AdverComm: 02/10

Advertising is more than simple words; it is a complex process, intertwined with the local culture at which it aims. In this paper, I am going to analyze five commercials from China - my own country of origin.

China’s culture stretches back over 5,000 years and their people are proud of their splendid culture and history. That is true to the young generation as well, although they have been greatly influenced by the Western culture.

The first two commercials in this analysis are Pepsi ads. Both of them are endowed with the profound Chinese historical and cultural aspects, and both are very familiar to the Chinese people. One can say that traditional culture elements always make Pepsi’s commercials stand out.

Pepsi 1 ---http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHtPzkk5Tv4

This commercial is about a young boy who is brough to a buddhist monistary. There he is tought the ways of of Kung Fu and learns how to be a monk. The final scene is of him doing his final test in order to become a monk., His final task is figuring out what the symbol on all of their heads means. As he looks down at the Pepsi he just drank, he realizes that crushing the can with his head would give him the same symbol. In this commercial, there are five factors that I would like to focus on:

1. Kung Fu. It is a symbol of Chinese culture. The origin of martial arts (Kung Fu) is surrounded by the vague mysteries of the Shaolin Temple and the Shaolin monks, who also play an important role in this commercial.

2. The Shao Lin Temple. It was built in 495, is the most famous temple in China, and has many legends and mysteries, Chinese people are very familiar with it because there are famous literature and movies about it.

Both of these factors are not new to Chinese people. Actually, there are tons of ads relevant to Chinese Shao Lin Kung Fu (we always connect their name together). Sometimes, we get bored or even offended when we see a monk staring at a young lady in a perfume commercial or yell on the cell phone in a Nokia ad. However, in this commercial, we see respect for Chinese culture and the good combination of story and music.

3. Music - Unlike other Pepsi commercials, which always use pop music like R&B or rock, it uses the music played by a btraditional Chinese instrument here, very effective.

4. Use of non Asian actors. More and more foreigners appear in commercials in China now. They attempt to convey modernity, openness, high quality (or advancement), and amusement. Chinese people feel good when they see foreigners engage in their culture and sometimes even feel less offended by the commercial because they think it’s funny and different.
5. Time. The little boy in the commercial grew up as a real monk after 10 years hard work. According to the Geert Hofstede™ Cultural Dimensions, China has the highest Long-Term Orientation ranking in the world. This Dimension indicates a society's time perspective and an attitude of persevering; that is, overcoming obstacles with time, if not with will and strength. This commercial conveys an important message to Chinese audiences --- just like the Shao Lin spirit, Pepsi also has a spirit of hard working, strength and long-term orientation.

Pepsi 2 --- http://youtube.com/watch?v=eghLtMwylxw&feature=related

This commercial was about an ancient chinese ritual where two different powerful beings, one representing fire and one representing ice, use their power to create two new Pepsi beverages, one blue and one red.

Again, this is a good example of value paradoxes. By using the same strategy, Pepsi attempts to get young people attracted by the past. However, compared to the previous one, there are more modern elements in it.

Celebrities --- they use two pop stars that are very popular among young people in China and Southwest Asia.
Music --- Western style music well accepted by young people.
It is Pepsi’s strategy to use pop stars and rock music in its commercials in China to attract young people. However, there are some factors that make this ad more interesting.

Fictitious Kung Fu Art--- like in many Chinese movies, there are some magic things like people flying in the sky, jumping, playing with fire balls, etc. as part of stage fighting. To Chinese people, although they are not real, they are all originated from Kung Fu and are parts of Chinese culture. People in China are culturally very used to it.

Value paradoxes reflect the desirable versus the desired in life. They reflect people’s motives and include the elements that trigger people’s feelings and emotions. Similarly to what happens with the Harry Potter series, people are addicted to it because there are some magic skills that create dreams for them in the real life.

Water and fire --- a smart combination of blue and red which also are the colors of Pepsi. In addition, water and fire are very important elements in Chinese culture or philosophy. In traditional Chinese philosophy, there are Five Elements, including water, fire, metal, wood and earth, which were used for describing interactions and relationships among phenomena. Pepsi successfully combines these two elements into its brands.

