Li Ning in the USA = Baron Davis in Shanghai
Li Ning, the Chinese sportswear company named after (and founded by) the famous Chinese Olympic athlete, was recently featured in a Beijing Review article about the steps it's taken to open up a market in the U.S. According to the piece, Li Ning is using "exotic oriental elements" to attract buyers and entice trendsetters. How interesting! Maybe that explains Baron Davis using his NBA moves to baffle locals last summer.
What am I talking about? This ad (on Youtube), which has recently been making its way through the blogosphere. Boom Dizzle dribbles his way through Shanghai streets, racking up points as he bounces basketballs off bikes and around people all over Yu Gardens, Old City, People's Square and Nanjing Dong Lu. Apparently this vid's being shown at Li Ning's new store in Portland, Oregon.
The ad group in charge of pushing Davis through Shanghai has another vid out as well, and this one made its way to Youku (there's also a version on Youtube that's higher quality). Here, he passes a basketball to... himself... to the tune of a jazzy Chinese love song.
Cute! But will they, or Davis' ability to master Chinese photo poses, entice Americans into buying Li Ning shoes? We shall see! In the meantime, v-sign:
