If copying is the highest form of flattery, businesses in China truly loves American brands and American advertising.
Sometimes the copying is funny, like this Chinese take on KFC:
Sometimes it is unsettling, like the thousands of boxes of fake Tide detergent seized by customs officials in Seattle in September of 2010:
Counterfeit product seized in Seattle
Sometimes, the fraud of counterfeiting is so incredible that it leaves you speechless. Yahoo reports that entire Apple stores, featuring unique winding staircases, fake products, and staff in uniforms, are appearing all over China. You can see photos of the fake Apple stores in Kunming on the BirdAbroad website.
Surely, stores so prominent as these have to have the blessing of local Chinese government officials. Perhaps those officials and their superiors should take note: “Made in China” does not have positive brand connotations. The negatives attached to “Made in China” ultimately will limit the economic success of Chinese products and brands in the West. Activities such as these definitely don’t help fix the problem.