Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has decided to fine Tran Anh Company which runs electronic goods stores VND40 million (USD1,920) for employing promotional girls wearing bikinis to greet customers.
Nguyen Thanh Phong, chief inspector of the department, said that Tran Anh organised the marketing event without the necessary permission from the authorities.
Promotional girls wearing bikinis to greet customers at Tran Anh's store on April 28
“The company explained that they just co-operated with a partner to make a sex education video series, but not a PR programme. But, this this seems unlikely as anyone could clearly recognises that the girls tried to attract customers to see the products at the firm’s newly-opened store,” Phong said.
According to Phong, wearing it would be normal to wear bikinis to advertise products in foreign countries, but this was supposedly ‘disturbing' in terms of culture and contrary to Vietnam’s traditions and customs.
To Van Dong, Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, under the government’s No. 158/2013/ND-CP issued in 2013, the fine ranged between VND30-40 million for advertising programmes ‘violating national tradition and culture’. The department decided to impose the highest fine of VND40 million on Tran Anh as a deterrent.
On April 28, photographs and video clips of girls wearing bikinis introducing products and welcoming customers at the Tran Anh electronic store in Hanoi went viral on the internet. Some people praised Tran Anh’s use of PR girls in swimsuit as a creative way of advertising but the majority of the public said that it was cheap and tacky.
The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam earlier fined private carrier VietJet Air VND20 million (USD960) for organising a bikini show on its flight.