First of droft of final paper

Culture value in Advertisements

NIKE in China

This paper observes a study of cultural value in advertisements. It starts with definition of cultural value and Introducing development of advertisements industry in China. NIKE as a case in the content, the project focuses on how to build its brand status promotion by ads. How it uses different cultural value strategy combines with local culture in different countries. Analyzing two commercials of NIKE will be success and failure cases.

To understand the cultural messages conveyed by advertising, it is necessary to explain culture. Parekh (1997) states that, if defined broadly, culture "refers to the body of beliefs and practices governing the conduct of the relevant area, be it a specific activity, an aspect of human experience, an organization or human life was whole." "It may refer to beliefs and practices regulating all or major areas of human life, and have broadly the same meaning as the older term 'a way of life'". Referring to the cultural values and meaning conveyed in advertising, Dyer (1982) argues that "the meaning of an advertisement is not something there, statistically inside an ad, waiting to be revealed by a 'correct' interpretation. What an ad means depends on how it operates, how signs and its 'ideological' effect are organized internally (within the text) and externally (in relation to its production, circulation and consumption and in relation to technological, economic, legal and social relation). Ads are not invisible conveyors of messages or transparent reflections of reality. They are specific discourses or structures of signs (Dyer, 1982).

 

During the so-called "Cultural Revolution" from 1966 to 1975, advertising was labeled as evil, deceptive, and reflective of capitalistic decadence. No advertising was allowed or needed, because the Chinese economy was managed through Soviet-style "five-year plans." However, remarkable changes have taken place since 1978 when the "open-door policy" was adopted. China has evolved in economic development and modernization by “Reform and Opening” policy (zhang, 2010). Meanwhile, China has come a long way from having no advertising at all to having a contemporary advertising infrastructure with all modern media in use (Tse, Belk, and Zhou 1989). For example, in terms of print media, about 8,000 different periodicals are currently published in China, many of which carry a variety of consumer advertisements (Lou 1995). From 1985 to 1992 advertising expenditure's proportion of gross domestic product more than tripled from 0.07% to 0.23% (Karp 1994).

Nike's ads is that As one of global enterprises, NIKE has achieved in the Chinese market. Nike is not only selling products, but also cultural values. Nike was the most expensive, not only because it was the preeminent, but also because it is in the minds of consumers "cool (Cool)" brand. Nike is the consumer in mind the "coolest" brands among the young generation. In the minds of consumers, Nike preeminent embodies the individuality, creativity, dynamism and vitality of the basic regard of leisure. These concepts build success of Nike in the Chinese market unique brand. “Nike has a symbol of ordinary culture, as consumers of cultural identity hearts chat points. Nike sold in the Chinese market is a "cool" and "fashion" of cultural values, their brands points of difference and the core competitiveness is a sort of cultural identity and social identity to rely on the consumer experience a sense (Sense) (Zhang, 2010)” There are two commercials in this analysis are NIKE ads. Both of them are took with Chinese cultural aspects and both are very familiar to the Chinese people. One can say that modernity of consumption values and promoting individualistic cultural values, these elements always make NIKE’s commercials stand out; other points out traditional and historical aspects, but did not take all factors into consideration.

 

 

 

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. 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 teacher. Traditional Chinese culture teaches us to respect leadership and tolerant and loving people, which cause to a high level of inequality between teachers and students.

 

In November of 2004, Nike released its million-dollar, 90-second TV commercial, “Chamber of Fear,” simultaneously in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States. The spot features American NBA player LeBron James defeating an elderly Chinese martial arts master, a pair of dragons, and two legendary Chinese goddesses in a simulated videogame. The “Chamber of Fear” spot was produced by Nike's US advertising agency, Wieden & Kennedy. However, it is important to note that Wieden and Kennedy was not Nike China's advertising agency at the time (Lury, 2009). In China, Nike released the commercial through CCTV, which immediately come to heated discussions on major Chinese Internet sites. On December 3, 2004, China's State Administration for Radio, Film and Television ordered a ban on Nike's commercial in a statement issued that the commercial “violates regulations that mandate that all advertisements in China should uphold national dignity and interest and respect the motherland's culture.” Nike borrowed some important cultural symbols in their ads. Nike introduced dragons, elderly Kung Fu masters, Chinese goddess figures, and Buddhist pagodas in its TV commercial. Dragons are recognized cultural symbols of power throughout Chinese history.

In conclusion we revealed cultural values impact Advertising; Advertising appeals conduct cultural values. Commercial advertising has become an important part of the cultural region. The relationship between advertising and local cultures becomes of increasing interest to international observers. For the company involved in international marketing, building its unique brand status, it is important that they are aware of the local cultural that they would face when entering a new market, particularly those with strong cultural codes of behavior. China, in particular, is a diverse country with a relatively conservative culture. Marketers must be careful that the content of the images in the advertisement will not offend the local community.

References

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Dyer, G. (1982). Advertising as communication. London: Methuen.

Parekh, B. (1997). National culture and multiculturalism. In Thompson, K. (Ed.), Media and cultural regulation (pp. 163– 205). London: Sage.

Alozie, E. (2003). Critical analysis of cultural values found in nigerian mass media advertisements. (Master's thesis, Governors State University)Retrieved from http://utpjournals.metapress.com/content/028t617g544w13v6/fulltext.pdf

Pollay, R., & Gallagher, K. (1990). Advertising and cultural values: Reflections in the distorted mirror. International Journal of Advertising, 9, 359–372.