Huawei Plasters Scarlett Johansson around Beijing CBD as Part of New Superhero Ad Campaign

A stroll through Beijing's Central Business District (CBD) reveals repeated appearances of the visage of none other than Scarlett Johansson, the first installment of a new Huawei ad campaign seeking to capitalize on her star power, along with that of fellow superhero-actor, Henry Cavill, along with soccer superstar Lionel Messi.

The campaign began rolling out this week, promoting Huawei's new P9 smartphone. It's an interesting turn for Huawei, as it seeks to build its consumer brand overseas, as well as become a bigger player domestically in China.

Johansson will be best known to Chinese film audiences as Black Widow in The Avengers, or perhaps as the superhuman title character in the exceedingly strange Lucy, rather than her breakout role in every Beijing expat's I-wish-I-wrote-that script, Lost in Translation.

Cavill, whose ad for Huawei has not yet appeared, currently stars as Superman, and can be seen in that role currently at local cinemas in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Messi is a superstar for both FC Barcelona and for Argentina's national team (yes, I'm understating it).

Johansson has been cashing in on China ad bucks of late, appearing in print and television ads for other brands as part of global campaigns such as Dolce & Gabbana, and shows off her silky locks for Chinese hair care brand Lux.

"We need to talk more about who we are and where we came from and what we believe. We also need to work on building a global brand that resonates with consumers. Of course celebrity endorsements are one way to do that, and that's why we've partnered with Scarlett Johansson and Henry Cavill and Lionel Messi. That kind of celebrity brand endorsement is going to help us make this transition from a purely business to business company to one that has successfully built a global consumer brand," a Huawei spokesperson told the Beijinger Tuesday morning.

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Photo: Steven Schwankert/the Beijinger