China taps celebs to star in image-boosting commercials

China has hired Lintas, New York advertising agency to create promotional commercials starring celebrities such as basketball superstar Yao Ming and pianist Lang Lang in a bid to boost its image abroad.

The State Council Information Office has said it commissioned an “internationally renowned advertising company” to shoot two commercials, a 30-second TV spot and an extended 15-minute film for its embassies.

“The film is aimed at boosting and raising China’s image as being prosperous, developing, democratic and progressive,” it said in a statement.

“It is a conducive move to explore ways to present China in a new era.”

The campaign comes after a 28-country poll commissioned by the BBC showed last year that only 39 per cent of respondents had a positive view of China, the state-run China Daily reported.

China’s fall in global opinion was partly due to the unrest that erupted in Tibet in 2008, the newspaper said.