The Chinese population in Canada is growing in leaps and bounds, we all know that. However, as many of these new members to the Canadian family have lived most of their lives in a country which was perhaps somewhat insolated from the western world, they can sometimes feel a little intimidated upon arrival.

Simple things which we take for granted can be confusing for them at times. Take the purchase of a new vehicle for instance. If you had recently emigrated from Europe, you might well notice a few different models under the Ford banner on this side of the water, but the actual Ford logo would still be instantly recognizable.

That blue oval however, is not quite so familiar to our new Chinese brethren and so Ford felt the urge to change all that. They decided to launch a dedicated Chinese-Canadian website for Ford of Canada, and follow that up with a year long marketing strategy aimed directly towards the Chinese market in Canada.

Obviously they needed a little help in this matter, as many Chinese Canadians are still struggling to learn their new language.

Top of the wish list, was someone who could speak to them in their own tongue. A face that was instantly recognizable to them. A Chinese celebrity would be perfect, if they could find one!

They searched and searched, and what they found was a man known to over 900 million Chinese as "Dashan". A man whose face is as familiar to Chinese television viewers as Rick Mercer is to Canadians, or even David Letterman is to the Americans.

Where did they find such a man? Amazingly, right on their doorstep here in Canada!

Yes, that's right! Dashan is the stage name of Mark Rowswell and he is a Canadian. He is also a man who has become one of the most loved entertainers on the planet though his traditional Xiangsheng comedy performances in Asia.

I recently had the opportunity to meet this extraordinary man and learn a little more about his background, and find out about his new working relationship with Ford.

Mark started out studying Chinese at the University of Toronto, and later at Beijing University. It was while he was in Beijing that he developed an interest in traditional Chinese performing arts. This led to a chance opportunity to appear on television. That particular show pulled an audience figure of around 550 million viewers, and basically established him as a household name in Asia overnight.

Since then, over a 19 year period of performing, he has hosted nationally-televised variety shows, cultural celebrations, and even Chinese talk shows.

Although English is Rowswell's native tongue, he speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese to the point where he has been almost accepted as "one of their own". In fact, he was once fondly described in China as being "a foreigner, but not an outsider".


That in itself, is an extraordinary achievement, but then again, Rowswell must now be getting somewhat used to amazing things happening in his life. After all, in 2006, the Canadian Olympic Committee named Rowswell as the Canadian Team attaché for the 2008 games to be held in Beijing.

Then, earlier this year, the Canadian Governor General announced Rowswell as a new member of the prestigious Order of Canada.

All this, and yet this 41 year old family man (who looks more like 30) still has his feet firmly planted on Mother Earth. He comes across as a warm, approachable man, and appears to be constantly smiling. In my opinion, it is no doubt this friendly persona which has helped contribute to his amazing career success so far. I also feel that Ford couldn't have found a better spokesperson for their new Chinese campaign.

I recently visited their new website www.chinese.ford.ca and although I do not understand the Chinese language, it is not hard to see the major role which Rowswell plays. The site appears to be a rather entertaining site with interactive features and sound, and as I could not tell myself, I asked Mark if the site had any comedy aspect to it. He said that there wasn't at the moment, although he wouldn't rule that out as a possibility in the future.


I feel that Ford has found an amazing opportunity through Rowswell to reach the Chinese market in Canada. This new marketing strategy is an extremely clever idea, and you have to give kudos to Ford for coming up with this. Obviously, from their point of view, this is a marketing project which has been mostly designed to help sell more products.

However, after talking with Rowswell, one gets the impression that there is maybe more to it than that. I got the feeling that he is just as interested in "building bridges" and helping out his Chinese friends in Canada. Possibly, he sees this as a way of repaying the success which he has achieved with the Chinese people in their homeland.

If I am right, and that comes across in this campaign, I can see a bright future ahead for Ford in the Chinese segment of the market. I also see this as a huge leap ahead of their competitors; after all, where are they going to come up with another spokesperson of Rowswell's caliber?

Yes, I like this idea, in fact, I can't think of a better way than this to help our Chinese newcomers to find their feet (or rather their wheels) in Canada.