African guy holding up a card to send blessings? This money making trend, recruit agents quickly!

When you open social media platforms, you can always come across a type of short video: several African guys gather in front of a simple blackboard, reciting blessings in slightly awkward Chinese in unison. The words "Happy Birthday", "Successful confession", "Prosperous business" and other words on the blackboard are particularly eye-catching, and the ending is often followed by a down-to-earth "666, no problem". This form of blessing, full of exotic charm, quickly became popular across the internet with its novel contrast, becoming a new choice for many people to express their feelings and promote products, and also giving birth to a cross-border commercial industry chain.

The popularity of African guys holding up cards to bless is not accidental. In the fast-paced online communication environment, people have already developed aesthetic fatigue towards the monotonous forms of blessings. The simple voice, slightly clumsy pronunciation, and exotic faces of African guys combined together form a unique "variety show effect" that satisfies the curiosity of the public. More importantly, this form of blessing has achieved a high degree of standardization: a text limit of 20 words or less, a 5-10 person appearance configuration, a delivery cycle of 1-2 days, and pricing ranging from tens to 200 yuan, making it easy for ordinary people to consume and quickly becoming a "traffic password" in social communication. From personal birthday confessions and anniversary wishes, to corporate product promotion and event publicity, even some well-known companies have tried this marketing form, further promoting its popularity.

Behind the heat, a clear commercial industry chain has already taken shape. The starting point of this chain is the merchants and short video anchors on domestic e-commerce platforms, who are responsible for taking on customer orders and collecting customized copy; The intermediate stage involves non Chinese photographers who go deep into local communities in Africa and organize African actors to complete the filming; The endpoint is paying customers, who receive the video and spread it on social media platforms to complete blessing delivery or brand promotion. In this industry chain, there is a clear imbalance in profit distribution: a single video can be sold for around 200 yuan on the Taobao platform, and the filmmaker can receive 90-100 yuan per video. However, African actors who participate in the filming often only receive a small amount of compensation or some daily necessities as compensation. Some agents bluntly stated that 'most of the money is still taken by the photographers and merchants', and the value of the workers is seriously underestimated.

As the heat rises, the controversy behind African guys holding up their cards to bless has gradually surfaced. The core controversy revolves around the protection of workers' rights and the compliance of content. Although the photographer claimed that 'the young men voluntarily participated', do these African laborers who participated in the filming truly understand the meaning of the sign text? When there are indecent words, pornographic information, or expressions that violate advertising laws such as "highest level" and "best" in the copy, is it suspected of guiding improper dissemination by letting them spread these contents? What is even more alarming is that some businesses, in order to attract customers, deliberately package their business activities as "public welfare projects", claiming that "most of their income helps African friends". This false advertising not only misleads consumers, but also undermines the true value of public welfare.

From a legal perspective, there are still many compliance risks associated with such sign up videos. The new version of the Advertising Law clearly includes the promotion information posted by individuals through social media in the regulatory scope, and the common issues of illegal advertising slogans and wrong categories in African guy's sign up videos have already crossed the legal red line. At the same time, if the photographer does not sign a formal portrait usage agreement with the African guy, the video containing his facial features will be widely disseminated and used for commercial profit, which may also infringe on the portrait and privacy rights of others. In this regard, platforms such as Taobao have clearly stated that such videos "carry risks and may be investigated at any time", and once violations are found, merchants will be punished.

In the face of controversy, the photographer's defense and public questioning have formed a sharp opposition. Some photographers believe that they are making money openly and promoting cultural exchange, which deserves recognition; But in the eyes of the public, this commercial behavior of exploiting vulnerable groups' labor at extremely low costs and instrumentalizing workers clearly violates public order and good customs. What is even more worth pondering is that the popularity of African guys holding up cards to bless reflects the abnormal pursuit of "curiosity based consumption" by some people. When traffic becomes the only pursuit, the rights of vulnerable groups are easily overlooked.

It cannot be denied that, in the context of uneven economic development, filming sign up videos may bring a small amount of income to some African friends, but this cannot be an excuse for commercial exploitation. True assistance and cooperation should be based on respect and equality, rather than exploiting one's disadvantaged position for huge profits. For ordinary consumers, when faced with such novel forms of blessings, they should remain rational and refuse to pay for commercial activities that infringe on the rights and interests of others or violate laws and regulations.

When the frenzy of traffic fades away, the African guys holding up their cards to bless not only leave controversy, but also a questioning of the ethics of online business. In the digital age, any creative marketing cannot cross the legal and moral bottom line, let alone sacrifice the rights of vulnerable groups. Only by adhering to the principles of respect and equality can we restore the clarity of cyberspace and enable commercial innovation to truly serve the enhancement of social value.