Blog 4: The International Appeal

This week most, if not all, of my blog post is going to be based on Henry Yu's "How Tiger Woods Lost His Stripes," and I will be focusing on the section "National Diversity and International Marketing." The quote, "There is a perverse irony in selling products back to places where capital has gone to find cheap labor,"  is what really caught my attention in this essay. So many beauty companies outsource their products these days. Whether it's for the product itself to be made or just the packaging, you will very likely see "Made in China" somewhere on the box. The beauty industry is a billion dollar industry all over the world in countries ranging from the US, Italy, France, and yes, even China. These same companies that outsource for cheap labor are still able to sell their products in that area.

How do you ask? Through print ads, commercials, and magazine editorials.

Celebrity endorsement ad in Asia
using American actress Angelina Jolie

Celebrity endorsement ad using Asian
celebrities Aishwaria Rai and
Rachida Brakni

Much like with any other product, the best way to sell is through advertising. And the best way to advertise is by using a celebrity. Many companies spend millions of dollars on celebrity endorsers in order to sell their products and reach many different demographics. More often than not the celebrity chosen is usually an American celebrity. While quite a few Americans spend their time trying to look more "exotic" with self tanners and long wavy hair extensions, some women in other cultures, some not all, strive to look like what they consider American beauty. Knowing this, companies use women who fit this ideal image. Slim, fair, and wide eyed. Even if they use a celebrity from their own country, they would still fit this model is ideal beauty.




 Although many women in Asia are naturally slim, not all of them have fair skin and wide eyes. But no need to fret because there are products and procedures for that. Skin lightening cream is a very popular among the women of all areas of Asia. 

Skin whitening ad