You Thought China Was Safe from the 'Hannah Montana' Photo Scandal? Think Again.

With all of the significant global events right now, you would think that something of severe gravity, like the potential food shortage, rising gas prices, or falling dollar would dominate water cooler discussions.  But for much of the American media, these issues have taken a backseat to another issue: Miley Cyrus aka Hannah Montana's photo spread in Vanity Fair. 

Disney's biggest star appearing in photos that don't quite mesh with the squeaky-clean family-friendly image might not be its biggest public relations right now.  Some questionable advertising billboards for its underwear line in China are also causing quite a stir. 

So is Disney guilty of a double standard?  These photos seem at least as risque as the Miley Cyrus pictures.  How could the same company offer a public apology for Cyrus, while profiting off of this ad campaign? 

While this situation might seem like the ultimate hypocrisy, if you consider the scope of the Disney brand in China, the situation isn't quite so simple.

Disney in China has a wider target audience, and multiple licensees, including the Shanghai Zhenxin Garments Ltd., which makes clothes and lingerie for teen girls.  Some of the ads with the Disney brand aren't quite the same type of squeaky-clean image Disney wants to convey in the U.S., as you can see from one of the company's advertisements. 

Disney's Gary Foster told Slate that Disney often has contracts with many local licensees in countries worldwide, so it doesn't always approve every single Disney image abroad, like those used by in the ads. 

Cultural differences also play a role in what is and might not be acceptable to the intended audience.   As Foster told Slate, "I don't want to make excuses for them at all because it is not anything that we would ever approve, but in other parts of the world this is not unusual at all . . .Here in China that's not unusual at all, but it's not usual for the Disney brand."  Foster also said that these advertisements would quickly be changed.

Cartoons in general, from Hello Kitty to Mickey Mouse to Pokemon, have a much broader appeal in Asia than they do in the U.S., so it really isn't abnormal for some of these companies to use these images to market a variety of products.  Taiwan's EVA Air even had Hello Kitty cartoons painted on its planes to Japan.

While the U.S. and China have different advertising standards, I haven't personally noticed any blush-worthy billboards in China, especially not in comparison to Europe.  If anything, the Chinese teenagers I've met have been more modest than their American counterparts. 

It's refreshing to know that there's a strong group of parents who are keeping Disney accountable for the images it's sending their children, both overseas and domestically.  At the same time, it's too bad this story has taken much of the media attention away from stories like these.