Normandy Madden, of AdAge China discusses the rising phenomenon of sponsored content in China.

The first such example was Ugly Betty, has been followed by Su Fei’s diary. Adapted from “Sofia’s Diary”, which ran in portugal, the plot is co-created with Internet viewers through a series of polls. The episodes, roughly 3 minutes each, are shown on major social portals such as Sina, Youku and others.

The overarching theme is that Su Fei is adapting to her life in Shanghai and faces decisions about how to deal with a problem at the end of each webisode. This experience of dealing with life in the big city is intended to resonate with China’s urbanizing youth.

Advertisers involved in the first season included 51job.com, Clinique, Sony Electronics.