hear of any more? let us know.

Two issues:

1- Your original point was not about Gung Ho's sexually charged/"juvenile" marketing, it was about how you wanted to read Da Ma-- thus rendering articles like this of no interest. Sure, we can discuss tasteful/tasteless advertising, but if risque marketing is your chief complaint about the place and its co-founder, dismissing all of his prior accomplishments because you're offended by his branding wasn't a clear way of expressing it.

2- This pearl clutching over GH's adverts is slightly absurd. Right or wrong, you go anywhere in Beijing and the advertising for restaurants, bars, clubs, clothing, etc. all lean towards the sexually charged. I find GHP funnier and more original than the self-serious "zexxy" background noise of CK or Suzie Wong ads. The latter offend simply because they are limp iterations of the same old.

As for MY mother? She'd high-five them. But that's 'cause my mama's ace and I don't feel the need to protect her virgin eyes when, quite frankly, it'd be like shutting the barn door after the ponies have all frolicked out.

Of course, not only do China's wealthy class desire Western fashionable items, but most retailers and brands only aim to this class when creating advertising campaigns and creating their companies. Almost every company and entrepreneur wants a slice of this increasingly large wealthy class.

However, the population of 'haves' is much less than those that make 2000 RMB/month or less in the big cities. This market also wants to appear fashionable, but at a cost much more fitting.

Something that has caught my attention recently is the clothing company Vancl. They have found a way to drive money away from the knock-off brands manufacturers (the luxury brands spend top bucks on advertising, and this drives the lower classes to the markets to purchase knockoffs), and create a brand that is fashionable and marketed directly to the Chinese earning 2000 RMB/month or less.

Vancl markets fairly fashionable Western style clothing to consumers that are in the market for a 150RMB pair of sneakers or a 30 RMB t-shirt.

Their advertising campaign highlights lower class Chinese in their oft- inhabited environments such as riding on the city bus or sitting at a plastic table outside a chuanr restaurant.

By actually creating a brand and advertising campaign specifically tailored to this market, they are leading the way for start-up companies that are steering away from the highly saturated luxury brand market and aiming lower, which can assuredly lead to higher earnings.

Walls, do you often go around asking your Mum if she's interested in "12 inches of hot satisfaction"??

I think the marketing for GH is awesome. Love the pink and I love the team's style. If Jade has had "as many businesses as years in China" (actually untrue, since he's been here 10+), then at least he can lay claim to two of the most successful, longest-running ventures around with Lush and Pyro.

I clicked on this profile because I AM interested in reading about quirky, self-made entrepreneurs with a unique brand and perspective on doing business in Beijing. If you're looking for articles on Da Ma, what are you doing opening this one in the first place, let alone commenting?

...And as for fetishes, 12" of hot satisfaction isn't a fetish-- it's a right.

All sage advice. I'd like to add my own tip that helped me progress a lot in the beginning....
LIE!
If you rely on daily chats with locals to improve your Chinese level, you will get stuck at a plateau since the same questions are asked repeatedly and honest answers are some of the first things you learn anyway.
The best way to maximize these encounters is to just make things up.
I changed professions and countries with every taxi ride.
It is fun and better for your Chinese skills to be a dentist from Germany on the way to work and a Lawyer from Canada on the way home.
Tell shop girls who want to show you things that in your country people aren't allowed to wear plaid.
Unlimited learning possiblities and more entertaining than sitting hunched over a text book.

It appears he and the sports article writer have the same fetishes.

I think an interview with Da Ma would be more interesting then a guy that has had as many businesses as years in China.

I'm sure these are as good quality as the owner suggests.

But the question is, will there be anything in a size bigger than 'small frame Chinese man'? For the larger westerner, that is the most important question of all.

I talked to B.B. King's management about a week ago, and I've been told that there was no plan to play China, and so he will not do a concert in Beijing in December. End of the story.