The Advertiser Abroad

 May 22, 2018

Studying abroad has proved that advertisements are an eyeglass into a society. Marketers develop a message, a goal and a big idea that is tailored to an audience and abide by the laws of the country. If you understand the perspective of an advertisement, you will understand a country and its people.

Lively Londoners

London is home to some of the busiest and fastest moving people, so this iPhone advertisement demonstrates that the time to read more than one word is unrealistic. This ad = easy to see, easy to read, and easy to recognize.

sketch

Instagram is the place to showcase your best self, in the coolest of places, which is why Insta-bait was invented and London executes it perfectly. Businesses here provide photo opportunities alongside their products/services because they understand people’s desire to share their extremely exciting lives on Instagram! European restaurant, sketch, has a variety of themed rooms and the Insta-baited bathroom has egg-shaped pods filled with music for the toilets and oval shaped mirrors set above the sinks.

French at the Forefront

Fashion is just one of the attributes that puts France at the forefront. Their forward thinking is present through their health, work, public transit, and immigration systems as well. It seems that they want the world to succeed as well as their people. French people show great loyalty to their small business owners’ specialty stores; boulangeries(bakeries), charcuteries (meat shops) and fromageries (cheese shops)… (Hint, hint, Costcowould probably not succeed here).

Fish Forward (WWF)

The Parisian audience can be found most often riding the metro at some point in the day, and there they would be reminded again of their country’s stance on sustainability. This cartoon seagull with plastic uncomfortably lodged in his throat emphasizes the effect of people’s thoughtless actions and France’s expectations of its people.

Government

France (and the UK) enforce health awareness and although a large amount of people enjoy themselves with a cigarette, they will encounter advertised phrases like “Quit smoking – stay alive for those close to you” to encourage quitting. Despite their government’s push, my French teacher said that they care about having a good time and living their life too much to care about a box’s packaging.

Capetonians

Nelson Mandela, the figurehead of anti-Apartheid, marketed imprisonment as a badge of honor in the past and as a fight for justice and equality in South Africa. Post-Apartheid, South Africa is advertised as the “rainbow nation” and “motherland” which attracts a specific audience and influences the current audience to be hopeful and proud. The history of South Africa has created a dangerously varied audience that marketers need to consider when advertising.

Mzansi Restaurant

The Mzansi Restaurant provides the opportunity for tourists to see where the majority of South Africans live (townships), a side different from typical advertisements, and to experience South African dining.

Residents in South Africa showcase their entrepreneurship with their creative ways of making income. Nomonde, the owner of Mzansi Restaurant, allows locals to help cook or present their artwork to sell. He also allows them to manage parking or play local music for visitors during dinner to make an income.

Nomonde designates time during dinner to share her journey and struggle of growing up in Cape Town and even mentioned how study abroad students dealt a hand in the success of her business by putting the restaurant on TripAdvisor for her! Since the students have advertised online to tourists, Mzansi’s has become the #1 restaurant online despite her not having easily-accessible internet access.

Doctor

This advertisement for “Cheap Removals” is usually directed at sex workers and presents an understanding of the economic history in South Africa. 

29,733,210 out of 55,900,000 people live below the poverty line so some women must resort to sex work, but it is currently illegal which makes it often unsafe, and dangerous.

Sorbet

Beauty salon, Sorbet, advertises waterless services because easy access to water is a privilege during the current national disaster. Signs hang in bathrooms, buckets sit in showers, some sinks are turned off, and hand sanitizer is often provided, because corporations must similarly be held responsible for their water usage in services during the drought.

Customers must appease their feelings of guilty (if they have any) for indulging when some Capetonians must walk far distances to retrieve water, can not afford to buy water and their taps may have been turned off.

The Changed Advertiser Abroad

After actively searching for advertisements everywhere I went to observe their strategies and the culture, I understand that every place has differences. I recognize the importance of knowing who my audience is and how important it is for a company to be global because I looked for familiar brands everywhere I went (before I started to embrace the cultures, of course)! McDonald’sand Oreo were mostly everywhere though, which is impressive!

As for my future in marketing, I see myself living in London and working in advertising. I wish to spread awareness and/or influence people, for their benefit and not just for my benefit. 

“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.” – Nelson Mandela