Category Archives: Advertising and Marketing

African Boots of Beijing screening

Posted on 2005-07-21 by Jeremy Goldkorn

The boys of Afrika United FC African Boots of Beijing, a documentary film about Beijing’s African football team, will be screened at 8:30 pm at Yugong Yishan, near the Workers’ Stadium. Entrance costs RMB 30, with all proceeds going to … Continue reading →

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McDonald’s patrons insulted by “Kneeling” ad

Posted on 2005-06-18 by Joel Martinsen

McDonald’s is the latest international company to have an advertisement seen as offensive in China. Its latest in-store ad spot, “The Debt Collector”, features a kneeling customer, leading viewers in Chengdu to accuse McDonald’s of insulting all Chinese consumers. The … Continue reading →

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Architectural wonders make us wonder…

Posted on 2005-06-16 by Mauro Marescialli

We bet you didn’t know that the skyline of Beijing will soon be featuring ‘the world first flexible cabled glass curtain wall’, as this billboard for the new Poly Plaza building proudly boasts. We didn’t know about this wonder, and … Continue reading →

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Adage China

Posted on 2005-06-15 by Jeremy Goldkorn

AdAge, the trade journal for the advertising industry, has launched the electronic newsletter AdAge China, going into competition with Hong Kong’s Media magazine which is available in print and electronically, and has up till now been the industry gossip sheet … Continue reading →

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Ultra-leftists and righteous indignation

Posted on 2005-06-14 by Running Dog

The Beijing Daily Messenger has got hot under the collar about a real estate ad featuring a Chairman Mao lookalike. A legal rentaquote is recruited to the cause, and he notes that it is illegal to use the images of … Continue reading →

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Virgin Cigarettes

Posted on 2005-06-04 by Joel Martinsen

The work of document forgers is not entirely big-ticket certificates like college diplomas and professional licenses; you can also pick up official-looking counterfeits of nonexistent documents. Maybe with a “License to Cruise” you won’t get slapped quite so hard in … Continue reading →

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Herbal viagra

Posted on 2005-06-02 by Running Dog

My colleague draws my attention to this unnecessarily phallic ginseng root on a billboard in downtown Shanghai.

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Hutongs in heat with new vending machines

Posted on 2005-05-28 by Dror Poleg

Hutongs, the narrow alleys most prominently present in Beijing, are a haven of traditional urban Chinese lifestyle amidst newly constructed real estate projects. Hutong residents enjoy a peaceful life, replete with Mah-Jong tournaments and gossip stops at the communal toilets … Continue reading →

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Anatomy of a bogus drug ad

Posted on 2005-05-27 by Joel Martinsen

When I opened my paper yesterday evening, I discovered a garish four-page insert from a company called Warner advertising a product called “Shark” 帅克. My suspicions were aroused by the unnumbered pages and curious celebrity endorsements, and a quick survey of other news kiosks confirmed that this ad did not come from the Mirror distribution center.

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Controlling Adverts

Posted on 2005-05-27 by Joel Martinsen

Lots of shady situations in Beijing’s medical profession recently, from celebrity-endorsed city hospitals preying on rural folk to thousand-yuan consultation fees. Advertising rules are the latest consumer issue. Judging from the medical advertisements that blanket Chinese media, one could easily … Continue reading →

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