Peking University, Yale Go Head-to-head In Promo Films

(from chinadaily.com.cn, Feb. 14, 2012)

A comparison between two promotional films for Peking University and Yale University posted in a micro blog by an Internet user nicknamed Bear Headed Wang Kai stirred hot discussions among the community.

The post was forwarded tens of thousands of times and got more than 10,000 comments. He said in his blog: "The highlight of Yale's trailer is people, while the trailer of Peking University is the campus scenery. Yale University is confident of present achievement, while Peking University relies on its legacy," the Beijing News reported.

Some people agreed with Bear Headed Wang Kai, saying the trailer for Peking University is more like an advertisement of a scenic spot. Many others say the film has more intentions and tells a story.

The director of the trailer, deputy professor in the Art Department of Peking University, Chen Yu, said to a reporter from Beijing News, "The two trailers should not be compared in such a way. They are made for different purposes. The trailer of Peking University is more like an art film, telling the history and destiny of not only the university but also its inseparable Chinese community. I want to show that Chinese intellectuals carry their spirit from one generation to the next."

Chen added that the purpose of Yale's trailer is to recruit students, vividly displaying campus life and embodying the American value of higher, faster and stronger.