Both of these two commercial convey Chinese tradition, philosophy and practice of martial arts, as well as Pepsi’s brand, very well. However, not all of the commercials that use Chinese traditions are successful. Below is a commercial that aroused a dispute in China.

Nike -- Failure
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q22VEviS-Os

The commercial portrays NBA star LeBron James fighting his way through a pagoda of dangers and temptations. LeBron "keeps his mind on his game and his game on his mind" and conquers all. The problem is that all the dangers and temptations are Chinese people and symbols of China like dragons. Thus, despite the fact that the commercial is quite clearly a pastiche of Bruce Lee movie scenes and video game clichés, it has been branded as insulting. Not only that, the commercial symbolically portrays the US as ruling supreme in the world, despite China’s efforts to grow. In other words, the commercial is not only insulting – it is propaganda, purely and simply.

This Ad called “Chamber of fear” was actually banned in China after it was considered disrespectful to Chinese culture and demeaning to certain cultural symbols.
• LeBron James defeats a Chinese ancient kung fu master.
• Two women in traditional Chinese attire are defeated by LeBron James in the commercial.
• James also beat a pair of dragons, which have long been a potent symbol of auspicious power in Chinese folklore and art.
Conflict will occur when you are ignorant about another culture. In addition, the whole commercial is too aggressive. China has a lower individualism (IDV) ranking. What is deeply rooted in the Chinese society are the concept of being harmonious and the need of belonging and conforming to a unit. Although Nike is a sport brand that represents passion and energy, and aggression is valued at the basketball court of the NBA and in the U.S., it should follow the Chinese way because the important value paradoxes vary according to different cultures; value-adding advertising cannot be exported from one culture to another without losing effectiveness.

However, there is another Nike commercial that is very successful in China.

Nike -- Success
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EMXZNyDN4A

There are 10 typical scenarios in this commercial. Each of them has two Chinese characters -- 随时 , which means, any time. The whole ad conveys a message to Chinese people: “use your creativity, anytime, if you want, just do it!”

Nike's “Just do it” campaign seems to be one of the best commercial campaigns ever created. This one is very creative, especially because it uses the idea of taking everyday’s activities and turning them into something "just (to) do it." I recommend it to many of my Chinese friends.
In the first scene, a student is late to class, and his teacher points at him with a ferule: “why are you always late?” It is very common in China that teachers use a ferule to blame students, yet it is not common that a student dare to fence with his or her teacher. There are actually two scenarios in this series that are about students’ behavior, by rebelling against the tradition in class.
This is a value paradox, as mentioned before, Confucianism revolves around the concept of harmonious relationships, and the sense of belonging and conforming is very important. Respect and honor for teachers is a virtue in the traditional Chinese culture. A “good student” is supposed to obey his or her the teacher. At the same time, China ranks very low in Individualism (IDV) and high in Power Distance ranking (PDI), and, added to that, the Chinese respect leadership and are tolerant and loving people. There is a high level of inequality between teachers and students. However, advertising often appeals to what is lacking in society. Where individualism values are lacking, advertising will show being independent or following your own way. Actually like in other regions in the world, young people in China tend to be more individualistic.

The commercial also brought back to people their early familiar scenarios. Many audiences were moved by those good memories.

Sex appeal in Chinese advertising

The last one is a printed ad. It is a commercial of a Chinese auto company-- Chery. Early this year, they launched a new car, whose name, translated into English, means Oriental Son. In the pictured ad, a half-naked woman is looking with lustful eyes at the reader. A car and traditional Chinese flower painting are tattooed on her back. The headline is "Oriental son, I love you!" This seems quite normal in the U.S. and many other Western countries. However, Chinese people are very sensitive to sex-related commercials because they are deeply influenced by Confucianism which sees sex as a dirty thing.
For example, there was a TV commercial of a gum called Qing Zui with the opening line of: "Do you want to feel the taste of kissing?" This Advertising using explicit sexual messages did not go further on Chinese TV: few months later, a government agency released a statement banning TV commercials with obvious sexual imagery.
Nevertheless, printed ads are less tightly monitored. This commercial is a good example of it because it conveys neither more nor less than information.
Cars in China represent more than a vehicle. rather, they are used to show the position and status of a person, because unlike what happens in many Western countries, only people in middle to upper class have cars in China. In addition, Chinese culture places a lot of emphasis on a person's social status (Di wei). We have a popular saying now in China: “you can get a wife only if you have a house and a car”. That might be the reason why some people comment about this commercial: “Maybe she loves his wallet even more.”

