Only In Hong Kong

Only in Hong Kong could McDonald’s use the above ad slogan to promote their new Chicken Fantastic, a sandwich made with a rice bun instead of the standard bread. The Chinese character means rice and is pronounced “fan” in Cantonese. Add the “tastic” and you have fantastic.

This ad works in Hong Kong because a large percentage of the population can read both English and Chinese. The ad wouldn’t work in mainland China. People will be able to read the Chinese but not the English. It wouldn’t work in Europe or the US - we’ll read the tastic but wonder what the Chinese character is.