China’s First U.S. Ad Agency to Open in L.A.

China plans to open its first U.S.-based advertising agency in Los Angeles this month to promote Chinese products and invest in movies and TV shows, an official national newspaper said Sunday.

The branch of Hairun International Advertising Co. will target Chinese Americans and Chinese living in the United States, the China Daily Business Weekly said. It also hopes to bring more U.S. products to China, the newspaper said.

U.S. prices for Chinese-made goods are generally low because of lack of advertising, said Liu Yanming, Hairun’s chairman, who is in Los Angeles supervising the opening of the branch, the newspaper reported.

High U.S. promotion costs also have prevented Chinese firms from advertising there, the newspaper said.

Hairun’s first U.S. promotion will be for a Chinese-made shampoo. The shampoo’s manufacturer, Chongqing Olive Cosmetics Co., uses natural products in many of its products, “which is expected to appeal to U.S. customers,” Liu said.

Hairun also will invest in movies and TV shows, the first being a $2.4- million series about Chinese Americans to be marketed in China and the U.S., Liu said.