Shanghaiist’s top 10 most shameless promotions of 2017

Looking to make your new product take off in China? Here’s some ideas for you.

10) Guangxi tourists tricked into paying 15 yuan to see hundreds of plastic butterflies

An employee said that while the event’s advertisement may have exaggerated a bit, it was not false. “Can’t a plastic butterfly land on your finger?” he asked.

9) Hainan shopping mall offers ‘shareable boyfriends’ for lonely shoppers

Just 1 yuan for 1 hour of companionship from the perfect boyfriend who will follow you around, carry your bags, and pretend not to be bored.

8) Chinese, foreign bikini models freeze their butts off in Sanya tourist attraction

Don’t feel too bad for them, they were given all the vodka they could drink.

7) IKEA forced to pull Chinese commercial after netizens point out how blatantly sexist it is

“Don’t call me mom if you can’t bring home a boyfriend,” a mother tells her daughter in the controversial ad.

6) Guangxi zoo tricks visitors into paying 15 yuan to see inflatable penguins

Somehow, this was not the first time this kind of thing happened this year.

5) This Audi commercial comparing women to used cars is causing a ruckus on the Chinese internet

Audi was later forced to pull the ad after it turned out that Chinese netizens didn’t appreciate women being treated like livestock and compared to a used car.

4) Taiwan arcade fills claw machines with bikini babes to attract more customers

Claw machines are always rigged, but they presumably become even harder to operate when there’s also a bikini-clad woman jiggling around inside.

3) On Taobao, you can now get poor African children to help you promote products, propose marriage

The services allow you to purchase short video clips showing groups of young African children holding up blackboards with customized messages written on them in Chinese characters and then repeating these messages aloud in Chinese with the help of the person behind the camera.

2) Chinese coconut juice promises to grow women’s breasts and whiten their skin in shameless ad

“A can a day and you’ll be white, tender and busty,” the ad promises.

1) Hangzhou seafood restaurant offers discounts to female diners based on the size of their breasts

Women with A cups received a 5% discount, while those with G cups (breasts that measure out 25cm) got a whopping 65% off.

We leave you with this from last year…