Product Placement in Chinese Cinema: From Resistance to Acceptance (1999–2009)

The commercialization of the American film industry has affected the development of cinematic product placement. A similar but distinct situation has happened in China. The difference is that the Chinese film industry achieved considerable commercial progress in a short time from the late 1990s to the 2000s. This rampant commercialization was customarily accompanied by resistance coming from inside the Chinese film industry. This resistance valued artistic integrity in relation to the impact of business interests. Therefore, during this period, Chinese film professionals first resisted, then tried, and eventually accepted product placement. With attention to the historical development, this article aims to investigate the connection between the localization of product placement and the Chinese film industry's commercialization, and how the connection causes this cinematic advertising practice to develop its own cultural peculiarities in such context. It also reveals the causes of the formation of these peculiarities, from the perspective of the country's ideological shifts.