Red faces at bureau after anti-drug advert sends opposite message

2026.03.20 10:20 From some angles, the advert says: “Stand firm together and take drugs.” Photo: Threads/Nicie_life Hong Kong’s Security Bureau has apologised for an advertising blunder in its anti-drug campaign, after a banner in a railway station appeared to encourage the use of illegal substances when viewed from certain angles. The bureau addressed the issue in a social media post on Friday, a day after an internet user circulated a photo of the poorly placed advert at Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station. The banner was part of the government’s latest anti-drug campaign, featuring one of Hong Kong’s “Four Heavenly Kings” of Cantopop, Aaron Kwok Fu-shing, and the slogan “Let’s stand firm together and not take drugs” written in Chinese. In the photo, which went viral online on Thursday, some words in the slogan cannot be seen because of the angle, leaving the message: “Stand firm together and take drugs.” Other internet users posted pictures of the advert being removed by workers by Thursday night. Workers remove the offending ad on Thursday night. Photo: Theads/jackyyu_6161 The bureau acknowledged the mishap in its social media post but took the opportunity to reiterate its anti-drug message. “We did not catch the angle in the ad, so we’ve taken it down immediately for a remake. This was a big lesson for us,” it said. “If an ad is wrong, you can ‘take two’, but in life, if you take drugs, it is not that easy to turn over.” Despite the apology, some internet users still criticised the bureau for the blunder. “Remaking the advertisement inevitably means wasting more taxpayer money,” one Instagram user said. Another internet user said: “The public relations team worked efficiently this time, but for those who approved the advertisement, how much are they being paid each month? Such a low-level mistake should not be made using taxpayer money; I suggest firing them.”

原文链接: 南华早报