Cry Me a River

The Yellow River, the cradle of Chinese civilization, will soon be swaddling a new baby: the brand equity of a multinational company.

Chinese officials have confirmed that some 50 corporations—Disney, Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, Wal-Mart and Samsung among them—are jostling for the right to put their name on a huge new bridge to be built over the famous waterway, known in China as the “Mother River,” Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported last week. The winner will also get to plaster a symbol or statue on the bridge, conjuring visions of a gigantic smiling Mickey Mouse becoming the de facto emperor of a region where the Three Sage Kings (the ancient Chinese ones, not the “Whassup?” guys) once plied their wisdom and virtue.