The thematic push - the first by the mainland's largest wireless operator - will pit Asia's first Olympics hurdle winner against Yao Ming, the face of competitor China Unicom.
JWT, which handles China Mobile's Shanghai subsidiary,
has been tapped for the assignment, which is expected to include product campaigns as well. It is believed that JWT beat two multinational rivals for the assignment following a two-round creative and strategic pitch in January.
China Mobile signed Liu Xiang to a one-year endorsement pact late last year, while Yao Ming has a three-year eal with Unicom.
Sources believe the campaign will mark China Mobile's attempt to connect at a deeper emotional level with consumers to break away from the category battle centred around the offer of free minutes and handsets.
The campaign also comes ahead of a crucial milestone - the mainland's launch of its own next-generation mobile phone services in June.