Western Fashion Advertising in Mainland Urban China and its Effects on the Self Image of Youth

Abstract

As one stands on Nanjing Lu, one of Shanghai’s main shopping streets, one gets the feeling that they could be in the heart of any major cosmopolitan western city. Tiffany rings, Jean Paul Gaultier Jeans, Gucci shoes, and Louis Vuitton handbags are advertised on huge glossy advertisements featuring waif-like Caucasian girls. One cannot help but observe that the oversized images of western models, prominently decorating the facades of modern shopping malls lining Nanjing Lu, are in sharp contrast to the crowds of Chinese pedestrians moving amongst them. The presence of luxury fashion advertising is becoming ever more apparent in the rapidly expanding Chinese market. It seems a far cry from the China of less than twenty years ago when any form of ostentation was frowned upon (Yu, 2002). As these images weave their way into the fabric of Chinese society, one has to wonder how western visual communication strategies will affect traditional Chinese values and sense of self. When western advertising is introduced into cultures with different historical and ideological backgrounds, some discrepancy in the reading of the images is likely to occur (Wang, 2000). Culture has one of the most significant impacts on how an image is read and interpreted. Through the advancement and speed of digital media, there is a continuous displacement of images throughout the global economy. As the world becomes more of global village the dissemination of visual messages is happening so rapidly that many individuals haven’t the leisure to interpret or construct signs and symbols that fit within their established aesthetic culture. As Mizeroff (2004, p.13) explains: “the crisis of the visual subject has been brought into sharp relief under the symbiotic influences of globalization and digital culture.” China is a nation with a vast history and relatively recent revolutionary past. Most significantly, Mainland China was totally cut off from western media and intervention from the late 1940s until the late 1970s (Hsu, 1995). Western style media, re-introduced into Mainland China with the economic reform of 1979, has fully penetrated the country in a relatively short period of time (Ibid). Youth in the age bracket of 18-35 are the most susceptible to these messages as they are the first generation to have grown up absorbing advertising messages promoting western concepts and ideologies (Li, 1998). Fashion advertising in particular is one of the most influential types of advertising on image construction (Finkelstein, 2000). Studies in the field of visual culture inform us that today’s global visual culture is strongly influenced by western image construction. This influx of western images has led to a disorientation of culture and identity in many burgeoning consumer societies. Recent studies by Joanne Finkelstein (2000, p.229) relate that, “fashion functions to detach the consumer from local identifications and induces a sense of anomie which further enhances the attraction of conspicuous consumption.” Statistics from the China Psychology Association show that some 30 million of China’s youths are not in a sound state of psychological health which may reflect a growing instability in image and identity related to the pressures of a consumer society (China Daily, 14 March 2004). Therefore, a study of western fashion advertising and self-image construction is essential to understanding contemporary youth culture in Mainland urban China. This thesis addresses the idea of western fashion advertising and its implied effects on identity and values of young people in contemporary Mainland urban China. Through an in-depth analysis of current fashion magazines and outdoor advertising, a survey of Chinese urban youth and personal interview of this group, this thesis relays the large scope and reach of western advertising in urban China as well as perceptions and responses to this form of advertising. Survey and interview of contemporary Chinese youth give the picture that western fashion advertising has saturated this community and communicates the concepts of advertising as a site for cultural change. This thesis addresses self-image concerns and suggests ways of creating more culture-specific advertising and marketing campaigns that meld with Chinese cultural values.