From Four Hundred Million to More than One Billion Consumers: A Brief History of the Foreign Advertising Industry in China

Abstract

As an industry and a form of mass communication, modern advertising was introduced in China from the West at the turn of the century. The 1920s and 1930s witnessed China’s first major exposure to foreign advertising and consumer culture. The 1990s may prove to be China’s second encounter with global consumer culture through the medium of advertising; only this time, its experience is more massive and far‐reaching. This article provides a capsule history of the development of the foreign advertising industry in China within the context of Chinese economy and media.