Besides, I dated an Asian lacrosse and soccer player while at Cal and he had a similar build as the man in the ad. He couldn’t bulk up unless he took supplements, which I’m glad he did not!

Also, if perhaps if you tried to imagine the perspective of the different market they are targeting (Chinese athletes and general population) perhaps you can compromise or concede your point a just a little bit?

Vlad and I were both college athletes and are used to a different look in an athlete, but that does not make someone less athletic by being lean.

I do appreciate the ad, but I guess when you show it to once competitive athletes, it seems a bit weak from the sports side, know what I mean?

It’s nice to see Gucci recognizing cultural differences in their advertising campaigns. 8-8-8 is a very serendipitous number for Chinese so I’m glad they’re tipping a cultural nod to their customers. Keep up with the bag scoops, Vlad and Meg!

As for the actor’s build and choice: Chinese are naturally lean – athletes included – and I believe that actors are a lot more popular in the country in comparison to athletes, therefore the choice of a Chinese actor. All of the famous actors/martial artistes from that era were lean and built the way the actor/model is.

Perhaps, from the Western point of view, this ad does not make sense, but if, as I presume, Gucci’s creative department opted for this nostalgic (and renown) era in Chinese movie-making, then the actor, colors, and choice of bicycle make sense. High-tech martial arts movies aside, it is probably the most famous era in Chinese movie-history – both in China, and internationally – and I believe that a significant number of Chinese are immensely proud of it.

Think of it this way: the West still reminisces about the glamour of old Hollywood (channeled in Louis Vuitton’s ads featuring Scarlett Johanssen for eg), so why would it not make sense for the Chinese to do the same?

I still think we are culturally aware, but different opinions make the world go round!

I wish the blog didn’t comment on the “frailty” of the model’s appearance – I think it wouldn’t really make much sense in having a big, beefy half-naked man in the campaigns located in China/ Hong Kong. I thought you were all well travelled and would be more culturally aware?

That’s the reason why they chose a bicycle. Cos they’re selling the collection in China and HK exclusively. And what do you see on the roads when you visit China? Dozens and dozens of bicycles! You’ll never or hardly ever see a race bike on the roads… it’s just the local Chinese culture and everyday mode of transport.