Role of Advertising and Media in Creating a New China - Research Paper Example

? 06 August Advertising, Media and Communication: How Advertising Is Creating New China Introduction Advertising is an integral component of the global consumer culture. A driver of trade and business, advertising has grown to become a distinct area of research and the source of major influences on cross-cultural identity formation. Globalization and integration of markets speed up the development of new, transnational advertising frameworks. Countries which used to be isolated from the rest of the world can no longer resist the pressure of information and communication interventions. China is no exception: a country with a long history of communism, China slowly adopts a new, westernized vision of the global reality. Chinese media reflect and contribute to the development of new consumer images. The influence of advertising on individual and collective identities is difficult to overestimate. More important are the influences of media advertising on the development of gender relations and the changing perceptions of femininity in the postmodern Chinese culture. A content analysis of Chinese printed ads will provide a brief insight into the role of media and advertising in creating the country’s female ideals. Advertising and the making of new China: Setting the context How advertising shapes new China is a question surrounded by much controversy. It is no secret that the end of the 1970s marked a new stage in the political, economic, and cultural evolution of China. Since the end of the 1970s, China has changed dramatically from being predominantly Marxist to a becoming a new, market-socialist country (Tse, Belk & Zhou 457). The no-advertising culture gave place to a well-developed advertising infrastructure, which both facilitates and is facilitated by the rapid development of modern media sources and consumer values (Tse, Belk & Zhou 457). Luxury goods are no longer hated, as it used to be throughout the 20th century (Tse, Belk & Zhou 457). Consumption has become an important productivity and business development incentive. “The changes in the country’s economic policies have created an unprecedented field experiment involving one billion subjects, in which the learning of modern consumption can be investigated” (Tse, Belk & Zhou 458). Chinese consumers gradually realize the value of market openness. In their consumer choices they mostly rely on the popular media sources. Product choices in China are no longer limited to bicycles and wristwatches but make Chinese consumers think twice, before they choose the best of the best in highly competitive Chinese and international markets (Tse, Belk & Zhou 458). Against the background of market openness and relative freedom of competition, the Chinese media have become an important carrier of unique cultural meanings. Advertising does not merely sell goods but has the strong potential to create a new collective identity (Johansson 357). Advertising creates a new image of self in Chinese consumers; it strengthens the sense of belonging to one or several societal groups; eventually, advertising creates a distinct borderline between Self and Others, but whether advertising praises or judges otherness depends on numerous contextual factors (Johansson 357). Chinese media contexts are extremely complex and diverse. They create and sustain a self-otherness dichotomy which characterizes most, if not all, media processes in today’s China. Women are excessively susceptible to this type of media influences. It would be fair to assume that the role of women in the Chinese society and advertising in popular media are closely interrelated: the media reflect the dramatic changes in the women-society relationship and, simultaneously, drive the development of new gender realities. Advertising shapes new China, through new typologies of women and changes in female perceptions of Chinese cultural realities. This is probably why the role of advertising in the development of female identities and their implications for new China are among the most popular objects of present day media research. Literature review: China, advertising, and women The current state of literature provides a wealth of information about advertising in China. Rapid changes in the market conjuncture and increased openness of Chinese markets drive the advertising industry and impose new values on Chinese consumers. That advertising affects individual and collective identities has been abundantly established (Johansson 357). However, it is not clear how advertising affects the creation of new country images, especially in countries with a long history of communism. In this sense, China is definitely a unique field for investigating the relationship between media advertising and the postmodern image of China (Tse, Belk & Zhou 458). Tse, Belk and Zhou explored the main values expressed by Chinese, Taiwanese and Hong Kong’s ads and found that the People’s Republic of China promoted utilitarian values, with ads making a promise of a better life and emphasizing the importance of consumption (Tse, Belk & Zhou 457). Semenik, Zhou and Moore also analyzed managers’ perceptions of Chinese advertising. According to Semenik, Zhou and Moore, Chinese managers are almost unanimous in their acceptance of advertising as a driver of economic and business development (62). Simultaneously, Chinese managers believe that advertising makes people buy things they do not want or need and, for this reason, it can hardly benefit the society (62). Managers