Pop stars and cars

Nowadays it is quite common to see pop stars and cars connect with each other. Automakers are glad to invite pop stars to endorse their brands. It may be different how the stars and cars get on with each other, but some interesting stories stir up our curiosity.

Phelps and Ruiyi

Well, the most typical one is "Flying Fish" Michael Phelps was invited to act as the spokesman for FAW Mazda's Mazda 6 Rui-Yi. Mazda reportedly paid Phelps more than $1 million to endorse the brand in China. It's believed to be the largest single sponsorship deal for a foreign celebrity in the country. However, less than one month after the Rui Yi went on sale, Phelps was involved with smoking marijuana. The "drug-taking" affair did make FAW Mazda got headaches. Would consumers think of Phelps when buying Ruiyi?

Xiao Shenyang and Coolbear

Another one is Xiao Shengyang, a cameo artist known to every family in China after showing up the sketch at China's spring festival gala, was invited to endorse the Great Wall Coolbear. The key point is, the two almost have nothing in common, which is admitted by Great Wall Motor itself. "Different from Coolbear's powerful and strong image, Xiao Shengyang amazed everyone with his unique performance style," the company said. It's possibly no big deal how controversial of their images are, but what Great Wall Motor cares most is the hot Xiao Shengyang could bring popularity to its new products.