THE kids are cute, their Mandarin perfect. But the same cannot be said of the commercial, going by some of the comments on local online forums.

Netizens on AsiaOne, Stomp's Talk Back and Sam's Alfresco Heaven have been criticising the use of foreign children in this year's Speak Mandarin Campaign since its launch a month ago.

Aired on Channels 5 and 8 at under a minute each, the commercials feature six children from France, Norway, Russia and Congo reciting Chinese nursery rhymes and talking about their hobbies in pitch-perfect, Beijing-accented Mandarin.

Another clip showed an American baby girl responding to her five-year-old sister's Mandarin instructions to clap her hands and point to the lamp.

JohnTT commented in Sam's Alfresco Heaven: 'Why use foreigners in such a campaign? Is it to put locals in a shameful and embarrassing spot or to emphasise the talents of foreigners in S'pore?

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times' Life!