China Advertising in 1983: Sanyo, Coca-Cola.

„Until 1977 advertising in China was considered evil, so there wasn’t any. But in 1978 the government endorsed its use. The advertisements look like specification sheets. There are commercials on Chinese television, most of them for industrial products like electronic motors; the waste circulation must be astronomic. There is no need to advertise consumer products, because most of them are in short supply.

The most important advertising medium in China is radio, the communal speaker system reaching 75 per cent of the population. The commercials are broadcast twice a day, one after another. There are 40 local newspapers, but they consist of only two sheets and their advertising content is less than 25 per cent. There are 160 magazines, mostly devoted to trade and technical subjects, and there are billboards in the big cities.

There are no less than 67 advertising agencies, of which 17 are responsible for advertising Chinese products in foreign countries, and foreign products in China. Dentsu, the Japanese agency, has small offices in Peking and Shanghai, and McCann-Erickson has an office in Peking.“

China Advertising in 1983: Marlboro.

Source: Ogilvy on Advertising, 1983, pp. 187-188.