THE WESTERNER IN CHINESE ADVERTISEMENTS, THE CHINESE IN WESTERN ADVERTISEMENTS: CROSSED VIEWS ON ADDED VALUES

Résumé En

Since 1998, during all my visits to China, I have noticed that the representation of the Westerner (generally White) in Chinese street advertisements or billboards was often associated in one way or another with a certain idea of excellence, high quality, luxury or fashion. Similarly, the presence of a Chinese person (or Chinese references, or even oriental references, because this concept is still strongly linked to China) in Western commercials is most of the time associated with the concepts of mystery, wisdom, spirituality or eternity. By these representations, and beyond the formal differences, one single goal is targeted: to add valueto a product, by using the Other (and by exploiting ignorance of the Other,stereotypes on the Other and common ideas on the Other) to create identity: a brand identity, and therefore, the consumer's identity. We will first see what is added, as a value, by using the representation of the Other in advertisement. And we will then see what we learn about our post-modern societies: I will show that this phenomenon contributes to and tends to reinforce the commodification of culture; and also reveals an strong trend in our contemporary societies: the omnipresence of the middle class as a new social norm.