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Industry in China
How Foreign Beauty Advertising Affects Chinese Culture and
Society
Introduction
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
female Chinese consumers and a greater demand for beauty products, the
beauty industry in China has welcomed many foreign firms with open arms.
blonde-haired and blue-eyed, flaunting Western goods and values, with little
Foreign advertising sends the message that natural Chinese features are
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
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
husband after marriage and to her son after her husband’s death” (Chinese
As evident in the last image above, up until China’s opening, it was quite
typical that the basic ad for any beauty or fashion product would feature a
repetitious, this style was regarded as art. This was a result of government
advertising was officially reinstated and the emergence and foundation stage
of the advertising industry in China began (Hu). During this foundation stage,
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
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,
see continued growth in the coming year, with skincare products at the
Fortune Magazine entitled “Battling for the Face of China”, author Sheridan
“is a raging battle among global beauty giants vying to win the face of
Lauder and a handful of Chinese companies that draw upon the desire
the old and the new. But it seems that the new is winning and replacing the
were reintroduced during Deng Xiaoping’s time in office. But even now,
position in society. As the Chinese respect the wisdom of old age, wrinkles
down on (Alon).
beauty manufacturers to enter China was Procter & Gamble in 1988 with
their line Oil of Ulan, known today as Olay. Today, even Olay’s skin whiteners
the traditional preference for fairness. How could a foreigner outsell the
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). Let’s take a look at some of ads from
2008.
A BOVE , F ROM T OP L EFT : V ARIOUS FOREIGN BRANDS MARKET WHITENING CREAMS IN A SIAN COUNTRIES .
T HESE ADS FEATURE PALE C AUCASIAN MODELS : D IOR S NOW ; E STEE L AUDER C YBER W HITE EX; L ANCOME
B LANC E XPERT ; P OND ’ S W HITE B EAUTY .
All of the previous ads for whitening creams were found in popular Chinese
“snow”, “cyber white”, “blanc”, and “white beauty”. Products that promise to
concept. This message sent out by the beauty industry can be found
everywhere, in every country and almost every city. However, the effect that
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)."
investment in the future, as it often allows women to get better jobs or find
wealthy husbands. Young girls in their early 20’s are increasingly interested
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
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
trying to combat the popular message of change that other advertisers are
communicating.
A BOVE , FROM LEFT : C HINESE O LAY ADS , WHICH READ : “F ROM MAKING YOURSELF BECOME MORE BEAUTIFUL
TO MAKING YOUR WISDOM BECOME MORE BEAUTIFUL ”; “F ROM BEAUTY THAT COMES FROM TOUCHING UP TO
BEAUTY THAT COMES FROM THE SKIN ”; “F ROM BELIEVING IN DESTINY TO BELIEVING IN YOURSELF ”.
The ads above focus on self-improvement based on wisdom, one’s natural
skin, and confidence. However, if we look closer, we’ll 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
Western language, will make you wiser. In the second ad, a Chinese woman
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
came to China around 3,000B.C. In any case, many Chinese believe that
destiny and luck play large roles in a person’s success. Thus, this ad has
selfish, Western ideals that come with self-esteem. Furthermore, the focus on
held in China.
Data Analysis
It is clear that the beauty industry has benefited from China’s opening
up policy. While many smaller corporations could not weather the storm,
including Olay, Lancome, Estee Lauder, and Pond’s, 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-
Conclusion
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
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
that Chinese women have traditionally had little use for. The underlying
cultural and societal values among the younger Chinese generations, as well
China, it could have a negative effect on Chinese society and culture, as well
to young women in China, paying closer attention to the cultural and societal