The YouTube of China Goes Legit

March 31, 2011 at 9:00 PM UTC

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This article is part of the April 4, 2011 issue of businessweek.

Until last year, General Motors' (GM) China marketers advertised the Chevy Cruze sedan with spy thriller-themed spots featuring Wentworth Miller, star of the TV show . After Fox (NWS) canceled the series, Shanghai GM decided it wanted a new ad approach, one with "real life, real people," says Joan Ren, general director for Chevrolet marketing.

So the company teamed up with Youku.com (YOKU), China's most popular online video operator, to create a new campaign for the Web featuring young urban Chinese. So far Youku has shown 10 of the videos, most from 10 to 20 minutes long and made by a professional director, and they've gotten a combined 84 million views. Ren says she's pleased with Youku's production values and the authentic tone of the campaign. "They don't allow low quality," Ren says.