評論
打印
As China's Internet companies increasingly go abroad, their famously competitive, in-your-face attitude is following.
中國互聯網公司在日益走出國門的同時，也帶出了他們求勝心切、咄咄逼人這一眾所周知的作風。
An advertisement posted this month on a YouTube account that promotes WeChat in South Africa makes fun of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, suggesting that if he wants to make real friends, he'd be better off using WeChat, a rival mobile messaging program owned by Chinese Internet conglomerate Tencent Holdings. The 35-second ad was also posted on a Facebook page that has been continuously posting ads for WeChat since it was launched at the end of 2012.
本月，YouTube的一個賬戶發布了一則在南非推廣微信(WeChat)的廣告。這則廣告拿Facebook創始人馬克•扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)開起了玩笑，廣告的大意是，如果想交到真正的朋友，最好使用Facebook的競爭對手微信，也就是中國互聯網集團騰訊控股有限公司(Tencent Holdings Ltd., 0700.HK, 簡稱：騰訊控股)所擁有的移動即時通信軟件。這則長達35秒鐘的廣告還被發布在一個Facebook主頁上，這個主頁自2012年底創建以來，就一直在不斷發布微信的廣告。
In the commercial, a character named Mark, sporting tousled curly hair that looks an awful lot like Zuckerberg's, whines to a therapist, saying 'I mean, I invented the social network, and now my friends, they're unfriending me.'
在這則商業廣告中，一個名叫馬克的人長著一頭蓬亂的卷發，看起來酷似扎克伯格。廣告中的馬克對一位治療師抱怨說：他發明了這個社交網絡，但現在他的朋友們都與他解除了好友關系。
In a German-accented response, the therapist tells Mark to use WeChat's location-based friend radar function, which he says will help him find 'real friends.' Unconsoled, Mark responds to this advice by breaking into tears, prompting the therapist to respond, 'Ah, come on, Mark, don't make me unfriend you too.'
廣告中，這位操著德國口音的治療師讓馬克使用微信的雷達加朋友功能，他說，這將幫助馬克找到“真正的朋友”。并未因此而感到安慰的馬克對這一建議的反應是放聲大哭，使得治療師回應道：再這樣就也與他解除好友關系。
Launched in early 2011, WeChat currently has 355 million monthly active users, mostly in China. In South Africa, it's locked in a battle for market domination with WhatsApp, the messaging app Facebook bought in February for $19 billion.
在2011年初上線的微信目前有3.55億月度活躍用戶，其中大部分用戶都在中國。在南非，微信陷入了與WhatsApp對市場主導權的爭奪戰，后者是Facebook在今年2月份斥資190億美元收購的即時通信軟件。
In a second video also posted to the site, the same German therapist is confronted by lawyers sent by 'Mark,' who've apparently been dispatched to stop him from prescribing WeChat to help his patients. 'Oh Mark, your anger is merely a cry for help,' the therapist replies. 'Don't worry,' he says. 'With WeChat animated stickers, you can find a way to express your emotions.
同樣是發布在YouTube上的第二段視頻中，上述這位德國治療師遇到了“馬克”派來的律師，這些律師顯然是要阻止他為患者開的微信“處方”。這位治療師回答說：噢，馬克，你的憤怒只是求助的呼喊。他表示，別擔心，用微信的動畫表情，你就可以找到表達情感的方式。
Last year Tencent said it would spend as much as $200 million to promote WeChat outside China, and this year, the company signaled that it will continue to spend to market WeChat. Tencent once tried to acquire WhatsApp, according to people familiar with the matter, but the venture failed.
去年騰訊表示將投入至多2億美元用于在海外市場推廣微信。今年騰訊還暗示，將繼續斥資推廣微信。據知情人士透露，騰訊還曾試圖收購WhatsApp，但沒有成功。
In South Africa, WeChat continues to trail WhatsApp, ranking as the sixth and eighth most popular apps on iPhone and Android phones, respectively, compared to WeChat, which tops both lists, according to research firm App Annie's mobile app tracker
調研公司App Annie的移動應用追蹤數據顯示，微信在南非的受歡迎程度仍落后于WhatsApp，WhatsApp位居iPhone和安卓手機應用排行榜的榜首，微信則位列第六和第八。
An ad targeting Mr. Zuckerberg could help users distinguish between the two apps, which in the past have been confused by users. According to Arthur Goldstuck, managing director of South African technology research company World Wide Worx, when WeChat launched in South Africa in February 2013, many potential users got confused and accidentally downloaded rival WhatsApp instead.
這支以扎克伯格為靶心的廣告可以幫助用戶區分這兩款應用，過去許多用戶把微信和WhatsApp搞混了。南非技術研究公司World Wide Worx董事總經理戈爾德斯塔克(Arthur Goldstuck)稱，2013年2月份微信進軍南非市場的時候，許多潛在用戶搞混了，陰差陽錯地下載了WhatsApp。
'Our understanding is that WhatsApp downloads grew by 50% in the two months after WeChat was launched here...indicating that there is confusion between the two,' Mr. Goldstuck said.
戈爾德斯塔克說，微信在南非市場上推出后的兩個月，WhatsApp的下載量增加了50%，說明用戶搞混了這兩款應用。
In an interview last year, Brett Loubser, who heads WeChat's marketing in South Africa, said that he'd heard about users being confused about the difference between WhatsApp and WeChat. 'It's an extremely competitive environment,' he said. 'Obviously the dream is to be number one.'
微信南非營銷部主管洛布塞爾(Brett Loubser)去年接受媒體采訪時曾表示，他聽說用戶們感到困惑，搞不清楚WhatsApp和微信之間的區別。他說，這是一個競爭相當激烈的環境，顯然大家都夢想成為最熱門的應用。
Asked to comment, Tencent said Thursday it was investigating whether the ad was in fact theirs.
記者周四尋求騰訊置評，騰訊稱，正在調查這支廣告是不是騰訊所為。
Take-no-prisoner efforts to build market share are normal in China's Internet sector. Chief executives bicker publicly on social media, and companies run smear campaigns against each other, reaching levels of public antagonism less common outside of China.
為了爭奪市場份額采取毫不留情的營銷手段，這種做法在中國的互聯網行業很常見。首席執行長們在社交媒體上公開唇槍舌戰，企業相互進行惡意營銷，而這種公開對抗的狀況在中國以外地區實屬罕見。
Thus far, Chinese companies like Tencent have been taking a quiet, under-the-radar approach to investing outside China. But if the tone of these ads are any indication, their marketing, at least, might be starting to get more rancorous.
到目前為止，騰訊等中國互聯網公司在進行海外擴張時一直比較低調。但這兩支廣告表明，至少從營銷上來看，互聯網公司可能已開始惡意相對。
Paul Mozur / Devon Maylie
Paul Mozur / Devon Maylie
