May 1, 2011
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Ad Nauseum
Taiwan is not known for its ability to produce good marketing. In fact, it could be said that whereas in Europe and the US and other major and developed economies, marketing is seen as a key strategy for the promotion of a certain product or service, in Taiwan it is seen as an unnecessary expense.
Finding good marketing here is really extremely difficult, and this is mirrored by the stupid crappy TV adverts you find all over the place. There are stars who seem to endorse just about every single product on the market – in their day, the girl group SHE was on just about every other TV commercial. Thankfully though they have split up, and the S girl (Selena) has gone for a solo career, leaving just HE. Apparently though the 2 remaining girls have not gone by that name.
Aboriginal singer, A-Mei, has endorsed Taiwanese Tea, Taiwan beer and Coca Cola over the last few years. Taiwan beer though has recently been taken over by the queen of all commercials, Taiwanese dancer Jolyn, who seems to spend more time earning cash through her commercials appearances than she does on stage with her dance routines. Jolyn has done commercials for a consumer electronics company, Quaker oats, Taiwan Beer, Toyota, some potato chip brand, Pepsi, McDonalds, Pantene shampoo and even Max Factor cosmetics. Anyone who has seen the star without her make up recently will tell you she most likely needs a Max Factor makeover more than most young ladies.
Yet despite all this uber-public visibility, the Taiwanese seem to love it. They certainly don’t see anything wrong with endorsing so many different (and perhaps even conflicting?) products. Quaker oats – for example – claims their product is something that will help you slim. Right after that ad, comes the potato chips commercial on TV. I have never heard of a potato chip that ALSO assists the slimming process. But maybe that’s just me. And maybe it’s called balance.
Recently Jolyn was in Hong Kong for the shooting of yet another commercial. Poor girl must be so over-worked. And apparently losing her hair too – I hope that’s not the after effects of too much Pantene!
If I was the manager of any of these stars, I would be looking at how much they are actually ruining themselves by endorsing so many products. Instead of doing all that work for so many people at so low a cost, why not instead push for more money by doing less, thus maintaining the value of their star symbol status?
And if the products are not being endorsed by well known stars then they try to make whatever they are doing cute. Cute little girls with cute little voices telling the Taiwanese people how wonderful this product is, whatever it is, not that they would ever actually go out and use it or buy it themselves. Food commercials regularly show someone not actually eating the food they are promoting. You want me to buy that product mucker, you’d better get tucking in to the damn thing and show me you’re really enjoying it.
Then there is just the plain stupid ad. During the World Cup, on terrestrial TV, there is always the damn annoying Pinky advert which tells children to eat their candy when you’re driving, or when you’re bored. Yes really. In the car, in the car, eat Pinky. When you’re bored, eat Pinky. I kid you not one tiny bit. Who thinks up these words? Who comes up with all this? Certainly not a marketing agency I would ever want to employ!
In the extremely rare event that there is a good commercial, an original idea, then it is nicked, copied, and plagiarised so often that it just gets on your nerves too. Jack in the Box adverts from the USA (where Jack has some ubersized non-human head) have been copied by 7-Eleven (not TOO bad) and also by Cathay Bank, which try to add a cute song and essentially end up annoying the crap out of me.
Then finally you have the commercials that just make no sense whatsoever. Like the guy talking business on his cellphone, out with his family at the same time. “That’s my son,” he says before fading to a new scene where he is shopping with his wife, and mentions in to the phone “that’s my wife” and then later in the evening, walking the dog… yes you guessed it.
Any woman in a situation where her husband was constantly talking business would tell the guy to get off the damn phone before she engages a divorce lawyer. And any boss in Taiwan would not allow the guy out of the office for such lengths of time either, simply because that is how business here works. And if he was the boss then he would want to be in the office to keep an eye on all the lazy assed workers who tend not to do any work when the boss is not there.
This lack of credibility within the commercial sector is what gets me most. If you want me to buy a product that you want are going to show on a commercial on TV or in the local media, then sell it to me. Make me want it. Make me realise that I can’t live without it.
And for the love of Christ, don’t get Jolyn or some other Taiwanese star promote it unless it is a TRUE endorsement of the brand.
