"The Asian Art Museum today announced that its 'lost' Chinese terracotta warrior, reported missing and wandering the Bay Area, has been found."

Thus concluded one of the more memorable, unconventional recent attempts by a museum to promote an exhibition. The "lost" warrior—an exquisitely made-up and costumed actor—is meant to draw attention to San Francisco's recently rebranded Asian Art Museum show of antiquities from China's famous Xian Terracotta Army (Feb. 22–May 27).

We spoke with the museum about the ins and outs of the unique campaign and how they introduced the idea to their Chinese partners. Continue reading...

"It never hurts when people are talking about you relative to a guy whose every statement is picked up by a microphone."

That was the assessment of Brian Cupps, Brand Initiatives Director at Li-Ning, of the recent news that Dwayne Wade's new Li-Ning-inspired nickname "Way of Wade" (WoW) was called "corny" by MVP teammate LeBron James. "It's more tongue in cheek than anything," said Cupps. "It doesn't hurt."

Li-Ning's fledgling partnership with Wade has certainly not hurt either brand. Though hard numbers are yet to come, Cupps said anecdotally that "all of our indicators, be it social media or future sales, are up based on Wade." Cupps added, "Particularly in the US, where we had little to no real consumer following, we have a very strong pull right now and demand for our products because of Wade. Now we have to feed that demand."

Feeding the demand is going to be a huge challenge for Li-Ning for a number of reasons. For starters, it's a Chinese brand facing a mountain of existing consumer prejudice against China. Worse, negative China news outside of Li-Ning's control impacts this effort. Continue reading...

At top, Brad Pitt phones in his new role as Cadillac China spokesman.

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 10 reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week, the cat cafe... bodyguards... WeChat... Ikea's horse meatballs... Victoria's Secret... HTC... best selling sedans... Hollywood... Yum!... Bradillac and more. Continue reading...

Adidas may have closed its last factory in China, but the athletic brand still means to stay in the nation in a meaningful way with other suppliers and more importantly in the hearts of consumers. So far, the brand is headed in the right direction, logging a 23 percent jump in China sales in 2011 (to $1.5 billion) and a nine month sales growth of 16 percent. (Full year 2012 earnings to be announced March 7.)

Adidas will be facing down Nike, a stock Citi just upgraded based largely on the Swoosh's China outlook. Both brands are joined by other foreign names for the emerging China youth market.

The expectations and brand characteristics valued by China's youth have changed and keep changing. New stresses by the segment on creativity and individual expression are challenging athletic brands to up their games in China. The challenges facing athletic brands in China to control the brand message of free expression when targeting an age group that consumes a third of all clothing sold in are immense. Hint: Start with skateboarding. Continue reading...

Above, a Coke and a smile are still the right stuff for the brand during China's Lunar New Year holiday. 

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 10 reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week: Dwayne Wade visits the Bird's Nest... VW bump... stealing Coke's recipe... McDonald's... Versace wallpaper... poisonous fake mutton vs. horse meat... lobster... coffee beaneries... New Zealand's Chinese New Zealand milk... and more. Continue reading...

It's a rough start when your new China spokesman is banned from China—but it appears Cadillac is going ahead with a new deal to make Brad Pitt its face in the world's fastest growing auto market.

Though with sales plunging in China and Audi and BMW eating its lunch, the brand needs to do something. It's too bad that even Brad Pitt won't likely be able to sell the Chinese an angry car they don't want. 

Cadillac's new $3 million dollar endorsement with Pitt (Bradillac?) may add some perspective to Pitt's recent, less than smooth entry to Chinese social media. In January, Pitt joined microblogging platform Weibo and posted "Yep, it is the truth. I am coming…"

The news was forwarded tens of thousands of times by those wondering if China's ban on the actor—following his film "Seven Years in Tibet"—had been lifted. Just a few weeks later, Pitt's account disappeared. It's unclear if the actor himself deleted it or if Weibo shut it down, something the platform is wont to do. Continue reading...

Following the countdown, the launch plans of a Kim Jung-Un lookalike are thwarted by a crashed browser. The dictator grabs a rifle, intent on immediately executing the cadre responsible for the embarrassment. But the fast-fingered lackey whips open a Liebao browser and saves the day. "Use Liebao. Launch Victoriously" reads the tagline. Then everyone starts Gangnam Styling because… of course.

Poking fun at ally North Korea is just the latest little stunt by China's Kingsoft to promote its new Lieboa (猎豹; Cheetah) browser. But is the world ready for a Chinese face on its Internet?Continue reading...

Above, a Chinese New Year brand extension the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group is likely not aware of: 7Up fireworks.

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 10 reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week: Valentine's Day "debauchery"... Amazon's Kindle-less Kindle store... PM2.5... Yum!... Renault recall... Bloomingdale’s... the end of free Wi-Fi... Pizza Hut's shrimp tempura, mayo and hotdog pizza... 7Up fireworks... and more. Continue reading...