Commercial Breakdown

Over the years， Chinese ads have gone from being childhood memories to memes and pop culture

那些年磨過我們耳朵的廣告詞

Stuck in an elevator， forced to watch a maddening commercial for some second-hand car app for the 100th time， you’d be easily forgiven for cursing the day the ad man came to China.

It certainly wasn’t always like this.

From the rosy-cheeked qipao girls promoting cigarettes in 1930s Shanghai to the less-glamorous era of the late 40s and 50s， Chinese ads have evolved with the times. In chaotic wartime and the early years of New China， there weren’t many products to promote or consumer markets to attract. Ads consisted of plain-speaking statements that a product was available—industrial machinery， health aids， daily essentials—usually placed in a newspaper， with terse explanations of its function and little promotional fanfare. It was a much simpler time when advertisers in China had yet to learn the powers of persuasion.

At the end of the PRC’s first Five-Year Plan in 1957， commercial advertising became obsolete， since the socialist reforms put everything under state ownership； there was no need for promotions in a planned economy where the state was in charge of distributing all goods. Denounced as a product of capitalism， commercial ads disappeared entirely during the Cultural Revolution and it was not until the Reform and Opening Up era that they returned.

Shanghai TV became the first Chinese station to broadcast a commercial in over a decade on January 28， 1979， the first day of the Lunar New Year. It featured a nourishing ginseng wine and a short message announcing the station was back in the business of advertising. Since then， ads have evolved to form part of the country’s collective memory， with their jingles and slogans entering popular culture.

Perhaps the first iconic ad was for the “Yanwu Radio Recorder” in 1984， which featured possibly China’s earliest earworm：

Yanwu， Yanwu， love comes with a song

Y3nw^， Y3nw^， y# q^ g8 l1i y！ pi3n q！ng

燕舞，燕舞，一曲歌來一片情

At 500 RMB apiece， a serious price tag at the time， a Yanwu recorder was the Walkman of its era， a must-have product for any 80s youth who wished to prove they were cool. As access to television in the home gradually became more widespread in the 1990s， commercials began appealing directly to consumers’ emotions， such as a Nanfang Black Sesame Paste ad which showed a child enjoying a bowl outside a welcoming stall at dusk， as the narrator tells about “warm childhood memories.” For the post-80s generation， the ad itself has become a childhood memory， as well as its slogan：

A whiff of fragrance， a touch of warmth

Y# g^ n5ngxi`ng， y# l） w8nnu2n

一股濃香，一縷溫暖

As the importance of branding began to assert itself on Chinese advertisers， manufacturers began to develop more sophisticated approaches， sometimes even adapting to different markets. Though electronics and home appliances company Haier’s current English slogan is “Made for Modern Living，” the Chinese version takes an alternative approach by emphasizing integrity：

Haier， sincere forever

H2i’0r， zh8nch9ng d3o y6ngyu2n

海爾，真誠(chéng)到永遠(yuǎn)

Similarly， refrigerator brand Aucma promises to constantly improve itself：

There’s no best， only better

M9iy6u zu# h2o， zh@y6u g-ng h2o

沒有最好，只有更好

Cosmetic brand Haodi， meanwhile， defines what counts as “good”：

If it’s good for all， then it’s really good

D3ji` h2o c1i sh# zh8n de h2o

大家好才是真的好

As a new generation of consumers has come of age， pop culture and adverting have become increasingly intertwined. From the late 1990s to the early 2000s， Wahaha， the largest beverage company in China， ran a series of campaigns in which popular male singers proclaimed their love of Wahaha Bottled Water through their music. These song titles became Wahaha’s slogan each year：

Wahaha， all I see is you

W1h`h`， w6 de y2nli zh@y6u n@

娃哈哈， 我的眼里只有你

Loving you equals loving oneself

Ai n@ d0ngy% 3i z@j@

愛你等于愛自己

You’re the one I love

Ai de jishi n@

愛的就是你

The age of celebrity endorsement had arrived， and quickly came to include star athletes who symbolized not only physical prowess but national pride. One of the most memorable commercials of the early 2000s was a Sprite ad featuring Sydney Olympics diving champions Tian Liang and Guo Jingjing， rumored to be dating at the time. The slogan played on the combination of their names：

Sparking and chilling the heart

J～ngj～ngli3ng， t7u x～n li1ng

晶晶亮，透心涼

When the two allegedly broke up， fans joked that “chilling the heart” was probably an early sign that the relationship was doomed. But while some brands turned to sentimentality or star power to sell their products， others relied on their own consistency to be a selling point in an ever-changing era. Nongfu Spring Water， for example， still uses the same slogan it always has：

