By Andrew L. Jaffee

The people have spoken in the U.S. The precious gift of democracy has been savored once again. Such unimaginable freedom we have, and yet, there are those who take liberty for granted, and live (talk) the illusion that the grass is greener “over there” — wherever “there” is. But think of those who lived through the Soviet years, or those who now live in the “People’s Republic” of China. Listen to this: Some poor Chinese shmuck had a truly brilliant marketing scheme for selling condoms. He put the images of Lei Feng and Mao Zedong on the wrappers. You’ve got to hand it to him: what a savvy way to get product recognition. The guy had balls; he had to know for sure that such a marketing ploy would insult the glorious memory of the revolution! Of course the “authorities” shut his business down and “accused [the vendor] of violating advertising and product quality laws.” From Reuters:

A condom seller has been ordered to shut his shop for displaying his wares without Chinese instructions and in “inappropriate packages,” including ones bearing a likeness of Mao Zedong, a state newspaper said. …

The condoms were wrapped in small metal containers decorated with funny pictures or images of historical people.

“Zhang printed China’s national emblem on a condom called ‘lady-killers’, and on the packing of the box was the image of soldier Lei Feng and the country’s late Chairman Mao Zedong,” the newspaper said.

Lei Feng was a model Mao-era soldier.

Zhang, accused of violating advertising and product quality laws, defended himself, saying his condom packages were art.

“They were unimaginably hot sellers,” he was quoted as saying.

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Related: Fun, China, Communism / Socialism, Philosophy / Ideology

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