Chinese advertisers are banking on scantily-clad models draped in Argentine and Brazilian jerseys.

Much to the delight of fans here in Argentina and Uruguay, the 2010 World Cup begins its month-long run tomorrow in South Africa. Earlier this week, we looked at Argentine and U.S. brands spending millions on sponsorship deals and advertisements to create an emotional connection with fan bases whose loyalty knows no bounds. But what happens when you have 1.3 billion fans and you don’t qualify for the 32-team field? Well, according to People’s Daily, you should capitalize on two truisms in advertising: 1.) Sex sells, and 2.) Associate yourself with winners. Toward that end, Chinese networks, advertisers and websites are all featuring dozens of local models draped in jerseys of Argentina, Brazil and other tournament favorites. “First off the plane will be the ‘Soccer Super Babes’ group G3, who are being touted as the first Chinese dancers to perform at the opening ceremony of the World Cup,” writes the Daily adding one minor detail, “there does seem to be a certain amount of ongoing discussion about when they will actually perform.” While CCTV will broadcast all 64 games, other Chinese networks will go a different route. Model Zhai Ling will host a program on World Cup fashion. Ironically, the article notes, she became famous for not wearing clothes on the Internet. Not to be outdone in the soccer skin game, another Chinese website “released 32 pictures of babes representing the squads, dressed in just bikini bottoms and body paint.” So even if they won’t be fielding a team this year, it seems China is setting a new standard for World Cup exposure. (Full Story)