INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT DOCTOR BHATTACHARYA December 15, 2008 Authored by: Erica Swallow Advertising of the Beauty Industry in China How Foreign Beauty Advertising Affects Chinese Culture and Society
Since China’s opening in 1978, it has lured investment from foreign companies that hope to find bountiful opportunities by appealing to China’s 1.3 billion consumers. Companies of all types have entered, yet few have found success. One industry that has highly benefited from China’s opening up policy is the beauty industry. With increasing disposable income among female Chinese consumers and a greater demand for beauty products, the beauty industry in China has welcomed many foreign firms with open arms.The mass entrance of foreign beauty companies has a huge significance as pertaining to Chinese culture and society. With foreign beauty companies came foreign beauty advertising, portraying Western models, blonde-haired and blue-eyed, flaunting Western goods and values, with little attention paid to Chinese traditions and ideas on ‘beauty’. Foreign beauty advertising has drastically changed the concept of beauty from a preference towards traditional Chinese beauty to a preference of ‘foreign beauty’. Foreign advertising sends the message that natural Chinese features are inferior to Western ideas of beauty. Some believe that mass foreign advertising has created a psychological inferiority complex in the younger female Chinese population. Rather than accepting themselves as Chinese and embracing their natural beauty, young women are seeking medical treatments and beauty enhancements to make themselves appear more foreign, requiring them to be slim, tall, white skinned, have rounder eyes, a high, narrow nose and wider lips. This behavior is unhealthy and may have lasting effects on Chinese culture and society.
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1. Advertising of the Beauty Industry in ChinaHow Foreign
Beauty Advertising Affects Chinese Culture and SocietyInternational
Business ManagemeNTDoctor BhattacharyaDecember 15, 2008Authored by:
Erica Swallow
Advertising of the Beauty Industry in China
How Foreign Beauty Advertising Affects Chinese Culture and
Society
Introduction
Since Chinas opening in 1978, it has lured investment from foreign
companies that hope to find bountiful opportunities by appealing to
Chinas 1.3 billion consumers. Companies of all types have entered,
yet few have found success. One industry that has highly benefited
from Chinas opening up policy is the beauty industry. With
increasing disposable income among female Chinese consumers and a
greater demand for beauty products, the beauty industry in China
has welcomed many foreign firms with open arms.
The mass entrance of foreign beauty companies has a huge
significance as pertaining to Chinese culture and society. With
foreign beauty companies came foreign beauty advertising,
portraying Western models, blonde-haired and blue-eyed, flaunting
Western goods and values, with little attention paid to Chinese
traditions and ideas on beauty. Foreign beauty advertising has
drastically changed the concept of beauty from a preference towards
traditional Chinese beauty to a preference of foreign beauty.
Foreign advertising sends the message that natural Chinese features
are inferior to Western ideas of beauty. Some believe that mass
foreign advertising has created a psychological inferiority complex
in the younger female Chinese population. Rather than accepting
themselves as Chinese and embracing their natural beauty, young
women are seeking medical treatments and beauty enhancements to
make themselves appear more foreign, requiring them to be slim,
tall, white skinned, have rounder eyes, a high, narrow nose and
wider lips. This behavior is unhealthy and may have lasting effects
on Chinese culture and society.
Background
Looking back on history, we see that there is a recurring theme of
beauty if China a porcelain, oval face; thin, long eyebrows; long
eyes with slightly up-curved corners; and a small, rosy mouth. In
fact, beautiful Chinese women were often compared to peach
blossoms. Beauty in ancient China could also be defined by a womans
obedience to commonly held virtues. Womens appearance, along with
their impeccable morality, proper speech, and diligent housework,
were compulsory criteria of good women. In addition, a woman should
be obedient to her father before marriage, to her husband after
marriage and to her son after her husbands death (Chinese
Perspectives). This criterion was highly influenced by
Confucius-thought.
Above, From Left: The traditional Chinese beauty; Zhou Xuan, the
Marilyn Monroe of 1930 Shanghai, is an example of traditional
beauty in then mid-twentieth century; This vintage ad features a
woman with porcelain skin holding the Ku Lin brand facial Cream and
reads Gift of Quality and Beauty.
As evident in the last image above, up until Chinas opening, it was
quite typical that the basic ad for any beauty or fashion product
would feature a woman of traditional beauty holding the product.
While it may seem repetitious, this style was regarded as art. This
was a result of government regulations on advertising, deeming it a
Capitalistic evil.
With the entry of foreign beauty companies, new forms of
advertisement became more prevalent. By the time of Chinas opening,
foreign beauty companies were far more developed in the advertising
industry than Chinese companies. In fact, a year after Chinas
opening, advertising was officially reinstated and the emergence
and foundation stage of the advertising industry in China began
(Hu). During this foundation stage, from 1979-89, Chinese
advertising scholars began to systematically introduce Western
advertising concepts to promote " modern advertising, an antithesis
of " traditional advertising."Table I below explains the
differences between modern and traditional advertising as argued by
Chinese advertising scholars (Gao).
