August 12, 2006

Add oil to good young men! 加油好男儿!

Filed under: Celebrities, TV � Planetkarl @ 3:49 pm

It seems China is copying everything nowadays. Whether it is DVDs, designer labels or songs, you can find a copy of everything in China. This time though, they have copied the popular “American Idol” show. Though, unlike the American Idol show, the success of the men is apparently not judged on their talents.

The name of this show? My Hero! The Chinese version being 加油好男儿, meaning “Come on Good men”. (加油 literally means “Add oil” which is a expression like “come on!”) The show has raised a lot of controversy because the men boys are seen as simply pretty boys, with no real talent other than to look good on TV.

Watching show is sometimes hazardous to your health I think, but it is one of the highest rated shows on Chinese TV, with a recent 5.3% rating, beating out ever the Supergirls show.

Here are some shots from the other day while on the set at a rehearsal:
fighting contestants at 加油好男儿Me and Lori at the rehersalconfused 马天宇马天宇acting silly at加油好男儿陈怡川 doing his Matrix rip-off  at加油好男儿魏斌angel man at 加油好男儿陈怡川 and the thinking ball at 加油好男儿宋晓波 is too cool for school at 加油好男儿announcers at加油好男儿practicing hosting 加油好男儿魏斌 is angry at 加油好男儿宋晓波 is almost super man at 加油好男儿

One way or another, I think it shows the power of marketing in China. There is a lot of genuine talent out there, but with a good marketing team singers don’t need to know how to sing, actors don’t need to know how to act, all they need is a pretty face and a good marketing strategy.
Everything lives and dies by marketing in China. That’s why I chose it as my profession here. Especially in entertainment.

1 Comment »

  1. “the success of the men is apparently not judged on their talents.”yes,I have to recognize that the contestants in 2006 are not good at singing and dancing.but now in 2007,some of the contestants in my hero have good singing talent, you can have a look at my hero this year,you can see progress this year.

    Comment by nnl168 — June 15, 2007 @ 3:07 pm

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