The Chinese government has been caught in the lurch a few times this Olympic season, from digitizing fake fireworks during the lavish opening ceremony to having a little girl lip-synch a song because authorities deemed the actual singer to be not attractive enough.
Recently Landor's Ray Ally stumbled across an entirely fake building:
Beijing has been working hard to clean up the city in anticipation of the Olympics, so why let a little unfinished construction mar an otherwise lovely skyline? The facade on Wangfujing Street is a computer illustration printed on vinyl and attached to the unfinished building underneath.
Unlike Canal Street knockoffs that parasitically profit off a brand's image, Beijing's forgeries have been attempts to add to the city's prestige. In this instance, the city's attempts to curb pollution by stalling busy construction projects left many half finished buildings around the city, and the computer illustration was a quick fix.
Beijing has been wowing its international audience with lavish displays of talent and ingenuity. But sometimes, it's small details like the color of a purse strap that betray a knockoff Louis Vitton purse (or the holes in Mickey Mouse's ears). These little snafus could lead to a lot of bad PR for a country with a political system that makes many visitors uncomfortable. (When asked about the tightened restrictions in anticipation of the games, a municipal offical told Vanity Fair's WilliamLangewiesche: “Our people are used to making all kinds of sacrifices when we are told to.”) Here's hoping they don't need any quick fixes during the closing ceremonies...
Photo: AdAge/Ray Ally
