Gregory Charles Rivers, the Cantonese-speaking Australian actor who dubbed himself “TVB’s token Caucasian” says he was tricked into shilling “counterfeit cookies”, resulting in an Apple Daily employee getting fired.
Rivers, who also goes by Ho Kwok-wing, recounted the unsavoury incident on his public Facebook page:
In English, Rivers’ caption roughly translates to:
Ho Kwok-wing is too silly sometimes. On February 22nd, somebody WhatsApped me saying “Apple Daily wants to interview you… regarding cookies. There are travel expenses.” I agreed, because I like to eat cookies. After I arrived at Jini’s cookie shop, the photographer quickly arranged for me to pose with the cookies. I thought it was strange, and asked, “Isn’t this an interview?” They assured me repeatedly that it was an interview, and not an advertisement.
After I went home and showed my wife their cookie tins, she marvelled that the logo (a teddy bear) on the box was “so much like Jenny’s [cookies]”, at which point I had realised what had happened. A few days later, that “interview” was published and printed with the word “advertisement”. A conversation about cookies was transformed into an ad for counterfeit Jenny’s products. Hai… the cookies didn’t taste too bad, but based on my knowledge of the company’s money-making tactics, I’m not sure what would be in their cookies.
(I am not an advocate for any cookie brands) #NotJennysCookies
Rivers’ post garnered thousands of comments and shares from local netizens, who lambasted the reporter and the cookie company for their unscrupulousness. Apple Daily has since issued a statement saying that they had nothing to do with the advertisement, and that they do not mix editorial and paid content. An employee who was allegedly involved with the incident has since been sacked, according to the newspaper.
Photo: Jenny Bakery
Hong Kong-based Jenny Bakery is known for its tins of butter cookies, which come in tins printed with the company’s “Smart Bear”, a registered trademark. The company is popular with mainland Chinese tourists, and has outlets in Singapore.
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