'Made with China' Ad on BBC Boosts Products' Image

China is broadcasting a 30-second-long "Made with China" TV advertisement in Europe and Asia to boost the image of the country's products.

The ad, which shows goods labeled with a "Made with China" tag being manufactured with the help of top foreign firms, started showing on BBC World News, Eurosport, and Eurosport 2 on June 28. It will air about 400 times before Aug 8, said the China Chamber of Commerce for the Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, one of the four industry groups who commissioned it along with the Ministry of Commerce.

It previously appeared on CNN last November and was also shown at the Chinese Grand Prix of 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship (F1) this April.

"The ad generated a lot of positive response during the previous two rounds of broadcasting, which is an important reason the ministry supports another one," a Ministry of Commerce official, who declined to reveal her name, told China Daily on Thursday.

According to a survey on the popular online portal Sina.com conducted when the ad was showing on CNN, as many as 97.5 percent of respondents said they liked it.

"(The ministry) has made a detailed and complete plan to boost made-in-China products' image globally," the ministry official said.

"We will likely expand the branding campaign beyond ads in the future."

China Business News quoted an unnamed insider as saying, "Both Eurosport and Eurosport 2 are quite popular with Europeans. The World Cup presents a golden opportunity to show the ad to a larger audience."

Communication University of China advertising department dean Huang Shengmin said the government has made progress in its goal of improving Chinese products' global image.

"Unlike ordinary commercials, the 'Made with China' ad's impact might not be immediately apparent," he said. "But it will gradually influence viewers and ultimately have a greater effect than regular ads."

Huang said the government should consistently use such marketing methods and develop new ones, too, such as constructing overseas showrooms for Chinese products or recruiting high-profile image spokespeople.

(China Daily, July 2, 2010)