Job Discussion Forums

[SeasonedVet]

I have never really understood how advertising works. I have sometimes doubted that it does work but it has been confirmed that it does work. Although those images on TV advertising food or drinks, health care products toothpaste and even languages are fleeting (some of them) they seem to register with the viewers nonetheless.
I am sure we have all heard about how messages go directly into our subconscious without us ever even knowing or remember ever seeing the thing being advertised.Although I wasn't doubting that part I was however doubting the effectiveness of advertising and its effect on viewers.
Let me look for a little bit at Language advertising. We have heard time and again on this board references being made to the Blond Hair and Blue Eyes being connected with English language Instruction in Asia. So that teachers who don't possess those characteristics have been either disqualified or put to the back of the line. So that students have come to expect either Blond Hair or Blue eyes as connected to instruction in English and failing that the grade decreases backward to those without blond hair and blue eyes but of the same ethnic makeup and then failing that other ethnicities.
It doesen't stop at Language instruction it is involved in advertising other kinds of products. But do we know the connection? Example, I showed a young student a flashcard of what appeared to be an African-American wearing a surgical mask and surgical gloves and surgeon's green uniform and the goggles and I asked him " What's His Job" and the reply I got "He's a basketball player" well I wasn't expecting that. But it was an interesting answer.
From that I drew the conclusion that advertising and stereotypes are definitely connected.
If you always see an ethnicity advertising sports you might think that they are all involved in sports. Similarly if you see an ethnicity "apparently" always in trouble on TV news shows that deal with Law and Order you might think that they are all like that.

Kudos to SoftBank whose recent commercial features a guy who does not have Blond hair and Blue Eyes and who isn't caucasion. He does a fine job of advertising the product. But More than that I have a story that has come about as a result of that commercial.
A guy I know who is a Teacher and who (some people think) has features similar to the guy on the SoftBank commercial ( the only similarities I can see though is the same ethnic makeup) has been catapulted into a small world of fame ( unprecedented for him) with his students and even strangers on the train or on the street.

If this same principle of advertising were applied to advertising language instruction I wonder what might come of it.

[Zzonkmiles]

I was riding the train yesterday and three high school girls sitting in front of me looked at me, whispered to each other and then said in a voice just loud enough for me to hear:

"Yoso Guy!"

I guess that's better than students asking me if I like rap or if I can teach them Black English. But still...

Funny ad campaign though. I like it! Seems to be a mixed reception among the Japanese though, based on some Japanese message boards and blog sites I've read.

[Kleetus]

sorry to rain on your parade Vet, but you are aware of the SoftBank commercial being shown every break of the Japan series that features Cameron Diaz??

[SeasonedVet]

Zzonkmiles wrote:

[SeasonedVet]

Kleetus wrote:

[Zzonkmiles]

[Gordon]

How did Vodaphone become Softbank? Sounds like a mighty big takeover. I am surprised the name changed since Vodpahone is such a recognized name worldwide.

[canuck]

[fluffyhamster]

Talking of the Softbank takeover of Vodafone, me ol' Preca prepaid mobile now won't display emails from friends' Hotmail accounts (or any of the variety of junk mail addresses floating around). When it was just Vodafone, it wouldn't process mail from Yahoo accounts, but Hotmail?! Come on! Maybe Softbank think I'm going to top up my now-expired credit simply to keep what would then just be a very expensive telephone.

[Temujin]

[wildfire]

so most American basketball players are black.

in europe they are white.

the europeans beat the NBA this year in international B-ball.

the nba SUCK!!!! thugs .

anyway....nothing wrong with sterotyping as long as it is based on a basic truth LOL..like Japs with cameras, Jap girls seeking any white boy or man for his passport, and when he leaves and doesnt marry her, within 24hours she is with a new white guys.

cause life in JAPAN sucks for just about everyone. if you care to look under the proverbial rug.

blonde and English that is true most blondes do speak English ...where a darked eyed curly brunette could be from ANYWHERE, and speak Spanish, Romanian, .....Italian etc...

so it is just for marketing who cares.

do people who drink COKE drive expensive cars or dance in the street.

it is really a non issue and u need to not carry a chip on your shoulder if you are not blonde.

blondes are the greatest people in the world.
must be true because EVERYONE wants to be blonde or date one.

[SeasonedVet]

wildfire wrote:

[wildfire]

i am not joking well i was putting the ol tounge in the ol cheek.

OOOH i just RE READ your POST... you said EXPATS prefer Long dark hair. LOL.. are you freaking joking me ! OBVIOUSLY then the girl is probably a local poor chick who needs a white man boy senoir citizen etc to pay her bills buy her dinner buy her a dess marry her for a passport.

Blondes in ASIA don't send EXPAT males over there that signal...hey i am submissive and i spleek in not good inglish master. ahahah.. I no tell u what do, i do clean, i wash ur body, i give u blowjob, okay yes good, i no sad, I good girl sleep with 40 men before I found u, u good man, i come from rich family, but my sister my aunt my uncle my kitten need an operation and it will cost u i mean me, it will be 500 us dollars. But my good family, traditional, i no *beep*, i mean i need more.

You get the idea.

but I don't see a trend to colour ones hair BLACK.

In Asia they have black hair...by birth.

I think some people find it expensive and tiresome to keep up the die jobs. But I still get a good laugh when I see an African American with bleached out hair, and spewing words about how much they hate white people.

Maybe blonde is just a colour like BLUE, but blonde is so unique in the world and only a small percentage of people have BLONDE hair so yes
it is still true.

Red is trendy in Eastern europe, sort of a cherry red. As Blonde Eastern europeans are labeled prostitutes by most in Asia and the West.

Black hair....kind of like blood type O.

Blondes still get more attention because they are golden rays of sunshine sent from heaven to brighten this earth.

And isn't GOLD a kind of BLONDE... Blonde is the money baby.

[wolfman]

What the HELL are you talking about?