We all know Coldplay frontman Chris Martin loves him some Apple. Earlier this year he performed at an official Apple event. Hell, he and wife Gwyneth Paltrow even named their daughter after the computer brand.¹ But do you think Martin knows there is a pseudo Apple Store named Coldplay in Shanghai? more ›

Their "Christmas Party Pizza" features a pie that is topped with turkey meat and surrounded by a crust-like object, half of which comes stuffed with cheese with the other half stuffed with sausage. You can see a video advertisement for it here (where you can also see the full holiday spread on offer — they supposedly have egg nog). The Christmas Party Pizza looks to be a riff on the Jessica Simpson-approved Cheesy Bites Pizza in the US, which is 360 calories per slice sans toppings — a fact Ms. Simpson apparently knows all too well. more ›

We pass this billboard (almost) every day, between Shanghaiist headquarters and the gym. For a long time it featured Barack Obama on the cover of the Chinese version of Men's Health. Recently a Twitter user named Shaquille O'Neal has taken the president elect's place. It's an ad for Li Ning basketball shoes, Shaq's brand of choice for a couple years now. (You might remember the real Li Ning from such Olympic opening ceremonies as Beijing 2008.) more ›

SH Mag reports: "The clothes are still made in LA, and so are the wages – staff here receive above the US minimum. ... Small, but packed full of sweatshop-free goodness." And the prices? "Fine jersey T-shirt (¥188); plain tank vest (¥154); knee-high tube socks (¥102); solid rib mod dress (¥307); lamé late night mini skirt (¥328); unisex striped zip hoody (¥461); nylon taffeta jacket (¥553)." We're curious to see how this location performs. Nice looking building, but does anyone actually go there? (Honest question — we've never been.) more ›

In this latest pod, Patrick Carr from Current TV takes us from Shenzhen to Shanghai and Beijing, and does a commendable job uncovering China's obsession with brands by looking at how affluent Chinese youth today are choosing to express themselves through fashion, nightlife and sports. Features Phil Dorman of Shanghai-based marketing agency Confucius Says. more ›

Sam Flemming, founder of the Internet word-of-mouth research firm CIC Data observes in his latest blog entry that while some of the brands that had used the stars involved in the Edison Chen sex photo scandal as spokespeople were scrambling for help (by calling up his company of course) when the scandal broke out, some netizens were “more interested in the brands in the background of the photos than the people themselves". more ›

According to a blog essay we found, a recent poll by Harris Interactive showed that of 6,000 people from France, Germany, Italy, the UK, and the US, the overwhelming majority considered China the second most powerful nation in the world after the USA. We did some searching on the internet, and couldn't find mention of that report. We tried on Harris Interactive's site as well, but no dice. Perhaps we haven't looked hard enough? Or... more ›