Consumer brand shame show worries companies

Household brands in China are bracing for the government’s version of public-service journalism – the annual program on state-run TV that uses hidden cameras to highlight what the network calls companies’ unfair practices against consumers. China Central Television’s March 15 broadcast for World Consumer Rights Day has targeted some of the world’s biggest companies in the past, including Apple, McDonald’s and Volkswagen. The name-and-shame show not only attracts eyeballs, it also gets results: Apple’s Tim Cook apologized in 2013 and McDonald’s retrained some workers in 2012. According to Bloomberg, this year Korean companies have reason to worry that it’s their turn to be featured in the “3.15 Gala” program. China retaliated against Korean businesses after the government in Seoul allowed the deployment of a US missile-defense system that China said threatens regional security.