Calendar posters were generally associated to the selling of cigarettes, soap or cosmetics. Only the most powerful companies, especially those specialized in the pharmaceutical, hygienic or cigarette industry, could afford such offers. 

Note that advertisements that offered calendar posters to potential buyers appeared mostly, if not exclusively, in the Chinese newspaper Shenbao. While calendar posters emerged in Western countries and were also popular among foreign consumers in China, they were not as praised as they were by the Chinese.