Traditional AdvertisingModern AdvertisingCentered around production
and was employed to disseminate product information and promote
salesCentered around the consumer and tailored production and
marketing to consumer psychologyBased on small-scale production, it
functioned only as a subsidiary business tool and tended to be
blind and impulsiveBased on large-scale socialized production in a
commodity economy, it rose to the level of scientific decisions and
became an integral part of enterprise management systemConsidered
an art of paintingConsidered a comprehensive scienceOnly offered
services such as media booking and advertising production and
operated on the principle of " advertise for whomever pays"
Emphasized planning and creativity and provided full services to
the client
Source: Gao, Zhihong (See bibliography)
This shift in advertising style after Chinas opening correlates to
a shift in societal thought. To a large degree, advertising is a
reflection of society and has an influence on future societal
behavior. While pulling in Western advertising styles, Chinese
advertisers also pulled in Western messages and ideas on life and
consumerism.
Above: DaBao, a household name in China, still uses traditional
beautyLooking closer at the beauty industry in China, it is evident
that some large Chinese beauty companies, such as DaBao, still use
the traditional image of Chinese beauty in ads. Foreign entrance
has had little influence on their beauty philosophy. However, this
may change in the near future, as large international corporations
have begun buying up Chinese beauty companies left and right. For
example, Johnson & Johnson acquired DaBao a few months ago,
after entering a bidding war with Avon and Unilever (Yu). The race
to buy up Chinese beauty brands that understand Chinese consumers
is on. Companies like DaBao will continue to be gobbled up by
multinational brands, hoping to sink into the psyches of existing
Chinese consumers.
International and domestic companies alike have reason to quarrel.
According to a new Kline & Company market study, China is now
the third-largest market for cosmetics and toiletries, next to
Japan and the United States. Sales are projected to rise by more
than 10% a year to 2010, expanding the market to $17 billion. With
such attractive grown rates, companies have plenty of reasons to
heavily compete. Edward Wang, manager of China Beauty at The NPD
Group, confirms that:
The beauty industry in China is an emerging market and I expect to
see continued growth in the coming year, with skincare products at
the forefront. We are seeing more advertisements in China both in
magazines and on television for premium-priced anti-aging products.
These ads play an important role in educating women about skincare
usage in China (Hilsenrath).
But exactly how much influence do these foreign beauty companies
and their advertising have on Chinese consumers? In a 2005 article
in Fortune Magazine entitled Battling for the Face of China, author
Sheridan Prasso argued that the juxtaposition in Chinas beauty
industry between modernity and tradition:
is a raging battle among global beauty giants vying to win the face
of Chinese women. There's French giant L'Oral pitted against
Japan's Shiseido, both of which are being challenged by U.S. leader
Este Lauder and a handful of Chinese companies that draw upon the
desire for traditional skin beautifiers.
In essence, the beauty battle in China today is a battle of balance
between the old and the new. But it seems that the new is winning
and replacing the traditions. Although beauty products had been
popular in Chinas history, wearing them became taboo during Maos
reign, as it undermined the Communist philosophy of standardization
among people. Beauty products were reintroduced during Deng
Xiaopings time in office. But even now, wearing makeup to appear
younger can actually cause a Chinese woman to lose face in some
parts of China, as everyone is expected to obey their position in
society. As the Chinese respect the wisdom of old age, wrinkles
included, wearing beauty products to cover this wisdom could be
looked down on (Alon).
However, times are changing, especially in urban China. After the
country opened to foreign influence, women began expressing
themselves more outwardly, using cosmetics. To take advantage of
this, one of the first beauty manufacturers to enter China was
Procter & Gamble in 1988 with their line Oil of Ulan, known
today as Olay. Today, even Olays skin whiteners outsell Chinese
brands. This is astounding, because whiteners are based on the
traditional preference for fairness. How could a foreigner outsell
the locals on such a traditional concept? Advertising.
Chinas advertising industry is booming. According to CR-Nielsen,
Nielsen's China joint venture on research of China's Internet
market, online advertising spending is expected to increase 30-40%
in 2009. Traditional media is also on the rise in China, but at a
slower rate. At the CCTV prime time advertising auction for 2009,
sales hit a record high of $1.36 billion, a 15% increase from last
year (Online). Lets take a look at some of ads from 2008.
Above, From Top Left: Various foreign brands market whitening
creams in Asian countries. These ads feature pale Caucasian models:
Dior Snow; Estee Lauder CyberWhite EX; Lancome Blanc Expert; Ponds
White Beauty.
All of the previous ads for whitening creams were found in popular
Chinese magazines. Stressing the importance of fairness, they use
phrases like snow, cyber white, blanc, and white beauty. Products
that promise to help consumers improve themselves are to be
expected. However, the underlying message of change in order to be
beautiful is a troubling concept. This message sent out by the
beauty industry can be found everywhere, in every country and
almost every city. However, the effect that it is having on Chinese
and other Asian consumers is much more horrendous than in the U.S.
or other developed areas. As Indian graphic designer Nikki Dugal
expressed: we still have this colonial hang-up that white is
better, white is wealth, white is someone rich enough to never toil
in the sun (Wax)."
