Beijing Smog

Beijing was immersed in smog for a marathon three or so days till this afternoon, and I thought I'd take a picture of how it looked compared with a clear day earlier in the month that I blogged about over here. There's a lot of schandenfreude in the Western Press over (well over anything Chinese actually) the smog in Beijing in the run up to the Olympics, along with less helpful suggestions that restricting the traffic will have an impact. It doesn't! The smog occurs over the weekends too. It looks very much like its the smokestack industries to the west of Beijing that are responsible for all this. The ones that made the remote controlled toy helicopters you secured for Christmas or filled up the Christmas crackers with plastic toys. Well you know how I feel about buying pointless shit.

I'm quite sure they will restrict these offending polluters around the time of the Beijing Olympics to make sure that our international visitors have a good time, and leave with a postive impression. Before the 15 million of us who live here can get back to doing what we do best. Cleaning the air by breathing it in with our lungs, and making the it sparkle and clean like below.

What I find most daunting is that things are unlikely to change in the short term. China is under pressure to reduce its trade imbalance with the U.S. and all the other countries that consume its vast output at morally questionable prices, I talked about over here. How are they going to do this? Well, part of the answer is that China will subsidise those TV's, personal computers, washing machines, air conditioners and domestically produced mobile phones to its rural/low tier city constituency before it asks the West for something in return. That last article slipped by a lot of people in the mobile phone business. It was released in the Indian press first just before the Christmas break.

Random Retail

I've talked about the China Adidas 'Impossible is nothing' stuff before over here, and Rob raised a really good point about the work not being representational of the international spirit of the Olympic games which is bang on. I haven't seen one mention of another country mentioned in any of the communications for this international event. I think the onus is on the international agencies to have a word with the Chinese clients about this very inward approach to what is after all a celebration of multinational competitive spirit. Age also did a post on the Adidas commercial being derivative of a Visa commerical which is well worth a once-over here.
Personally I think line artwork is lovely stuff at the moment and I'm trying to get across to the teams I'm working with that tonality is crucial in marketing communications. That the messaging is often less important than the way an ad 'feels'.

But really, sports apparel advertising is looking soooo cliched - They are all clinging to lamposts like drunks, including Nike. The main high street in Beijing is dominated by Adidas with 'Impossible is nothing' as you can see above, but on the same high street is a domestic sports brand called Li Ning. Their flagship store is here, and their endline in red at the bottom of the poster below reads 'Anything is Possible'. This is for me the real challenge out here. Persuading brands to find their own voice, and understanding that standing out for the right reasons is a good thing. I'm already seeing a Yin and Yang correctional approach to branding and research... If its too functional that means we need to add emotional. If its too emotional it needs more functional. No it doesn't. It needs what it needs. There's also a philosophical debate to be had over business entities that exist in countries for no other reason than wealth creation. If that's the case then a brands values are all about making money. Period.

Personally I'm all up for the sports brand that talks frankly. Something along the lines of 'We know you stuff your pie-hole with takeaway pizza and corn syrup beverages but you do like to watch matches on the box down the pub with your mates, while wearing some sporty looking kit now and again'. That's a brand voice. Tagline - 'Its impossible, another cheeky half fella?'.


I saw this sign above while wandering around the latest shopping mall to open, and couldn't resist taking a snap. Of course I was thinking about 'her' at the time. She's so... she's so freestyle baby, and she's just for me. Apparently.


Later on I as I descended the escalator in the adjoining department store, I got thinking if this guy could qualify for that whole uncanny valley thing that Russell was talking about. That name though...Hunter Funny.... Most awesome n'est pas?


No post on Beijing retail could get by without some reference to Panasonic's Olympic street theatre on Wanfujing. Seriously, I don't know if Panasonic have ever knowingly had creative tumescence. This (ahem) brand, particularly in Asia (like Canon) suffers from the marketing communications equivalent of a charisma bypass. Whatever you do... Don't stand out! The Canon endline is particularly irritating. 'Delighting you always'. What a pile of shit that is. They so-don't delight people that I challenge anyone to find a delighted Canon user on the whole internet....Ever. At least Panasonic with their 'Ideas for life' are implying that they are just ideas and you wont need them when you're dead, and that they aren't a Volvo.

Last but not least, is it just me that sees a bit of Chinese (yes grasshopper) in the Colonel above? There's a healthy dominance of KFC over McDonalds for number of outlets in China and I'm blaming the atavistic logo! Ha

Hutong Life

One of the quintessential yet rapidly disappearing Beijing ways of life is the hutong. The hutong is the traditional architectural and communal structure for this style of living and stretches back centuries. Communal living in this style does however often present some harder realities. There are a terrific series of posts on Beijing hutongs including lots of photography over at Beijing Visitor