April 27th, 2010
The News:
To promote edgy Devassa blond beer (“devassa” means “naughty” in Portuguese), the brand convinced Paris Hilton to be videoed partying non-stop for three weeks in Brazil.
Daily Youtube uploads got an enthusiastic following, and the event was amplified by media coverage of her more unguarded moments.
Devassa went on to produce a sultry TV commercial, with Paris in a short black dress, sensually rubbing a can of Devassa beer on herself, delighting onlookers who watch through her apartment window.
Posted in: CultureShocks
April 13th, 2010
The News:
While “serious” brands such as Accenture and Gatorade dropped Tiger Woods like a hot potato when his extramarital affairs suddenly went public, the more edgy global footwear brand Nike took a calculated risk and stood behind him.
On the back of Tiger Woods’ emotional apology and return to the US Masters green, Nike aired a commercial that directly addresses his behavior and subsequent penitence. In the ad, the golf champion’s late father Earl returns from the dead and asks Tiger what he was thinking – and what he has learned.
Posted in: CultureShocks
March 1st, 2010
The news:
Last year the FT broke the story of outrage in India over the launch of a new Mont Blanc pen because of its name: “Gandhi”. Mont Blanc has now apologized and decided to withdraw the luxurious limited series.
Posted in: CultureShocks
January 25th, 2010
The lead story in a major media outlet in the UK, Skynews, features citizen outrage against McDonald’s. Skynews reports that a single word in a McDonald’s ad has provoked incensed debate and outcry. It is not an insulting or offensive word, and looks like a perfectly innocent choice by McDonald’s. But online chat rooms are buzzing with indignation.
Posted in: CultureShocks
January 21st, 2010
As this blog demonstrates, global brands sometimes shoot themselves in the foot because they do not take local culture difference and sensitivity into account.
However there is such a thing as being TOO oversensitive.
Google’s strategy in China has been to portray the brand as completely Chinese. This “when in Rome do as Romans do” tactic has now gravely backfired.
Posted in: CultureShocks
December 8th, 2009
The news:
The Polish city of Sosnowiec launched a campaign to encourage tourists from the French cities of Roubaix and Les Meraux, and Morocco’s Casablanca to visit the city. The campaign ran both on and offline and featured two young, attractive models seen to be gesturing in a positive way. The gestures, unlike in Poland where they have positive connotations, are highly offensive and can be considered sexually abusive in the Mediterranean and some Arab countries.
Posted in: CultureShocks
December 1st, 2009
The news:
A company photo published on Microsoft’s website recently caused a scandal after it appears that the company had followed inappropriate cultural advice. On the company’s US website the photograph depicts a scene of an Asian man, black man and white woman of various ages seated around a table. This was supposed to show equality within the company in regard to race and age. For the firm’s Polish website, the image is “photo-shopped”, with a white man’s head placed on the black man’s body. This spurred outrage with bloggers and tweeters around the world. The image was hurriedly removed and Microsoft issued an official apology although they gave no explanation of why the image was edited.
Posted in: CultureShocks
November 17th, 2009
The news:
As part of its promotional material, Citroen published a map which has caused controversy and potentially damaged the brand’s reputation, particularly in Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro. The map depicts an incorrect division of land and it appears that the borders of Balkan nations that fought wars in the early 1990’s have been re-drawn. Bosnia is merged with Serbia and Croatia, Montenegro is merged into Serbia, and Slovenia has been given a large slice of Croatia. A month after the image was published Bosnia, Croatia and Montenegro sent protest letters to Citroen. Citroen replied with a letter of apology stating that all copies had been destroyed and distribution had been called to a halt.
Posted in: CultureShocks
November 3rd, 2009
The news:
Schweppes released in the UK what was to be viewed as an ad that took a humorous and light hearted approach to advertising by making consumers laugh about serious, darker issues that they are currently facing. The image is titled ‘how to get a seat on the tube’ and depicts a man seated in an empty carriage wearing a sombrero and holding a box of tissues, reminding people that “Swine Flu” originated in Mexico. The ad caused outrage in Mexico and was pulled immediately, running only for one day in the Times paper after discussions between holding company Coca-cola and the Mexican Embassy.
Posted in: CultureShocks
October 16th, 2009
The news:
Beyonce’s planned performance in Malaysia, part of her world tour, may be cancelled due to Malaysia’s opposition Islamist party protesting against the singer’s show. They succeeded two years ago in preventing her from visiting due to “moral issues”. The group claims that such unclad acts promote sexual promiscuousness and are a bad example for the nation’s youth. It is not just Beyonce that has spurred protest from the group but also other Western artists, who in some cases have adjusted by wearing more clothes than usual on stage. Judge for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/user/beyonce?blend=1&ob=4.
Posted in: CultureShocks