Social Issues and Advertising in China
Advertisements are meant to sell products to the consumers. Consumers are selected according to certain demographics. This means that the advertisers should do research into who to target with a particular message. Thus, the message that is used to depict a particular issue would resonate with the viewer or the consumer. This especially so if the target market is the central component of the advertisement. The first aspect would be to know and understand that China has a digital generation, and it is still growing. Thus, anyone who wishes to sell products in this country, has to tap into this audience. Even though there is much talk about the Internet restrictions, those who understand the country’s Internet users could make inroads into this market.
With the expansion of the Internet, the people have come to enjoy as much
of the Western entertainment such as playing of games, shopping, the news, watching movies, and so forth. It would, thus, be wise to tap into this market. This would include the development of other digital technology in China such as the growth of the mobile-broadband market, especially in the development in the third generation technology. The most important key here is to gear all attention to the consumer that makes use of the digital world (Michael and Zhou n.p.). This includes the many other aspects of technology that is moving forward in China, such as television, movies, and as already mentioned, playing games, and shopping.
The Internet also opens the doors to the social network as well as the Chinese people are able to make use of their own equivalents of Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. These are the entry points for businesses and companies to reach consumers. The growth of the social networks in China has led to this being the place where social issues are also more prevalent (Crampton n.p.). Nguyen and Rowley (42) have seen a growth in Chinese advertising as well as an ethical emphasis on the advertisements. There is particular emphasis on misrepresentation and unfair competition.
Advertising often tends to miss the mark, as Benetton’s shock tactics of the past reveals. One of the images that were created for the Chinese market in 2012, does not seem to make any sense (see Figure 1). Even though it addresses an issue, the question is: How does it relate to Benetton’s clothing range? Perhaps it is a matter of the consumer asking questions and it, therefore, evoking interest. However, it did raise questions, but not what the company hoped for. Thus, one could say that the imagery missed the mark completely, and were mostly controversial even though they had hoped that it was less so than previous campaigns (see Figure 1). If there is overemphasis on a social issue, any brand can lose its power to reach consumers, and is especially true for the Chinese consumers. It is not a matter of a lesser intellect. It is a matter of taking the current consumer culture of the Chinese into consideration.
Chinese comnsumerism has changed over the years, and many have become more spendthrift than frugal. They have become more “western minded” in the purchase habits (Backaler n.p), however, having said this, it does not mean that they could be attracted to a product through the same means of advertising as in the West. /adverising in China is also not only around consumerism. One advert that addresses a social issue explicitly was the adverts for the shengnü (leftover woman) (see Figure 2) (“Highlighting China’s “Leftover Women:” n.p.). Ther eis no need to defend this advertisement, as it reflects and says what it needs to say. Hence, the flipside of the contoroversial Benetton adverts, this is ditect and needs no interpretation. Howeverm itdeos not make it less controversial, as it addresses the social issues of Chinese culture directly, and has a specific viewer in mind.
One could therefore say that social issues can divert the attention away from the product being sold (Figure 1). Yet, if it is dirct in its message it can have an impact (Figure 2).
Works Cited
Backaler, Joel. “Inside China's Consumer Culture.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 23 June 2016.
Crampton, Thomas. “Social Media in China: The Same, but Different.” China Business Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 June 2016.
Michael, David C., and Yvonne Zhou. “Understand and Tap Into China’s Digital Generations.” China Business Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 June 2016.
Nguyen, Bang, and Chris Rowley. Ethical and Social Marketing in Asia: Incorporating Fairness Management. 1-342, 2015. Print.
“Highlighting China’s “Leftover Women:” ‘Feminist’ Advertising in China?" Putong Press. N.p., 07 Apr. 2016. Web. 23 June 2016
Appendix
Figure 1: Benetton Poster: Barack Obama and the Chinese leader Hu Jintao kissing
http://www.fabrica.it/unhate/
Figure 2: A caption from the advert reads
“I don’t want to get married just for the sake of it, I won’t be happy.” Photo from Weibo user @南荀张生
