There's one advertising trick which always works in China.

And brands know it.

It's called a "homophone pun" (谐音梗 xié yīn gěng) — wordplay based on characters that sound the same or similar, even when they mean completely different things.

In the Year of the Horse, the target was any celebrity with the surname Ma (马 — "horse").

Dairy giant Yili (伊利) hired Ma-surnamed ambassadors:

• Actress Ma Yili (马伊琍): "I'm Ma Yili — I choose Yili in the Year of the Horse" (我是马伊琍，马年喝伊利)

• Actress Ma Sichun (马思纯): "I want to have pure milk in the Year of the Horse" (马年思念纯牛奶)

Rival brand Mengniu (蒙牛) went international — signing Spanish footballer Lamine Yamal, whose Chinese name is Ya Ma'er (亚马尔), with "horse" as the middle character. His tagline wrote itself:

Ya! The horse is here! (呀！马儿来了)

Brilliant!

Which one is your favourite?