I've had a soundbite about China since I last worked in Beijing. One that I hope reconciles the extremes while allowing for a Springboard away from the dull, middle of the road and bland marketing that practically every Chinese 'brand' takes refuge in (often at the encouragement of very influential advertising agencies leadership just chasing the dollar with little conviction for the effort needed to persuade clients about how to be interesting).
I've been saying that that China is both a couple of years old and a few thousand years old. It's a way of saying "look at the diversity of your contemporary culture". It's a unique one that is brand new and ancient at the same time. This is more than just words as you can feel it as well as see it.
It's visceral.
I'm really pleased to see Sir John Hegarty of BBH articulate a lot of what I've seen over the years in mainland Chinese advertising from his recent speech at the China International Advertising Festival in Nanning on October 29th last month.
It's worth a read if you've anything to do with China and advertising. Here are the highlights:
You can read the full speech over at the IPA website here if you have membership.
