Remember A Day | China seeks ad agency’s help to boost image, and Britons back queen’s abdication: headlines from 40 years ago this week
- A journey back through time to look at significant news and events reported by the South China Morning Post from this week in history
China enlisting the help of a top advertising agency, Britons calling on Queen Elizabeth to abdicate the throne and Chinese soldiers setting vicious dogs on illegal immigrants made the headlines 40 years ago this week.
February 3, 1980
● The advertising firm that handled some of the world’s biggest brands such as Coca Cola, Exxon, General Motors and Nestles had taken on a mega client – China. McCann-Erikson International, the world’s largest ad agency, had become the principle agency to spearhead advertising and marketing campaigns for China in cooperation with two of the country’s major advertising groups. The agreement allowed McCann-Erikson to handle advertising projects in China and the United States. The contract would eventually be extended to cover the European market.
February 4, 1980
● A major undercover operation had exposed a bribery scandal in which top US politicians were implicated. The investigation involved FBI agents posing as Arab businessmen. Six congressmen were said to have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for obtaining a casino licence and a legal immigration status for an Arab sheikh.