• USA Today, Friday, January 8, 2010 10:52 AM

The jury is still out on whether or not the "Made in China, made with the world" campaign -- which just ended a six-week run on cable networks in the U.S., Europe and Asia -- has been effective in turning around consumers' perceptions about goods assembled in the world's No. 1 exporter. Even in China, Calum MacLeod reports.

A survey of people by Horizon Research Consultancy in five major Chinese cities shows that 44% believe that counterfeit and shoddy goods are the second-worst blot on China's image, behind corruption at 59%. They wonder if an ad campaign is the answer. "The government says it's going down well, but if you read the blogs and the undercurrent, there's been a lot of criticism," says Ray Ally of Landor Associates in Beijing.

Liu Libin, director of the China Advertising Association of Commerce, tells MacLeod that the next step in the campaign should be to highlight products exclusively "designed or created in China." As China moves in higher-end products, Ally predicts that "made in China" will take on luster. "In five to 10 years, everyone will have a Chinese TV or washing machine, and you won't think twice about it," he says.

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