are not dedicated to Western models of advertising, which means that advertising relies predominantly on conventional Chinese values and, for this reason, causes little to no “western” influence on the image of new China (Semenik, Zhou & Moore 62). Keane and Spurgeon analyzed the complex relationship between advertising and culture in post-WTO China. Keane and Spurgeon claim that the Chinese magazine industry plays a critical role in shaping a new, “commercial” image of the Chinese culture (104). Magazine advertising symbolizes the pace and extent of economic development and internationalization in China (Keane & Spurgeon 15). Nonetheless, how Chinese consumers perceive advertising depends on numerous factors, including religion (Fam, Waller & Erdogan 537). Moreover, the characteristics of the broadcast channels predetermine the quality of media advertising content and, consequentially, the way the image of new China is created (Chan & Chan 1). Many cultural values tend to persist over time, and advertising strengthens the society’s dedication to these values. For example, older adults in Chinese ads are depicted as active, well-groomed, happy, and healthy, with respect for older adults as one of the most salient characteristics of Chinese advertising and the image of new China (Zhang et al 278). Women, their place in society, and gender stereotypes have long been a matter of cultural concern in China. Contemporary advertising reflects and reinforces a new image of China, where women fulfill diverse roles and functions, retreat from submissiveness and humility, and emerge as economically active and independent, with little to no sexuality. Hung, Li and Belk developed a unique typology of women in Chinese advertising. Women have always been the main carriers of national culture and values, and it comes as no surprise that more women enter the advertising industry and appear on magazine covers and in printed ads (Hung, Li & Belk 1038). Chinese ads nurture the publicly accepted ideal of a Chinese woman, who is no longer androgynous but wants to look attractive (Hung, Li & Belk 1038). This is the so-called “flower vase” type of woman, and the results of the content analysis by Hung and Li suggest that 28% of Chinese ads create this very image of the “female” China (21). Other types of women in Chinese ads include strong women, women-nurturers, and urban sophisticates (Hung, Li & Belk 1038; Hung & Li 20). More often than not, Chinese ads depict women as urban sophisticates, who rely on their styles and tastes rather than on values and principles imposed on them by the communist society (Hung & Li 21). Here, researchers also analyze the role and implications of Western female images in Chinese advertising: according to Johansson, White women in Chinese ads symbolize what China does not or cannot have, with no tint of sexuality (385), whereas Feng and Karan suggest that international magazines are much more stereotypical in their depiction of Chinese women than the printed media in China (39). The results of this review have far-reaching implications for the current understanding of China’s new image and the role of advertising in it. First, advertising is no longer a novelty but an important element of consumer culture in China. Actually, it is due to the rapid growth of the Chinese advertising industry that the country has acquired a “consumer” image, coupled with dramatic changes in the country’s market landscape. Second, advertising in China shapes a new identity but leaves some of the most basic values intact. For example, aging and respect for older people are inseparable from Chinese ads (Zhang et al 278). Third, women in Chinese ads symbolize the rapid changes in gender attitudes. The mere fact that more women are portrayed in Chinese ads signifies increased openness of the Chinese culture and the growing acceptance of Western values, like freedom of choice, independence, and fashion. Finally, Chinese ads create an image of new China, where women fulfill diverse roles and functions, from nurturers to urban sophisticates and have sufficient freedom of choice. China is becoming modern and advanced – a country, in which women make a successful retreat from submissiveness and become economically independent and productive. Women, advertising, and new China: Content analysis In 2007, Apple launched a new advertising campaign in China. iPad2 had to become one of the most popular technological innovations in China. As part of its advertising expansion, Apple also used printed ads, featuring a woman who bicycles past a billboard with an iPad 2 advertisement on it (UPI). A woman in a short dress, with a day bag over her shoulder, and in small shoes without hills rides a bicycle and passes a billboard with an iPad 2 advertisement. She looks fully concentrated on herself and the bicycle. Apparently, it is a strong woman image, which is becoming excessively popular in Chinese advertising. The presence of a strong woman in the printed ad symbolizes the emergence of a new female ideal – a woman, who is independent, ambitious, talented, and advanced (Hung, Li & Belk 1039). Likewise, the ad also symbolizes the emergence of new China, which gives women sufficient freedom of self-actualization and lets them seek their own interests and careers (Hung, Li & Belk 1039). Fig.1. Apple advertising (http://www.upi.com/News_Photos/view/585cb929ba65146bd4209857b23cea42/A-Chinese-woman-bicycles-past-a-sidewalk-billboard-advertising-Apples-new-iPad-2-in-Beijing/) This woman is intelligent and understanding, with a tint of rebel