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Apple- Redefining Mobile Advertising

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- With the iPhone, Apple changed the face of mobile devices. Can it do the same for mobile advertising?

CEO Steve Jobs is reported to have said, "Mobile ads suck," and in the wake of its purchase of mobile ad network Quattro, all signs point to Apple exerting its considerable clout on the mobile web to make the ads, well, better. "Static banners aren't very Apple," said Krishna Subramanian, co-founder of mobile ad exchange Mobclix.
But one question is reverberating around the industry: Will Apple use its dominance to squeeze out other so-called premium ad providers?

Taking control
Last week Apple showed it won't be shy about setting new standards. In a blog post, the company warned developers that it will reject apps that serve users location-targeted ads. "If your app uses location-based information primarily to enable mobile advertisers to deliver targeted ads based on a user's location, your app will be returned to you by the App Store Review Team for modification before it can be posted to the App Store," the post said.

Location-based ads are often the most attractive for advertisers looking to drive foot traffic into stores. "If I'm looking at my phone, I want to see an ad for the restaurant around the corner, not for something without context," said Michael Becker, Mobile Marketing Association's managing director, North America. "Situational relevance for mobile users -- and for marketers -- is essential."

Apple claims the controversial post was only intended to protect user experience. Regardless, to some, this move looks like a preview of what Apple has planned for its new ad network. It has been building out a global sales team, and Quattro CEO Andy Miller is Apple's first VP-mobile advertising, reporting directly to Mr. Jobs. It's the first time Apple has been in the ad business, and this move indicates how seriously the Cupertino, Calif.-based company takes it.

"Clearly, Apple is going to do everything it can to redefine mobile advertising," said Eric Litman, chairman-CEO of ad network Medialets, who also said he sees merit in Apple's defense of users in its location-based ad restriction. "Obviously they're going to want to leverage unique capabilities of their device as an advantage to them and not their competitors."

Restricting competition?
How would that happen? Since all applications must go through a stringent approval process before hitting the App Store, Apple could reject apps with non-Quattro ad network code. But restricting outside ad networks would also mean cutting into developers' profits, because many already partner with multiple networks to monetize their apps.

It is also likely that Apple will integrate Quattro into its software development kit, giving developers a default ad network that's built into the app toolbox. With an already embedded ad network, developers would have an automatic revenue stream on approved apps, and would then have to contract networks beyond, or instead of, Quattro.

The iPhone claims about 25% U.S. smartphone market share as of December, according to ComScore. An Apple spokeswoman declined to speak directly about plans for Quattro or Apple's position on mobile advertising.

Apple has cast the deal as a way to make money for the developers whose apps have made the iPhone popular. Right now, Apple reaps 30% from music and paid app downloads and, like the existing mobile ad network model, could take a fee for passing ad sales on to developers.

Redefining mobile ads
Developers could also stand to benefit from Apple meddling in mobile ad formats -- better ads could mean better results, happier clients and, eventually, more money. With Apple's characteristic design and usability expertise, it could reinvigorate the ad category so mobile doesn't get stuck in the same banner doldrums as its interactive predecessor, online advertising.

"There's no doubt that Apple will add functionality around advertising," said Mike Sanford, president-CEO FlipSide 5, a developer whose apps, including Touch Hockey, have been downloaded 26 million times.

Mr. Sanford said the current purchasing experience on iPhones is clunky. But with a mobile ad network backed up to the phone's operating system and the almighty iTunes, Apple could work some of those kinks could out. Imagine ads that click-to-buy to iTunes, a purchase platform consumers already use and trust with their credit card information.

"People might be hesitant to tap credit card information into their phone," said Mobclix co-founder Sunil Verma, citing the ESPN's app. "But they're already used to buying games on iTunes."

