The Cultural Rite/Write/Right of Passage

Globalization has been great for business. Today, the world is your marketplace and everybody is a potential customer but with globalization, comes the challenge of cross cultural awareness. Segments of your target audience are as different as night and day; which is why when you cater to them, you have to pay particular attention to regional and cultural sensitivities. Many major brands learnt this the hard way. For example, when Pepsodent set about trying to convince people to ‘whiten their teeth’ in Southeast Asia, they clearly did not know that the natives chew betel nuts, to obtain the blackened teeth they find attractive. An eyewear company advertised cute animals wearing glasses in Thailand, without realizing that no self-respecting Thai would wear anything worn by animals. Korean Airlines thought that they are connecting with the locals when they came to Kenya, addressing it as “the land of primitive energy”. Unfortunately, they saw it as a revival of age-old stereotypes. Communication often becomes miscommunication and brands commit cultural suicide in the form of translation. Pepsi expected to create quite the uproar when they entered China with the slogan “Pepsi brings you back to life”, and they definitely did that. After translation, the slogan the Chinese read was: “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave”. A little overboard with the exaggeration, Pepsi? Kellogg’s should have seen sales coming down when ‘Bran Buds’ translated to ‘Burned Farmer’ in Swedish, as should have Clairol’s ‘Mist Stick’ curling iron, in Germany, since ‘mist’ is slang for ‘manure’ in German. Understandably, cultural insensitivity can be catastrophic. When expanding your market, get a local on board and learn who and what you are working with, before taking the leap. In a multicultural society, like the one fostered in UAE, advertisements have to be extra sensitive to ensure that nobody is offended. Avoid cross cultural marketing faux pas and don’t translate to disaster. For which our headline needs to be reiterated: your brand must undergo a Rite of Passage, to Write well, to get Culture Right.
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How about a drink on the Moon?

Back in the 90s, Sports Day, at least in this part of the world, meant lots of running, lots of heaving, lots of falling, lots of embarrassment and lots of Pocari Sweat. If someone had told kids then, that this particular drink would be the first to advertise on the moon, they would have laughed. But Pocari Sweat will have the last laugh now, for it is flying to the moon in October 2015! In what The Verge categorizes as ‘the first commercial product delivered to another world for marketing purposes’, Japanese beverage maker Otsuka will be sending the 1kg titanium can to the moon on the SpaceX funded Falcon 9 rocket and will be deposited there by Astrobotic Technology’s “Griffin” lander. The can is like a time capsule and can survive up to 30 years on the moon’s harsh terrain. It will be packing silver disks with laser inscriptions of dreams sent by children from across Asia and a powdered form of the energy drink (to be mixed with moon water), which is to be opened by future explorers. The company believes that it will act as a mini billboard for the brand on lunar surface, while inspiring children to become astronauts. While Tang has accompanied astronauts on several missions, Pocari Sweat will soon be laying claim to being the first beverage on the moon, in an attempt that is truly ‘out-of-this-world’. What is a small step for one can, will soon be a leap for beverage branding.


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Dad Knows Best… (well, he tries to)

This year, for Mother’s Day, American Greetings made a video, which celebrated Motherhood as the World’s Toughest Job. It went viral with more than 20 million views on Youtube and if fathers felt slighted or ignored, there’s good news for you! American Greetings has come up with a sequel and while it does not inspire the feeling that fatherhood might equally be tough, it conveys what it’s really all about. The video shows actors auditioning for the role of the father (it often appears as if Phil Dunphy from Modern Family is taken as the role model for the character) and what ensues is a sequence of hilarity. It shows how fathers appear clueless and comical when posing as the bad cop and are as confused about the process of child rearing as the child himself. Ultimately, when your child comes to you for real advice, there is no script to go on. It’s all about reaching from the heart, remembering what your parents told you and telling your child that you love them and are there for them, no matter when or what. While some fathers might feel that the video has underestimated their importance, it has definitely captured the father-child bond for what it is: playful, fun and confusing but a process of growing in love for both.

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‘Clean The World’- Advertising’s New Slogan

Manila’s Pasig River was considered biologically dead, 20 years ago. Now, thanks to the power of advertising, the waterway is rehabilitating. A floating billboard was mounted here in 2014 to soak up the pollution and discourage people from throwing trash. The billboard which spells out “Clean River Soon”, is made using ‘vetiver’, a type of grass that can absorb toxic materials and reduce pollution. Based on research, a Vetiver system like this can clean 2 to 8 thousand gallons of water per day.
If you think this brilliant undertaking is due to the efforts of an environment organization, think again! This billboard was created for Shokubutsu Hana, a personal care brand from the Japanese company Lion, which believes in healthy methods to beauty, brought about by the restorative power of nature. The company plans on creating more such billboards, to send a clean message and secure a clean future.
This kind of advertising is not the first of its kind. Global water relief non-profit, Water is Life, had created ‘The Drinkable Book’, which was printed on revolutionary filter paper that could kill off any of the world’s far too common deadly waterborne diseases, making clean water cheap and accessible. In Peru, the Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología created an air-purifying billboard capable of purifying 100,000 m3 of air each day, and reaching a radius of five blocks in every direction. The country’s recent construction boom had left people in fear of cancer, due to large air pollution. The billboard was an inspiration to aspiring engineers to join the University, to create such life changing products.
Advertising is often criticized for being self-serving and self-indulgent. Now thanks to campaigns like these, companies are drawing attention to themselves, while serving the larger community and the environment.

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Advertising - Brands ‘Bite’ Into FIFA

Social media usage especially that of Twitter, is all about being prompt. Brands who keep up with the times can make use of current events to promote themselves, a trend referred to as ‘real time marketing’. A recent example of this would be when Uruguayan star Luis Suarez bit opponent, Italian defender, Giorgio Chiellini’s shoulder, during a match in the ongoing World Cup. Brands took to Twitter with interesting takes on the issue. McDonald’s tweeted Suarez with a jovial appeal to take a bite out of a Big Mac if he’s hungry, while Nando’s, with a similar approach said, ”Hey @luis16suarez, if you’re that hungry, why not get your teeth stuck into something really tasty?”. Natural food retailer, Whole Foods, joined in with the message “This can be your dinner…ITALIAN FLANK STEAK PINWHEELS #WFMdish”, while TGI Fridays cheekily chimed in with, “I think it’s safe to say Uruguay was hungry for the win”. Cinnamon Toast Crunch expressed their opinion with “Biting is only okay when you’re made of cinnamon and sugar. #BanSuarez #WorldCup”. Listerine pitched in with “We recommend a good swish after grabbing a bite of Italian. #WorldCup #PowerToYourMouth” and Trident Gum exhorted “Chew Trident. Not soccer players. #ITAvsURU”. American beer Bud Light posted a picture of someone trying to open a bottle of beer with their mouth, with the caption, “Relax, they’re twist off. #biting #ITAvsURU”. While managing social media, making use of opportunities like this, can grab attention for your brand. Get into the flow of what’s trending and give your take on it. Now there’s a thought you can chew on!


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