The Marketing Strategy for Japanese Jintan in China and its Rivalry with Chinese Rendan

Abstract

Japan emerged as a superpower in the early twentieth century after its wars with China and Russia. The image of Japan as an advanced country in the medical and pharmaceutical industry helped it promote its products in China. In its promotion campaigns in the Chinese newspapers, the focus was on advertising one product: the Human Elixir (＂jintan＂ 仁丹). Jintan was produced by the Morishita pharmacy 森下藥房, which took the opportunity to expand its business in China when that country's demand for medicine was especially high. As a result, Morishita earned more revenue from China than Japan. In the meantime, the success of Jintan aroused the attention of Huang Chujiu 黃楚九, who made a similar product known as Rendan (人丹) in Chinese. Through aggressive advertising and promotion, Rendan successfully challenged the supremacy of Jintan in China. Based on government records, business archives, newspapers, old photos, and advertising pamphlets and leaflets, this article examines how Jintan gained its supremacy in China, and how later Rendan competed with it and finally surpassed it. To support this argument, this paper provides an analysis of trademark and advertisement strategies. I also discuss issues of commercial war, localization of markets, conceptions of foreign products, trademark infringement, and businesses in sales and advertising.

二十世紀初日本挾甲午戰爭和日俄戰爭勝利的餘威和在醫療科技上的進步，向中國大量推出各種醫藥，只要翻開當時的報紙如上海《申報》和《新聞報》、天津《大公報》、北京《順天時報》，便可見到有如排山倒海的日製藥品廣告。源於大阪的森下藥房，應時推出「仁丹」向中國傾銷，由於當時中國醫藥衛生的落後和資訊不發達等原因，仁丹利用出色的宣傳手法，不出數年即在中國大為熱賣，其在華的銷售額已超出日本本國市場，引起中國商人的注意。由黃楚九創設的龍虎牌「人丹」，憑著別具一格的廣告手法和銷售策略，成功地挑戰比他資本雄厚、實力更大的森下藥房。本文利用政府檔案、企業史料、報紙、舊照片、廣告宣傳等各種資料，分析仁丹成功打進中國市場的原因和過程，並討論中國人丹是如何與之競爭。本文旨從商業史角度出發，以商標和廣告切入，討論這場激烈的中日商業競爭及其引發之各種問題。