Advertising

The advertisements presented here hope to spark a discussion concerning consumer values and consumer identity in China. Note, however, that these are advertisements, and they are therefore by necessity projections of perceived consumer values and identities from the perspective of the producer. That said however, advertisements are so prolific and so intrinsic in modern societies especially in ones bursting with development such as China that it is almost impossible not to see them as a reflection of the culture itself, especially when considering the specific audiences targeted by specific ad campaigns. That is it is easier to draw a profile of the consumer once broken down into categories such as those proposed by Jing Wang in her book Brand New China, she divides Chinese consumers into 4 sections rather than the typical three, ‘gold-collar’, ‘white-collar’ and ‘blue-collar.’ These groups can further be segmented into generations (generation X, Chinese Baby Boomers, Cultural Revolution Generation) and finally, as a more nuanced if not entirely different categorization than that of the generations the Chinese consumer can further be segmented in terms of their hedonic or utilitarian consumer values. Now, having mapped out the specific demographics the advertisements are aimed at it is possible to analyze the ads as reflections of the consumers themselves. When doing so, it is interesting to note the ever increasing effort to ‘localize’ ad campaigns in an effort to make the advertisement more relatable to the targeted audience. As part of and in addition to this effort, I argue that one can see reflected in the ads the interaction between images of ‘new’ and ‘old,’ i.e. new (perhaps westernized) values vs. old (traditional) values and the way this creates a sort of cultural intertextualization, that is the hybridizing construction of global and local meanings. This term comes from an essay written by Stephen Gould and Nancy Wong entitled, The Intertextual Construction of Ererging Consumer Culture in China as Observed in the Movie Ermo: A Postmodern, Sinicization Reading, it indicates the way in which culture is not merely constructing the world for consumers, but it, itself, is also being reconstructed by the process of intertextuality. Rapid development such as that taking place in China requires the construction of new sociocultural and self narratives in order to describe the changing everyday life. These new narratives are the expressed in consumer attitudes. Now, postmodern theorists suggest that consumers transform themselves in a self-liberating manner, suggesting a displacement of fixed identities in favor of more fluid, role-based ones. At the same time though, Chinese traditional narratives persist and again we see the tension between new and old and consequently the tension between traditional Chinese versus newer Western-type values. (Gould and Wong p.158). Gould and Wong demonstrated the tendencies of this conflict through their discussion of the movie Ermo, I suggest that it, in combination with market theories, can be used in the analysis of advertisements as a means for discussing the developing Chinese consumer.

So, let’s try it out. First, here is a New Years Coke commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy4PqT1Pm6M&NR=1

Here, another coke commercial but with a different target demographic and a different message:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80YJMNRRnXs

Here, a Chinese liquor company:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05SQNW24nv4

This ad Yahoo search ad is particularly interesting in its rural imagery and Lassy like appeal, but I wonder how successful it was, it seems in some ways to be targeting a mixed demographic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T14JJG4xntE

A Kentucky Fried Chicken Advertisement, the factor of authenticity is raised:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By0akZIFIhQ&NR=1

This Nike ad, un-like the others was unsuccessful in its efforts to localize, so much so, that it was banned from China for being seen as disrespectful to traditional Chinese deities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPJPe6Kti7g