Western Faces in Chinese Advertising

Western Faces in Chinese Advertising

Every day I board the elevator headed for the seventh floor of the Ibis Hotel 

Xiujiahui. I patiently ride to the top, unaware of a blatantly unique pattern that is 

exemplified in a picture right under my nose. This picture is of a happy family, one who 

appears to be enjoying their stay at the Ibis. What makes this advertisement interesting 

is not the idea of this family, however, but the fact that is shows a Chinese woman 

gazing lovingly at a Western man. Finally acknowledging this served as a catalyst for 

thought: why is it that when we bustle through East Nanjing Road, stroll about Xintiandi, 

or even ride the subway, we see countless Chinese advertisements that feature 

Western faces?

Persistent observations have only fortified the notion that Chinese companies 

and advertising firms are far from averted to the idea of using a Western face to 

represent their business or product. Online dating sites, beauty products, and specialty 

foods are just a few examples of commonly seen ads in China that feature Westerners.

The curiosity for this excessive usage may stem from the unlikelihood of these roles 

being reversed in the United States. It would strike most Americans as odd if about sixty 

percent of our advertisements featured Asians rather than Westerners. In pursuit of 

some clarity on the topic, I spoke with David Chard. Adam is an American man who has 

lived in China for decades, and is the founder of Engaging Minds, a company that 

improves the Public Relations departments of large corporations. He claimed, “There 

is still a tendency to see the West as a benchmark for all that is good or "better than" 

things in China. They tend to idolize Western life styles and so resonate with Western 

talent. That will change in time...used to be that way in Taiwan but far less in recent 

years. Some Chinese companies even "rent" Western talent to take to meetings to 

impress their customers! What a hoot!”. Susan Zhang, a native Chinese professor in her 

early thirties, elaborated while sitting in the teacher lounge of Jiao Tong University. 

When asked why she thought it was so common to see Western faces in Chinese 

advertisements, she said “We all admire American qualities and want to look like 

them. We think they have nice features, and we want to live the best lifestyle like 

Americans. You see this especially in makeup products and women’s products because 

we think the ladies have better figures. We also admire their celebrities because of their 

status. 50 percent of China are still considered to have the status of farmers, so 

Americans represent the ideal life.” 

I decided to go deeper into my research when I chose to interview Joyce, a 

member of the hotel staff who speaks rather broken english, but I presumed could offer 

some valuable insight because of her social status & level of education which was more 

comparable to that of the rest of China. After pulling her from her unfailingly loyal post at 

the front desk and asking her her thoughts on the matter, she responded by saying 

“Americans are very pretty and we like to see them here in China. A lot of stores do this 

so people will think Americans shop there.” Adam Arthur, a Columbia University 

graduate and founder of the company Educasian, a company that hosts college 

students who are studying abroad, was my most unique and informative 

source. His insight shed a light on the topic that hadn’t previously been examined. His 

response was, “The short answer is status and quality. Foreign goods are perceived to 

be of better quality than Chinese-made goods which are considered to be shoddy and 

unreliable.  Foreign products are also considerably more expensive.  In a developing 

country such as China where ALL of the wealth is newly acquired conspicuous 

consumption and the status that comes with it are very important symbols of having 

made it. For a local Chinese brand that can't claim to be foreign then the next best 

thing is to show an association with foreigners using the local Chinese product or at 

least claiming that the product is good (e.g. In advertising).  In this way the local 

Chinese brand may be able to give the perception that its products are also of high 

quality. This really has to do with trust.  Chinese tend to not trust each other, their 

institutions, and their own business enterprises.  Food scares, government corruption, 

censorship and selective release of information,non-transparent business practices, etc 

have all contributed to this lack of trust and the sense that non-Chinese things are 

better.”

An article by Tom Doctoroff for The Wall Street Journal entitled “What the 

Chinese Want” completely contradicts the line of thought formed by my sources and I. I 

found it interesting to read after encountering so many opinions that all seemed to 

agree. The article states, “Consumers in China aren't becoming "Western." They are 

increasingly modern and international, but they remain distinctly Chinese. If I've learned 

anything from my 20 years working as an advertising executive in China, it is that 

successful Western brands craft their message here to be "global," not "foreign"—so 

that they can become vessels of Chinese culture.” He continues to emphasize 

throughout the article that the people of China want to retain the identity that has taken 

so long to build. 

I agree with Doctoroff in the sense that I can tell that the Chinese people take 

pride in their culture. I see this every day when I scramble to learn and regurgitate tiny 

squiggly characters, and read them as I walk down the street. However, my 

observations of this advertising pattern have been all to persistent for me to think any 

differently from the people whom I interviewed. That being said, the next time I step into 

the Ibis Hotel elevator, I’ll know a little bit more about why that Chinese woman looks so 

happy.