Earlier this Summer, someone at work suggested we promote the Olympics by handing out customized fortune cookies. They would contain a message that said something like, “There is much excitement in your future —watch the Olympics on Channel 13.” I thought that was a great idea, except for one thing: people take fortune cookies seriously, and if they’re expecting a fortune and get an advertisement it could really backfire. Remember the Ovaltine decoder ring in “A Christmas Story?” Who wouldn’t feel cheated when they discover that their fortune is just “a crummy commercial?”
Funny thing is that most Chinese people have never even heard of fortune cookies —and this hilarious video from the New York Times shows what happened when they started handing out fortune cookies in China.
Here’s the related article.
I can vouch, there was nary a fortune cookie to be found in Beijing (except for the ones that NBC network execs brought with them to, what else, promote the Olympics). I didn’t miss them one bit. They taste like orange flavored styrofoam.