Advertising in China: the Cultural undertone.

By Ronny Julius C Verlet.

Culture and Heritage in Advertising.

This chapter should bring no surprises as we have elaborated a lot on the

value that the Chinese people attach to their cultural heritage and the sense
of giving a meaning to all signs. No wonder that when you publish or run an
ad in China, that this is a first preoccupation. You have to demonstrate in
your ad that you respect and understand Chinese culture. Get yourself
familiar with the basics which do not mean that you also should be an expert
in superstitious matters and be a friend of the many gods and their
meanings in Chinese culture. Confucius and Mencius will tell you a lot on the
values.

THE VALUES.

Confucianism is not a religion; it is rather a code of conduct and a collection

of insights of wisdom which serves as a guideline for the society. Modern
China wants to revive Confucianism, which according many Western and
Asian people have contributed most to the success stories of the Asian Tiger
Countries. That Confucianism is the great contributor to the economic
upstanding of the East should not be taken for granted, as other factors like
perspiration and central control from governments, families and chaebols
have more to do with the success of the East during the last decades.
A few key ideas from Confucianism are: the family links and the respect for
the parents and the elder people; adherence to rules and rituals with
execution in perfection; honor relationship (guanxi), favor (renquin), and
protect face (minzi) and reciprocation (bao). The brand Confucianism has as
slogan, the saying from the sage: “If you lead the people by laws and
regulate them by penalties, the people will try to keep out of jail, but will
have no sense of shame. If you lead the people by virtue and restrain then
the rules of decorum the people will have a sense of shame and will become
good”. This explains why the legal system in China is underdeveloped.
An ad depicturing Confucian value:

In this ad you can notice that the product is not on the foreground; the
product has to serve the welfare of the people. Look also at the respect for
the eldest in the family and the virtue that the younger generation should
support the elder one.

PATRIOTISM.

This is another characteristic which comes back in advertising. Do not

underestimate the mobilizing power of the Chinese society. A few examples
have been demonstrated in the running up to the Olympics in Beijing in
2008. There were some indications that France would boycott officially the
games. Within a couple of days the Chinese media had pointed at Carrefour
as the example to boycott.

In line with communist tradition have the Chinese created their heroes as
well. Heroes in China are only to be honored when they become a National
hero which has rendered her/his fame to the Nation or to Chinese-ness. One
example is Lei Feng. She became a legend after the publication of her diary
where she described her contribution to the communist ideal under comrade
and great Leader Mao.

NOSTALGY.

Nostalgic feeling is a theme that does always well in China.

SUPERSTITION.

Also superstition in never away from the ads; even luxurary brands are
making use of it. The message at a particular date before the start of the
Olympics sounds; “ Omega reminds you that today marks 8,888,888 seconds
before the Olympic Games. That's just under 103 days, for those of you
keeping count in the more traditional manner”.

THE OFFENCES.

There are many examples of global brands who blundered in their ads. Any
mistake is easily depictured as an offence. These offenses are being widely
reported and commented in the media which always end in an official excuse
to the people of China by the company who makes the offend. If the creators
and designers of these ads would have studied this course, they would have
avoided such misdoings in the eyes of the Chinese customers. A few
examples:

The ad below is from a Japanese company in paint. The intention of the ad

is to demonstrate that the paint is so smooth that even a dragon cannot get
grip on it. They forgot that the dragon is a national symbol for the Chinese.
Years of investing into the market get destroyed by such ads in China.
Another example is the one is the ad from Marlboro.

You should remember that a horse is a noble animal in Chinese minds and a
cowboy is just a lower class fellow with low skills so he can only hang
around. Putting the cowboys in front of the scenery is to highlight the ego of
a lower class person, which should not be associated with a cigarette and
definitely not a cigarette for the middle class. The lower class anyway never
can pay the premium for a global brand.

SEX IN ADVERTISING.

The East has always got for the Western the appeal of the erotic. Places like
Shanghai are catching up nowadays what they once were famous for. The
subject of sex is in China somewhat hypocrite at least when you follow the
guidelines from the government and what the tradition and culture is. Most
Westerner is China misunderstand or misjudge the sex signals and relations
completely. So when you want to exploit sex in advertising you should first
study somewhat more in dept how sex is perceived in Chinese society.