Jimmy Lai goes down the Richard Branson route with tongue-in-cheek commercial

Love him or hate him, Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has a sense of humour. His flagship publications, Apple Daily and Next Magazine, have upset just about every group and sector in Hong Kong and Taiwan over the years.

So in a new web commercial, he takes a starring role - being chased by what appears to be an angry mob.

But it turns out he's not about to be stabbed by pitchforks and ripped to pieces. Everyone pulls out an iPhone to get Lai's latest app on where to eat and get good food bargains.

It seems the Next Media chairman is taking the lessons of Virgin's Richard Branson to heart: why waste good money on brain-dead celebrities to be in your commercials when you have enough star power to play yourself?