiency and huge news value were all unique in history. However, we cannot help feeling shock, sorrow and fear at the fact that such great human creativity was put to use for such an immoral purpose. It is obvious that creativity, imagination and ideas with high economic value can easily be used for evil purposes, or even to destroy human civilization.
In short, leaving the moral dimension aside, creativity itself is neutral in terms of value, as is technological inventiveness. There is nothing innately good or bad about them; they can be applied either to benefit or to destroy mankind. For that reason, they need to be guided and restricted by clear moral standards.
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(Tao Dongfeng is a professor in the Chinese Department of Capital Normal University in Beijing. He is also editor-in-chief of the scholarly periodical "Culture Research." This article is translated and edited from the Chinese. ©Copyright Tao Dongfeng.)
