Restroom sellout

Beijingers paying a visit to public washrooms on the eve of Spring Festival 2007 were understandably surprised at the greeting that awaited them. Stuck on the inside of every restroom cubicle door was a poster of a smiling man dressed in red, his hands clasped in the accustomed manner when expressing best wishes for Spring Festival. The point of the exercise, however, was apparent in the couplets either side of him: "If you want your business to be well-known, do not confine it to your own borders."

The man was not a celebrity or a missing person, but Meng Zhi, a businessman in his 30s trying out a daring advertising campaign in Beijing's 1,800-odd public rest rooms. Meng spent that evening on the phone, answering a barrage of questions from friends and relatives.

"Is that your picture in the restrooms? We asked your father, but he said it was someone who just looked like you and that it must be a practical joke. Will you sue? If you do we will totally support you," they said.