The day of the Olympic Games turns out to be a rather boring news day for newspaper front pages in China, but it’s really good for advertising. The image above shows four pages of an eight page advertising wrap around for the Beijing Youth Daily, the highest circulation morning newspaper in the capital. The copy reads:
Dacheng Group and Beijing Youth Daily join hands to cheer on China and Beijing!
August 8, 2008
But if you are looking for real news, there does not appear to be much going on aside from the already over-reported opening of the Olympic Games.
August 8, 2008
To make such a comparison maybe is inappropriate for the occasion, but the newspapers’ special Olympic layouts are reminiscent of the sad days after the earthquake when the front pages ran full page photos with inspirational, upbeat slogans printed in bold type. However, the depressing black of the earthquake front pages has been replaced by auspicious red, and it seems that all newspapers nationwide have used red abundantly to create an atmosphere of euphoria.
Also notable is the ubiquity of images of the Bird’s Nest on the front pages. It seems the days when the construction drew lots of criticism for one reason or another are long gone and there is little doubt that the stadium will be be welded into the collective memory of the Chinese people for the pride and glory it represents.