but little confrontation (Hung, Li & Belk 1039). It is a woman who has been successful in retreating from submissiveness and dependence on masculine values and is open to Western ideals of gender equity and professional advancement. The lack of sexuality in the advertising is obvious. This is probably because the Chinese advertising law prohibits any signs of nakedness in published media (Johansson 380). Certainly, many Chinese magazine ads feature naked women, but Apple probably decided that it was important to rely on traditional Chinese values and keep away from excessive sexuality. In this sense, the ad reflects a unique but fragile balance of the new and old in Chinese culture. It is a state of transition from androgyny and female submissiveness to openness and empowerment. It is a woman, who is successful even without obvious sexuality, dressed to meet Chinese cultural expectations and striving for independence and personal growth. This woman exemplifies a serious challenge to stereotypical representations of Chinese women in foreign magazines (Feng & Karan 39). Women are not decorative objects but full members of the new Chinese society (Feng & Karan 39). They are not fashionable consumers who are defined by the presence or absence or men and children in their lives but personalities, who seek a meaningful life (Feng & Karan 39). New China encourages women to be active in their decisions about life. The country expands women’s social horizons. The discussed advertisement symbolizes a thin line between liberation and traditions. This is how women in China cope with the new, global social norms. The advertisement not only reflects but further reinforces the vision of new China, where women are liberated from the burden of traditional family obligations and are encouraged to participate in the country’s economic development (Feng & Karan 40). In this picture, the iPad 2 is just a good supplement to the pleasures and conveniences of new life in China. Reflections The discussed case adds to the current knowledge of Chinese advertising and its role in shaping new China. It goes without saying that advertising profoundly alters the Chinese cultural landscape. With some of the most important values left intact, printed ads reflect and reinforce the sense of openness to western influences. Advertising shapes the image of new China, where women are no longer defined by the presence or absence of men but have sufficient opportunities for personal and professional growth (Feng & Karan 39). Nonetheless, some important questions lack definite answers. Given that there is much more to the place of women in Chinese advertising than a reference to a female image, it is not clear whether there are any limits to westernization. Even despite its openness, new China treats excessive westernization as a serious threat to its cultural strivings. Simultaneously, omitting western values in the globalized world is essentially the same as making the image of new China incomplete. New China fights for openness and, simultaneously, aggressively reacts to what Western worlds have to offer (Johansson 387). In this sense, advertising can readily become the main instrument of finding the right balance between the most important Chinese values and the global values of new China. Conclusion The influence of advertising on individual and collective identities is difficult to overestimate. Advertising creates a new image of self in Chinese consumers; it strengthens the sense of belonging to one or several societal groups; eventually, advertising creates a distinct borderline between Self and Others. The media reflect the dramatic changes in the women-society relationship and, simultaneously, drive the development of new gender realities. Advertising shapes new China, through new typologies of women and changes in female perceptions of Chinese cultural realities. Chinese ads create an image of new China, where women fulfill diverse roles and functions, from nurturers to urban sophisticates and have sufficient freedom of choice. Advertising not only reflects but further reinforces the vision of new China, where women are liberated from the burden of traditional family obligations and are encouraged to participate in the country’s economic development. Future advertising can readily become the main instrument of finding the right balance between the most important Chinese values and the global values of new China. Works Cited Chan, Kara & Fanny Chan. “Information Content of Television Advertising in China: An Update.” Asian Journal of Communication, 15.1 (2005): 1-15. Print. Fam, Kim Shyan, Davis S. Waller & B. Zafer Erdogan. “The Influences of Religion on Attitudes Towards the Advertising of Controversial Products.” European Journal of Marketing, 38.5 (2004): 537-55. Print. Feng, Yang & Kavita Karan. “The Global and Local Influences in the Portrayal of Women’s Roles: Content Analysis of Women’s Magazines in China.” Journal of Media and Communication Studies, 3.2 (2011): 33-44. Print. Hung, Kineta H., Stella Yiyan Li & Russell W. Belk, “Glocal Understandings: Female Readers’ Perceptions of the New Woman in Chinese Advertising.” Journal of International Business Studies, 38 (2007): 1034-51. Print. Hung, Kineta & Stella Y. 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Zhang, Yan Bing, Jake Harwood, Angie Williams, Virpi Ylanne-McEwen, Paul Mark Wadleigh & Caja Thimm. “The Portrayal of Older Adults in Advertising: A Cross-National Review.” Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 25 (2006): 264-82. Print. Read More