Following the release of its second installment, China's microblog network Weibo was buzzing about the mini-series 再一次心跳 (Heartbeat Love). For a period, it was a top ten trending topic on the social website.

The "micro-film" is being broadcast online at China's video sharing site Tudou in five 45-minute segments. The story chronicles the dramatic romance of a young Chinese couple, played by wildly popular duo Rainie Yang and Show Luo.

The romance kicks off in Australia, which makes sense — the whole movie is funded by the The Australian Tourism Commission. We spoke with Leo Seaton, manager of media relations for Tourism Australia, about the unique branded entertainment campaign.Continue reading...

Trending on Tudou, China's answer to YouTube: the new digital campaign for China's fashion brand Semir, which has generated more than 2.8 million video views since launching on March 25. The series of six spots for Semir's Uniqlo-like sub-brand, Tee, were shot in Los Angeles by Draftfcb.

Designed to appeal to the hip apparel brand's target audience (teens), the spot above features a crude domino effect using discarded household items, tying into the recycling logo featured on a t-shirt that's revealed at the end.

Watch another "Everything can be Tee" spot below, and check out the campaign's interactive website where users can upload images to customize their own t-shirt design.Continue reading...

Google shocked the world this morning with its threat to pull out of China after an investigation revealed that malicious cyber attacks originating from the country were targeting Chinese human-rights activists' Gmail accounts.

According to official releases and Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond’s blog post, the move was made because the attacks violate the company’s “do no evil” motto—an example of Google’s altruistic brand trumping corporate greed.

And yet, while the decision certainly aligns with Google’s brand message, its decision to pull out of China isn’t as simple as it first appears.  It is in fact, a brilliant spin on a tough decision that would have taken place at some point in the future anyway.Continue reading...