By Kunur Patel
Original Post: http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=142036

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Think You Know China? Eight Things Foreigners Get Wrong - Implications to advertisers and PR players.

As a public service, here's a thoroughly idiosyncratic, non-comprehensive list of the eight most common misunderstandings about China.

1. China is America in the '50s (or Japan in the '80s, or Mexico in the '90s or ...).Everybody loves a good historic analogy, but China is too big, too complex and too thoroughly integrated with the rest of the world. The country's consumer culture is leapfrogging its own unique path.

2. China's public data are unreliable.
There have been tremendous strides recently in the quality of publicly available data, especially for urban demographics. Pay attention to the development plans of central and city governments. They are clear and ambitious, if vague at times. I also recommend a visit to the Shanghai Museum of Urban Planning to anyone curious about population density, retail clusters or transportation infrastructure.

3. China's internet is like the rest of the world.
As Google's drama has highlighted, China's internet is unique. Global big guys like eBay, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Skype and, yes, Google are insignificant or non-existent here.

Want to utilize social networks for your brand? Spend a day learning QQ and mastering its roster of functions not seen in the West. I have a soft spot for Douban, which acts as a sort of user-generated index to the global library of music and film.

Empowered by Douban, culturally inclined youth are uncovering everything from punk classics to experimental Dutch cinema, and sharing them with their friends.

4. China's consumers are split between urban and rural.
Technically true. But most global brands are actually dealing with a limited part of China: the mega-urban and the merely urban. China's consumer market is overwhelmingly clustered in cities, many with populations of one million or more. Size isn't everything. The most relevant factor for marketers should be the city's access to a cultural center like Beijing or Chengdu. A mom living in a medium-size city two hours from Guangzhou is likely to be more sophisticated about brands than her counterpart living in the massively populated, but under-exposed, provincial capital city Zhengzhou.

5. China's regional differences are as big as Europe's.
I hear this one from very sophisticated people, keen to show their respect for the scale and scope of China. Their hearts are in the right place, but they overstate the case. There are certainly regional differences, but within a moderate range. All of China learns the same history, takes the same exams, speaks the same language (at school at least) and watches the same news programs. Climate is one big exception, and it does influence food, architecture and even clothing.

6. There are big generation gaps between each decade.
Generation gaps are huge, and they crop up more than every decade. This is a logical result of fast economic growth. Changes in culture and technology result in wildly different formative environments. Today's 25-year-olds grew up watching glossy boy bands like Taiwan's F4. Meanwhile kids a mere five years younger watched gender-bending Li Yuchun (from "Super Girl") and other courageous oddities of the reality TV circuit. Is it any wonder they embrace a weirdness that baffles their elders?

7. China is rapidly Westernizing.
Without a doubt China is modernizing -- just look at all the KFCs. But can we call it Westernizing if those KFCs sell congee for breakfast? While there is a notable increase in Western brands and lifestyle options, it is matched by a comparable increase in historic Chinese culture. Witness the renewed interest in pu'er tea collecting, learning calligraphy and the resurrection of Imperial dishes. There is a strong argument that China is becoming more Chinese. There's one other often-overlooked influence: North Asia. Japan, the world's second biggest economy, sits off China's shore, and its cultural influence is at least as significant as that of the West. Sure, 18-year-olds in urban China are wearing American Nikes. But 15-year-old kids are reading Japanese manga and listening to Korean pop.

8. Chinese youth are divided into tribes.
There is a kernel of truth here, and young people are segmenting themselves at ever-earlier ages. But these tribes look different from their Western counterparts. In the West, we can use magazine, music or brand affiliations as shorthand to describe a group. These don't quite work in China, what with print media being relatively small and the music scene so confused by piracy. Brand preference can be descriptive in big cities, but in the rest of the country brand differentiation is more blurred. So what does that leave? Celebrity preference can be useful. Choice of hobbies, including membership in online clubs, says a lot about a person. But there is a lot of fluidity and change.

A reminder: We enter the Year of the Tiger on Feb. 14. Have a wild tigerful Valentine's Day and best wishes for the New Year.

Original Post: http://adage.com/globalnews/article?article_id=141879

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