Arguably the most successful and ridiculous advertisement in China, Jinkela is a crop fertilizer. Maybe it’s unsurprising since China is heavy on agriculture, but let’s make an analogy. Do you talk about Cargill on a dinner table? Or, have you heard of Cargill before?
I think I’ve made my point clear. Unless you’re a farmer or trade at the Chicago Stock Exchange, there are other more exciting things to worry about in life.
But JINKELA IS DIFFERENT. UNIQUE. Let’s ignore the quality of their product and how well this shit actually sells on the market. The JINKELA ad was popularly parodied by netizens, without the company spending an extra penny. No contests, no hashtag campaigns, no incentives, nothing. Just a group of bored computer geeks making, remaking, re-remaking the same old advertisement again and again. JINKELA made its way to Happy Hours, pubs, apartment parties, and to all the countries where Chinese youth exists (ie. everywhere). Here is a link to Jinkela’s Wiki site.
The original version of JINKELA in English:
Jinkela became a meme, and this crop fertilizer made its way to the spoiled kids living in metropolitans, who’ve probably never seen a crop in their lives. Trust me, they know about JINKELA. And where did I first hear about it? At an Asian college party. A small town in Virginia. LOL.
A JINKELA PARODY OF LET IT GO [US]
If you’re still not impressed by JINKELA, take a look at the OTHER COVERS OF JINKELA or google it yourself (金坷垃):
A JINKELA PARODY OF GEE [KOREAN]
A JINKELA PARODY OF SENBONZAKURA [JAPANESE]
Even if you don’t know a word in Mandarin, at this point you should be able to make out the words “JINKELA”. All this is super random, albeit a good introduction to Chinese internet culture.
People might despise their sense of humor, but as an advertisement, if it works, it works. Many pop songs use the same technique to stick a tune into your head, so it’s not like rocket science or anything.
Finally, the whole reason behind writing this article is because I saw this ad on a social media blog:
JINKELA’S AMERICAN SOULMATE, MASTER OF VIRUALIZATION….. TOTINO BOY.
If you’d like to know more about advertising in China, here’s what I found from another website:
“Shengdiyage” (pronouced “Shung Dee Yah Guh”) is a Chinese fertilizer company that has achieved notoriety through their television marketing campaign, which relies on the use of low-grade foreign actors (ESL teachers perhaps?) to back up outlandish claims. Outlandish claims like linking the company to agricultural revolutions around the globe, several U.S. ex-Presidents, and the entire American aristocracy.
Shengdiyage seems to be the pinyin for San Diego, but other than the pronunciation there is no clear connection between the city and the company. China’s online Baidu Encyclopedia,however, does have a listing for the company and describes their main product, Jin Ke La (“Golden Clumps”), as “non-polluting, non-harmful, long-lasting, seedling-strengthening and disease resistant while improving soil, increasing crop-yields, quality and more. It was countries and regions like China, Japan and Africa that started the agro-craze. Agriculturally advanced countries including America, England and France are now in fierce competition for Jin Ke La.”
The use of foreign influence to peddle a domestic brand is not uncommon in China: there are countless examples of a Chinese company using a “white face” to add a bit of prestige to their product, but no one comes close to Shengdiyage’s brazen genius in this regard.
Totino’s Totino’s dalalala…. Thanks for reading!
Hashtag campaign curator 