Internet star's first ad auction drew $3.4 million bid

The first advertisement by a top Chinese internet celebrity was put under hammer on Thursday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The first advertisement by a top Chinese internet celebrity was put under hammer on Thursday, with a top bidder offering to pay a record high 22 million yuan（$3.4 million）for for advertising in one online video clip.

The auction, dubbed the first of its kind in China's new media sector, was for sales of the post-credits advertisement in one video clip by Papi Jiang.

Papi Jiang, whose real name is Jiang Yilei, gained 11.59 million fans on Sina Weibo by producing and posting funny video clips of one-woman sketches.

The auction was held both online and offline simultaneously. The bidding started at 217,000 yuan and closed at 22 million yuan within 7 minutes. The highest bidder is a Shanghai-based cosmetic firm, Lily& Beauty.

The jaw-dropping auction is an the tip of the iceberg of China's booming web star economy-a business that allows cyber personalities to monetize their fame by using their influence on fans.

The 29-year-old Papi Jiang received a 12 million yuan investment from venture capital firms in March.

Papi Jiang didn't show up at the auction in person. But her business partner, Yang Ming, said at the event that they are going to donate all of the net income from the auction to their alma mater -the Central Academy of Drama.

Zhang Quanliang,a former hostess at China Central Television and a partner of venture capital firm Zijiu Foundation, said that timing is important for a web star.

Not all people who can produce attractive content can become a celebrity online,” she said.

“There are also risks in policy.”

Earlier this month, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television ordered Papi Jiang to take her videos offline because of her use of "swear words and insulting language".

The modified videos were available again on Monday, and Papi Jiang also released a new one talking about weight loss - without salty language.

Screen shot of a video posted by Internet celebrity Papi Jiang's Weibo account. [Photo/Weibo.com]