China is the second largest economy in the world and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse)—but who's got the time?! Here's the week's reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week: Iron Man 3 inaccuracies... BMW... Casino frugality... Wanglaoji trademarks... Heinz baby food... Hugo Boss mini-movies... Sunning manga... China's first lady for Pehchaolin... Ashley Furniture... L’Oreal... Ad spends... Iron Man 3 product placement... and more.Continue reading...

Mistresses and mismanagement rumors are mixing to make what was supposed to be Red Cross China's rebound opportunity a undeniable PR disaster. Empty donation boxes and suggestions that the organization is holding back aid until cameras arrive are frothing up to destroy the Red Cross brand in China, possibly forever.

The emotional damage caused by the recent earthquake that destroyed the town of Ya'an in China's Sichuan Province, killing nearly 200 and injuring thousands, is compounded by the memory of the devastating quake that hit the area in 2008. But unlike for Red Cross organizations elsewhere that thrive on reputations built up from past disaster responses, Red Cross China would rather not revisit the past. 

The Red Cross has been in China since 1904, but after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Red Cross Society of China became a pseudo-governmental aid organization operating more or less on the Party's behalf. During the 1990s, the the grip on the Red Cross was loosened but the charity still operates in tandem with the CPC.Continue reading...

Above, Hitchcock H7N9 bird flu poster featuring Shanghai's skyline, via Weibo.

China is the second largest economy in the world and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse)—but who's got the time?! Here's the week's reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week:  What's haunting Weibo?... Chicken woes for KFC... North Korean beer... New Zealand product placement... Audi's new branded film... Car plates... Skinny Uniqlo goes bigger... Inflation... Diaosi Mike Sui... Fan Bingbing for booze... Disneyland... Jordan gets countersued... Chinese spending in Europe... Former Google China head picks a fight with a 13-year-old... and more.Continue reading...

"I've been eating at KFC the last few days, could that be a problem?" ("前几天刚吃了肯德基会有问题吗") asked one Weibo user.

The coming week could be a nightmare for KFC in China. Depending on developments in an outbreak of a new strain of avian flu called H7N9, KFC could see its business decimated by another chicken scare just months after a previous one.

KFC is not the only brand worried. Tyson chicken is already rolling out damage control.Continue reading...

Above, all of the name brand paper joss items available for this week's Qing Ming Jie or Tomb Sweeping Day when Chinese burn items to send to ancestors in the afterlife. Qing Ming is now big business.

China is the second largest economy in the world and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse)—but who's got the time?! Here's the week's reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week: Apple still in trouble... China's anti-"fixie" rhetoric... infant formula saga... Celebrity China clout... PETA... counterfeit beer... Porsche... Startup Asia 2013... fly home to vote... "Baidu Glass"... W Hotels... McDonald's... Iron Man 3 to World War Z... cheap Bollinger... iPhone joss... "vulgar" Birkin brand... and more.Continue reading...

Happy April Fool's Day! If you thought your favorite brands were too serious and focused on great products and innovation to have a laugh or two, think again. Here's a roundup of some social media jokes from YouTube, Honda, Twitter and even the little town of Ely, Minn. 

Be honest: did you fall for any of them?Continue reading...

One detail that contributed to the tragedy of China's Great Leap Forward was how local leaders reported what the central authority wanted to hear and not the reality. Volvo, it seems, is learning that, despite economic development and opening, business in China is still done with "Chinese characteristics."

The venerable Swedish auto brand recently reported that its China dealers have been inflating sales numbers to clench cash incentives. It claims it fixed the problem, but the practice of grasping the short term at the cost of the long is a particularly present challenge for China that goes far beyond Volvo.Continue reading...

Beckham's China debacle was so bad that even Xinhua wondered if it all wasn't just "some sort of publicity stunt." It's not a good sign when China can't even get its own state-run news service on board with a publicity stunt put on by China to help its ailing soccer industry.

On the bright side for China, the west may remember this trip as the one during which Beckham flopped onto his bum while placing a kick.* But in China, they'll remember this trip as the one in which Beckham lifted his shirt to show off his Chinese tattoo just before the whole nation photoshopped it.

As the World Ambassador for Chinese Football, Beckham is tasked with making everyone in China forget that A) their national team is a longstanding disgrace with a single World Cup appearance ever (2002); and B) China's national soccer scene is so corrupt that numerous players and even the nation's soccer association head were sent to prison last year bringing the total count of the convicted to somewhere north of 50.Continue reading...