Celebrities have starred in the Aflac ads, including Chevy Chase (2003); Yogi Berra; Yao Ming; Donald Trump's wife, Melania Trump; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Carl Edwards (2008–); the United States Olympic synchronized swimming team (2004); and Wayne Newton playing at Stardust Hotel and Casino for the 2003 commercial.
An inauguration ceremony was held on June 27, 2003, featuring a group of runners, including Yao Ming, who were the first to cross the bridge.
Google has recently partnered with the Yao Ming-founded online music provider Top100.cn to make some headway in the Chinese market.
Yao Ming and other NBA success stories have helped to popularize basketball in China.
He was among the first U.S. journalists to profile future NBA basketball star Yao Ming.
Yao Ming, former player of the NBA team Houston Rockets, is a spokesman for WildAid along with numerous other celebrity ambassadors and Olympic athletes.
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Some of the famous players to have done face-to-face Inside Hoops interviews include LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, Paul Pierce, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, Yao Ming, Chris Webber, Elton Brand, Tracy McGrady, Shawn Marion, Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal, Pat Riley, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
He was joined on this team by established NBA superstars Dirk Nowitzki and Peja Stojakovic and NBA rookies-to-be Yao Ming and Emanuel Ginobili.
He has written two sports biographies for young people, one about basketball star Yao Ming and the other about Olympic Gold Medal winning skater Sarah Hughes.
The fact that USA is starting to notice Chinese players after Yao Ming's success (compared to Wang Zhizhi and Mengke Bateer), and young CBA players such as Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue entering the NBA are examples of this change in trend.