While whitening rooted in colonialism is unfortunate, this is not
where the beauty alterations end. For many Chinese, beauty is seen
as an investment in the future, as it often allows women to get
better jobs or find wealthy husbands. Young girls in their early
20s are increasingly interested in getting cosmetic surgeries to
obtain foreign beauty. Some of the most popular surgeries include
creasing ones eyelids, narrowing of the nose, breast implants,
liposuction, and even leg-lengthening (Jess).
In China, the popularity of change for beauty resulted in the first
annual Miss Artificial Beauty pageant in 2003. The artificial
beauty pageant only allows entrants that have had extensive
cosmetic surgery. The philosophy is that all ugly women can become
beautiful with the wonders of man-made beauty. Cosmetic surgeons,
proud of their works of art, are proud sponsors and judges of the
pageant. The existence of this pageant is evidence that China has
come a long way in the past few decades. In 1993, Beijing
University students refused ever to enter a beauty contest; they
were meaningless western culture and contestants lacked
self-respect and spiritual pursuits (Jess).
In light of the circumstances, a recent campaign by Olay seems to
be trying to combat the popular message of change that other
advertisers are communicating.
Above, from left: Chinese Olay ads, which read: From making
yourself become more beautiful to making your wisdom become more
beautiful; From beauty that comes from touching up to beauty that
comes from the skin; From believing in destiny to believing in
yourself.
The ads above focus on self-improvement based on wisdom, ones
natural skin, and confidence. However, if we look closer, well see
that all of the ads are promoting Western values. In the first ad,
the Chinese woman is whitening her skin while reading about French,
one of the well-known Romance languages. The cultural assumption is
that learning French, a Western language, will make you wiser. In
the second ad, a Chinese woman in heavy makeup is overshadowed by a
Caucasian model that seems to be bare of cosmetics. The ad implies
that the Chinese woman should take cues from the Westerner. The
last ad discusses believing in yourself rather than destiny. Her
palm is marked with her life, heart, and sun lines, as dictated by
chiromancy, or palm-reading. Palm-reading roots back to India and
Roma, but came to China around 3,000B.C. In any case, many Chinese
believe that destiny and luck play large roles in a persons
success. Thus, this ad has inadvertently taken a hit at Chinese
cultural norms in preference for the selfish, Western ideals that
come with self-esteem. Furthermore, the focus on the self in this
ad undermines the group-orientated mindset that is strongly held in
China.
Data Analysis
It is clear that the beauty industry has benefited from Chinas
opening up policy. While many smaller corporations could not
weather the storm, many large multinational companies have found
success. These companies, including Olay, Lancome, Estee Lauder,
and Ponds, have survived based on one of their shared core
competencies a large advertising budget and creative advertisers
who use the money efficiently. It is evident that these companies
have a large influence in the market, as they are among the
top-selling brands in China. The issue, however, lies in their
inability to communicate messages that agree with the once
widely-held ideas of natural Chinese beauty. This lack of cultural
integrity on part of multinational advertisers has had a
detrimental impact on young Chinese girls. Cosmetic surgeries, even
to the extent of leg-lengthening, have become commonplace,
accepted, and encouraged.
Conclusion
In general, international marketers must take all aspects of a
brand into considerations when choosing to market abroad, including
the price, distribution, product features, and promotions as
specific to the country in which they want to enter. In a lot of
cases, beauty manufacturers are able to make good choices on
pricing and distribution models. Product features can be a little
more difficult to figure out, as consumers have varying needs
across countries. However, promotion is arguably the most difficult
aspect of the brand to master while abroad. Marketers must
understand a countrys language, symbols, and cultural
assumptions.
In this case, it is apparent that upon first entering China,
foreign beauty advertisers, with a lack of knowledge on the
cultural ideas being Chinese beauty, continued to persevere with
advertising that practically mimicked the Western versions of ads
for similar products. Even today, in the age of information
overload and with a wide-spread understanding of the need to be
culturally-sensitive, advertisers within the beauty industry
continue to advertise using Western views and values.
A lot of Asian societies have already been Westernized to a large
extent as a result of colonization. Now, with the opening of China,
foreign companies have revived hopes of profiting at the expense of
the Chinese consumers. With little regard to cultural norms,
advertisers push products that Chinese women have traditionally had
little use for. The underlying message is that foreign beauty
trumps Chinese beauty. This rejection of natural beauty in
preference for foreign beauty has resulted in shifts in cultural
and societal values among the younger Chinese generations, as well
as the creation of a psychological inferiority complex in the
younger female population. Rather than accepting themselves as
Chinese and embracing their natural beauty, young women seek to
change themselves to conform to international beauty standards.
Refutation of ones natural self is an unhealthy behavior. As this
type of behavior is occurring on a mass scale in China, it could
have a negative effect on Chinese society and culture, as well as a
lasting impression on future generations.
If anything is to be done to improve the situation, foreign beauty
advertisers should be more critical of the messages they are
communicating to young women in China, paying closer attention to
the cultural and societal rifts that could be
caused.Bibliography
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