New ads cash in on web series

Creative advertisements online are being increasingly used in streamed Chinese serials, and are expected to surpass 2 billion yuan ($311 million) in sales revenue this year, up from 800 million yuan in 2016.

Product manufacturers and service providers are tapping this relatively new form of advertising for branding opportunities. They partner with web serials' production teams to create sponsored content closely related to the original storyline.

This is how the so-called creative ads work: In a 2017 web serial Princess Agents, an ancient Chinese royal expresses his love to a princess, only to be rebuffed yet again. Next, he encounters a handmaid dressed in a typical ancient Chinese outfit, who, surprisingly, whips out a smartphone and introduces him to an online dating app - and the audience takes a while to figure the artistes are part of an ad for the app.