Being defined as a culture that practices "face-saving", uses "subtle cues" and sees "explicit communication style as rude", we surely are a society of people that presents the media conservatively, and sensitively. Producers would never dare to be too daring or too bold in their views and messages lest they may offend the public or the country. I am sure we can see this in the content of printed Ads that are advertised around us- they never contain too creative or bold messages, but instead, messages are straight to the point and do not exactly allow room for greater inference.
Here are 2 electronics Print Advertisements:
The one on the left is an LG advertisement from Singapore and the one on the right is a Sony advertisement from Sydney.
As we see from these 2 advertisements, the Singaporean advertisement has the words and the product shown very clearly, giving a very straight forward information about the product advertised. However, the Sony advertisement has no picture of the product at all- it is a depiction of one huge note being exploded into many small notes. From here, this abstract advertisement allows us to look more into the picture, giving us thoughts that enable us to infer that the product has very powerful sound. The answer to the advertisement is provided only at a small corner of it that shows a pair of headphones and two words- hear more. From here, we can more or less deduce that it is an advertisement of a headphone that has sound that is maximised, allowing the listener to enjoy a "surround sound".
Thus, looking at both advertisements, we see how these 2 countries one of high context culture and the another of low context culture, produce very different approaches in their advertisements.
7 comments:
it is vital during the initial planning and preparation of advertisements that the advertisers know who their audience is.
this helps them to arrange their information in a style where it has maximum effect on the people receiving them. without it, the audience might get offended or perceive the wrong meaning.
and that is the reason why a multinational company has to have different websites created, even if they're just showcasing the same products.
Indeed, there is a need for words in order to promote a product to Singaporeans. Either that or a super duper simple picture that everyone would directly infer to a specific idea. That's probably because Singaporeans lack a certain amount of creativity and inference skills to analyze pictures as it is. Explicit ideas/meanings are what we look out for and it's undeniable that advertisers need to crack their brains even harder to entice us with their products.
It seems like the ad from Sydney is more creative, in terms of its way of expression. At the first glance, it would spur one's imagination to think about what it is all about. On the other hand, the ad from Singapore is more straightforward and content based, so it suits the needs of consumers who know what they are looking for and whom may be more concerned with the product specifications, rather than the peripheral details. So, I do agree with you about Singapore being a place with high context culture.
I really like the sydney advertisement. i feel that singapore is this way because the country is not ready for new ways of advertising. Like what zed said. u need to know your audience before u sell a product and singaporeans are not the kind that will appreciate artistic works. not that they dun appreciate by i feel that most singaporeans are really practical people and if they dun see the use of the product at home they will not buy it. simple. and the ad from sydney doesnt help singapore to see better.
hey fio...
it seems that singapore is too into the "study culture"
years of studying, or "mugging", have come back to haunt these advertisers. they have brought their "homework" into advertisements, adding a thousand-word essay, math (prices), as well as annotations of products that are seemingly obvious to the eye.
in singapore, we live in a world of clauses, contracts and signs. from the second we are born, we need the paperwork (contract, clauses, wills, etc), ditto for death. i am not saying that it is unneccessary, but is that how singaporeans digest/divulge information?
seemingly, one would say that that the australian ad is refreshing. but i will not criticise the local ad. perhaps sony (singapore) feels that words are the best way to go.
BUT that is not to say that all local advertisements are "wordy".
(perhaps the aussie ad is created by a singaporean??? will your view change then??? ha)
it is money that talks, at the end of the day.
after all, invention is now an endangered species; copyrights is now king. they rule the roost.
(ps:
modifications are japanese. haha)
I think wat makes a good advertisment is when it increases the popularity of a product. The abilty to make your product stand out. Be it with words or pictures, it's the association consumers make between the product.
You can't show any pictures over the radio yet there are alot of commercials over the radio. tat doesn't mean tat radio adverts are boring or wordy they can be quite
'colourful' and interesting as well. They respond to it differently the make the association with maybe the music or the way the message is delivered.
So i think it really depends on what group that you are trying to sell your product to. And wat kinda image u want ur product to protray....
Just my humble opinion...
I prefer the Sony ad to the LG one. The LG ad gave me this very 'messy' impression. The Sony ad is simple and yet the audience can try to read what the ad is trying to express.
I have seen many products with different advertising approaches used for different intended countries. Perhaps, this is due to the different culture that people have, and thus the different ad for different people were produced. Only the marketing team of the product know what would attract their target audience.
yijing
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