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By Guest Reporter, July 29, 2011 12:42 pm

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Is this the face of China youth’s new role model?

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His Beginning

The “typical” male child in China goes through a series of events throughout his life: He attends school and receives decent marks, graduates from post-secondary school, gets a job, pays (or struggles to pay) for his living, and cares for his family. But what happens when a person strays away from this status quo?

Like any other boy growing up in China, Han Han went to school, hung out with his friends, and spent time with his family. Yet it was this one, seemingly ordinary youth, out of a country of millions, that sky-rocketed to becoming one of the most well-known in China and arguably the most popular blogger in the world.  Last year, he was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.

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How did this happen and how has it changed the way Chinese youth see themselves and the world?

His Rise

For starters, Han Han dropped out of high school (something that the majority of Chinese youth don’t even dare dream about).  He then proceeded to write and publish a bestselling novel at the age of 17 based on his experience as a high school dropout in Shanghai. In the next 10 years, he also became the author of China’s most read blog, the writer of several books, founder of a magazine, and pursued his dream to become a professional race car driver, all before the age of 27.

Han Han’s blog draws a lot of controversy as he writes freely and speaks with a critical voice with regards to the Chinese government, the economy, society, and anything else that happens to be on his mind.

“To be honest, I think a true writer and author is one who needs to give the government headaches. Writers should not be serving their government; they should be serving their own ideals, even if they aren’t the same as the government’s.” – Han Han

Chinese netizens love him because he writes with calculated wit and sarcasm. He somehow knows exactly how much to write so that he can clearly express his opinion, without being censored by the great firewall. Take this excerpt from Han Han’s post regarding how the Chinese government view citizens and how they should act in society:

I think one should first look at the government’s attitude. Who are you to cut in front of our leaders? When our leaders express condemnation, it means that you’re allowed to express condemnation. When they express regret, it means your time for expressing condemnation is over. Our leaders want to condemn, but you want to take action. There lies the limit of the leaders’ tolerance. If you really take action, our leaders will have to punish you. This is because they’ve played a big chess piece and it would be inappropriate for you, a little chess piece, to jump off the board. Moreover, in this game of chess, you’re a black piece and the leaders are a white piece. Firstly, this is because workers are always a little more tanned, and secondly, it’s easy for you to become a black household.

In general, Han Han’s writing captures the hidden, rebellious attitudes of the Chinese youth and he embodies everything that today’s youth wish they could do, but are restricted from because of family expectations and government restrictions.

During Starcom’s lower tier research, we asked one young man in his early 20s to write his most pressing thought down on a large piece of paper.  He wrote about his disappointment with the Chinese government (in a subtle way) and how they don’t live up to their promises.  As soon as he finished writing this, his mother, who was in the house also, rebuked him severely and sternly told him never to write things like that again.

Han Han has become the voice of his generation.

His Influence

At a young age, Han Han rejected the socially accepted (and in many cases the only accepted) path of the typical youth living in China. To the modern-day Chinese youth who are starting to question traditional Chinese expectations and who are beginning to value and develop their own sense of individuality, Han Han is their torchbearer. He is admired by youth netizens for his courage to break free from China’s high social and educational expectations, and for his unwavering opinionated blog posts in a world where internet censorship is highly prominent.

Han Han’s success story has spurred hope within China’s youth; a hope of accomplishing more and of being someone greater than those in the past. He has carved a path for a new generation of super youth and has generated a new way of thinking about the future.

Look out China, a new generation wave is arriving and it’s going to hit harder than ever before.

- By Stefanie Chan, Starcom Intern

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Comments (1)

By Angie, July 15, 2011 12:44 pm

Just recently I saw Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon 3D (变形金刚) and watched as Ken Jeong drank a box of milk.  Upon closer inspection it looked vaguely familiar.  Right then, Ken Jeong delivered his line to hero Sam Witwicky: “”I’m not talking to you until I finish my Shuhua milk.”  Shuhua! That’s a milk brand from Yili, the infamous China milk brand caught knee deep in the 2008 Chinese melamine milk scandal.

Clearly Yili is trying to transform (pun intended!) their brand image in the eyes of Chinese audiences.

The new Transformers doesn’t hit China theaters until July 21^st, but when it does, Chinese moviegoers may be surprised to see familiar Chinese brands featured prominently:

Lenovo computers are beautifully displayed as the computer brand of choice of the main characters.

China clothing company Meters/bonwe is worn by Sam Witwicky in the opening scene – There’s even a facebook page dedicated to Meters/bonwe sightings in the movie (click here).

And, while it was very vague (due to the far and brief logo shot), we saw that Guangdong-based TCL’s snazzy flat-screen TV actually transforms into one of the smaller Transformers.  TVC on Youku here.

This brings the number of Chinese company product placements up to 4 in “The Dark Side of the Moon”, from 3 in the franchise’s previous installment.  In Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Meters/bonwe was seen in freeway signs, creating a large viral buzz amongst Chinese netizens with the clip featuring Meters/bonwe widely circulated.  The appearance was credited for increasing the favourability ratings of the brand to 6.89% from 4%.

Appreciation of product placement

Chinese consumers do not appear bothered by product placements and even take pride in seeing Chinese brands in Hollywood movies.  The quick conclusion made by Chinese consumers – especially those in lower tier cities – is that the more money a brand is able to spend on advertising, the more reliable and trustworthy they must be.

Shift from TV to online video

Just like P&G’s introduction of the Soap Opera on North American daytime TV, the medium for showcasing their products to homemakers, brands are finding a receptive audience in Chinese netizens.  Due to the massive shift from TV viewing to online video, brands are able to gain control and produce content where their brand is the star.  The internet is a particularly appealing media to China’s youth – many of whom do not watch TV at all.  According to the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), 59.1% of the country’s 420 million internet users are under the age of 30.

Last year, Tudou launched their own made-for-internet production wing, Orange Box, focused on producing high-quality internet video series aimed at a younger audience.  Naturally, the business implication is that the series will be ripe spots for product placements.   With China’s vast netizen community, the rising cost of television advertising space, dated programming, and regulatory limits on advertising in prime time, we expect that the growth in online video in China will not slow any time soon.

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