some surprisingly consistant brands

The other day I was in the hairdresser's. It's an entirely local team (who only speak Chinese) but, prompted by the appearance of a copy of the Chinese edition of Ok! magazine we got talking about celebrities. Turns out they thought the same of the western celebrities as I did;

Catherine Zeta Jones - huge drop in weight after having her children, old unattractive husband
David Beckham - inspired footballer with disturbingly thin wife
Jordan - oversized fake bosom and blind child

These celebrities appear to have a level of global brand consistency most international brands would kill for, no doubt thanks to their easily understood product offerings.

I also wanted to mention this as it just proves that some things are the same the world over; subject matter of hairdresser conversations, celebrity gossip, attention around interesting plastic surgery choices, etc. I also want to make the point that while I like to talk about what makes China different there’s also plenty to cover about how life is similar too. There's a tendency to deliberately present China as the 'Mysterious East’ and it’s neither helpful nor accurate. I'm hoping to use this blog to chart areas where China is unique but also where people share similar issues and concerns.

So more updates on Jordan to come.

Ah, and if this has set your curiousity on fire about Asian celebrities and gossip mags, here's something that might interest.