The Chinese population in Canada is growing in leaps and bounds, we all know that. However, as many of these new members to the Canadian family have lived most of their lives in a country which was perhaps somewhat insolated from the western world, they can sometimes feel a little intimidated upon arrival.
Simple things which we take for granted can be confusing for them at times. Take the purchase of a new vehicle for instance. If you had recently emigrated from Europe, you might well notice a few different models under the Ford banner on this side of the water, but the actual Ford logo would still be instantly recognizable.
That blue oval however, is not quite so familiar to our new Chinese brethren and so Ford felt the urge to change all that. They decided to launch a dedicated Chinese-Canadian website for Ford of Canada, and follow that up with a year-long marketing strategy aimed directly towards the Chinese market in Canada.
Obviously they needed a little help in this matter, as many Chinese Canadians are still struggling to learn their new language.
Top of the wish list, was someone who could speak to them in their own tongue. A face that was instantly recognizable to them. A Chinese celebrity would be perfect, if they could find one!
They searched and searched, and what they found was a man known to over 900 million Chinese as "Dashan". A man whose face is as familiar to Chinese television viewers as Rick Mercer is to Canadians, or even David Letterman is to the Americans.
Where did they find such a man? Amazingly, right on their doorstep here in Canada!
Yes, that's right! Dashan is the stage name of Mark Rowswell and he is a Canadian. He is also a man who has become one of the most loved entertainers on the planet through his traditional Xiangsheng comedy performances in Asia.
I recently had the opportunity to meet this extraordinary man and learn a little more about his background, and find out about his new working relationship with Ford.
Mark started out studying Chinese at the University of Toronto, and later at Beijing University. It was while he was in Beijing that he developed an interest in traditional Chinese performing arts. This led to a chance opportunity to appear on television. That particular show pulled an audience figure of around 550 million viewers, and basically established him as a household name in Asia overnight.
Since then, over a 19-year period of performing, he has hosted nationally-televised variety shows, cultural celebrations, and even Chinese talk shows.
Although English is Rowswell's native tongue, he speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese to the point where he has been almost accepted as "one of their own". In fact, he was once fondly described in China as being "a foreigner, but not an outsider".
Simple things which we take for granted can be confusing for them at times. Take the purchase of a new vehicle for instance. If you had recently emigrated from Europe, you might well notice a few different models under the Ford banner on this side of the water, but the actual Ford logo would still be instantly recognizable.
That blue oval however, is not quite so familiar to our new Chinese brethren and so Ford felt the urge to change all that. They decided to launch a dedicated Chinese-Canadian website for Ford of Canada, and follow that up with a year-long marketing strategy aimed directly towards the Chinese market in Canada.
Obviously they needed a little help in this matter, as many Chinese Canadians are still struggling to learn their new language.
Top of the wish list, was someone who could speak to them in their own tongue. A face that was instantly recognizable to them. A Chinese celebrity would be perfect, if they could find one!
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| Mark Rowswell aka Dashan. |
They searched and searched, and what they found was a man known to over 900 million Chinese as "Dashan". A man whose face is as familiar to Chinese television viewers as Rick Mercer is to Canadians, or even David Letterman is to the Americans.
Where did they find such a man? Amazingly, right on their doorstep here in Canada!
Yes, that's right! Dashan is the stage name of Mark Rowswell and he is a Canadian. He is also a man who has become one of the most loved entertainers on the planet through his traditional Xiangsheng comedy performances in Asia.
I recently had the opportunity to meet this extraordinary man and learn a little more about his background, and find out about his new working relationship with Ford.
Mark started out studying Chinese at the University of Toronto, and later at Beijing University. It was while he was in Beijing that he developed an interest in traditional Chinese performing arts. This led to a chance opportunity to appear on television. That particular show pulled an audience figure of around 550 million viewers, and basically established him as a household name in Asia overnight.
Since then, over a 19-year period of performing, he has hosted nationally-televised variety shows, cultural celebrations, and even Chinese talk shows.
Although English is Rowswell's native tongue, he speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese to the point where he has been almost accepted as "one of their own". In fact, he was once fondly described in China as being "a foreigner, but not an outsider".