Nongfu Spring is a little sweet

N5ngf$ Sh`nqu1n y6u di2n ti1n

農(nóng)夫山泉有點(diǎn)甜

Indeed， most food and beverage commercials depend on being simple and down to earth， so their ad campaigns hope consumers associate their respective brands with the appropriate slogan：

Nescafé， tastes great

Qu-ch1o K`f8i， w-id3o h2o j！ le

雀巢咖啡，味道好極了

Master Kong’s Instant Noodles， deliciousness you can see

K`ngshi～fu F`ngbi3nmi3n， h2och～ k3n de ji3n

康師傅方便面，好吃看得見

Yummy Snack， eat more if you think it’s so tasty

H2och～di2n， h2och～ n@ ji du4 ch～ di2n

好吃點(diǎn)，好吃你就多吃點(diǎn)

In the 2000s， as electronic products began to become more mainstream， “science and technology” became the buzz words of the decade. Former tech giant Nokia’s famous slogan “Connecting people” took on its own Chinese characteristics：

Human-based technology

K8j# y@ r9n w9i b0n

科技以人為本

Lenovo， on the other hand， went with something a little more aspirational：

Technology creates freedom

K8j# chu3ngz3o z#y5u

科技創(chuàng)造自由

Hi-Tech Wealth’s Personal Digital Assistant was one of the most sought-after products for business professionals in the early 2000s， with its slogan：

Technology lightens your burden

K8j# r3ng n@ g-ng q～ngs4ng

科技讓你更輕松

Commercials also started to appeal to consumers with diverse values， putting an emphasis on individualism to cater to a younger audience. Echoing L’Oreal’s “Because I’m worth it” campaign， Rejoice Shampoo told its customers：

Just so confident

Jishi zh-me z#x#n

就是這么自信

Adidas has long used the somewhat nonsensical phrase “Impossible is nothing，” while Chinese shoemaker Li-Ning arguably improved upon that：

Anything is possible

Y！qi- ji8 y6u k0n9ng

一切皆有可能

M-zone， China Mobile’s brand for young customers， cast pop icon Jay Chou in their commercial with the words：

My zone， I call the shots

W6 de d#p1n， t～ng w6 de

我的地盤，聽我的

As younger people embrace irony， some are using slogans in their daily phrases for comedic effect. For instance， one could save an embarrassing situation by joking， “I was over-confident because I used Rejoice Shampoo.” Others ads became memes and were adapted for wider use. Shangdong Lanxiang Senior Technical School， for example， may be the most famous school on the Chinese internet， due to its TV commercial starring Tang Guoqiang， famous for playing Mao Zedong in various TV shows and movies. Many saw humor in the contrast between the actor’s established persona and the unglamorous course he promoted.

Which school has the best excavator training？ Look for Lanxiang in Shandong， China.

W`ju9j～ j#sh n2 ji` qi1ng？ Zh4nggu5 Sh`nd4ng

zh2o L1nxi1ng.

挖掘機(jī)技術(shù)哪家強(qiáng)？中國(guó)山東找

藍(lán)翔。

The slogan went viral online in 2014， catapulting the school into an unexpected level of stardom. Netizens soon began using the slogan as a punchline， for example by telling a seemingly meaningful story which concludes：

So， here’s a question for you. Which school has the best excavator training？

N3me， w-nt！ l1i le： W`ju9j～ j#sh n2 ji` qi1ng？

那么，問題來了：挖掘機(jī)技術(shù)哪

家強(qiáng)？

Affectionately mocking certain commercials produced by （or aimed at） older generations have become an online hobby for many. One commercial for a girl learning English using a Bubugao audio book featured a slogan that was considered ripe for satire：

Mom will never have to worry about my study.

M`ma z3i y0 b%y7ng d`nx～n w6 de xu9x！ le.

媽媽再也不用擔(dān)心我的學(xué)習(xí)了。

It can be adapted to many occasions.

With these emoji packs， mom will never have to worry about me losing a gif war.

Y6u le zh-xi8 bi2oq！ngb`o， m`ma z3i y0 b%hu# d`nx～n w6 d7ut% hu# sh$ le.

有了這些表情包，媽媽再也不會(huì)擔(dān)心我斗圖會(huì)輸了。

From novelty to nostalgia to netizens’ memes， if nothing else， Chinese ads are undoubtedly themselves products of their times.