Through the looking‐glass of foreign ads in China

Abstract

This paper deals with two fundamental aspects of foreign advertising1 in China—foreign advertising content, and its reception. It examines the types of foreign ads in the media environment in Beijing, and explores the reception of foreign advertising by some young Chinese consumers at a vocational school in Shanghai. As a departure from previous research on Chinese advertising, which has tended to view advertising content in isolation, this study employs a method mix of content analysis, focus group, and survey in an attempt to shape a more comprehensive picture of foreign advertising in the world's largest potential consumer market.