Fake In China: A Land Rover You Can (But Maybe Should Not) Drink
China is the land where you have a choice of two kinds of Red Bull, both equally fake. The Austrian maker of the stuff has been in court for years, did win, and still can’t sell the original stuff in China, because the other party appealed. Now, Jaguar Land Rover is faced with starting its own arduous battle against the fakers: There is an energy drink called “Land Rover.”
Found by a reader of Carnewschina in Guangzhou in southern China, the “Land Rover” drink has a logo that looks like a Jaguar. Or maybe it’s a tiger. The Chinese characters say “Lu Hu”, which , according to the linguists at Carnewschina means ‘Road Tiger’. It is also the proper Chinese name for Land Rover.
The product may draw attention from another side. Design and colors of the bottle are a mirror image of a Brazilian-Chinese energy drink called Recca.
We are sorry that we cannot supply a review of the product. A friend in Huadu, a suburb of Guangzhou, volunteered to try the stuff. And now he won’t answer his phone.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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In our Chinese/Vietnamese household, we have a policy of no ingredients made in China unless its the Haw Flakes or Lee Kum Lee brand. It's not much of a sacrifice since many of our favorite ingredients are made in the US and Canada, while the balance come from Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong (which is technically part of China, but has something called Rule of Law which really makes it a British colonial relic). Mmm, sriracha sauce...
It sounds like China is still somewhat like the "Wild West" when it comes to copyright law. That was always the real bugaboo in dealing with China, but I thought they had made great strides in statutes and enforcement to attract foreign investment. Is this a case of needing a joint venture partner to do the leg work, or is the Chinese legal system not yet up to the task? I imagine such episodes are watched closely by both current and potential investors.
In China, you have Land Rover energy drinks. In the US of A, everything rectangular with round corners must be Apple, or face a $1B fine. When Apple gets the circle patented, we will have to either drive an Apple iCar, or ones with square wheels.
On the other hand red bull tastes like piss and has about zero of the claimed effects as it contains very little caffeine. Are you sure that one of the red bull branded drinks isn't the asian original, that still tastes like piss?