The Business Of Skin Whitening In Asia

I've been talking about this for so long that the only thing that really interests me is why anybody in marketing and advertising who would want me do for some work with them, might not have googled my name and Unilever + Skin whitening. 

In any case it's still worth making a quick summary because money doesn't come first in my universe. Skin whitening creams in Asia are broadly speaking about hierarchy. The whiter the skin the less likely you are to be fresh from the rice paddies. The less likely you come from the rice paddy, the more likely you are to be hired, promoted, secure a Blu Ray DVD player, iTablet, BMW 3 series and/or shiny white teeth.

Though it strikes me that for someone who argues a woman is entitled to make her own decisions about abortion that the final decision on what colour one wishes to be is down to that person. So I'm not anti skin whitening.

They say that holding opposite and conflicting thoughts in our heads at the same time is a mark of evolution and so the only position I can take when thinking about this category is that it behooves the multinationals; that is the onus is upon them. That they bear the responsibility that there is a clear responsibility to fulfil and articulate, that melatonin expectation transactions should come with an unambiguous message that Unilever, P&G, Johnson & Johnson et al respect all people of all colours. The reverse isn't true for tanning lotions because that hierarchical imposition isn't present within that context. I maintain it's a great communication opportunity of the win win variety - if it's with sincerity.

Anyway, above are a series of ads by Ogilvy & Mather Hong Kong regional office. They look innocuous and in some markets they may well lean more towards the beauty end of the spectrum than concealment but as I've mentioned over here in the comments; the focus groups are revealing because with skilful moderation, the kind where dirty secrets surface...well they tell the story of skin whitening. 


And it aint pretty.

ATTENTION LEVELS

15yroldphotojournalist

Nigel Hollis, head honcho of Millward Brown asked a great question in June last year. Is the Link pre-test the equivalent of the Smith & Wesson Magnum 500? This began a much needed debate between advertising, clients and research about the value and relevancy of pre-testing that has been bubbling along quite nicely with a first response by the highly respected Jason Oke of Leo Burnett in Toronto and a further serious but welcome contribution by Fredrik Sarnblad over here. Nigel then responded in depth on his blog over here and Jason took up the debate with his post on Pre-testing part II over here.

No less a proper academic luminary than Dr. Robert Heath, author of The Hidden Power of Advertising - How low involvement processing influences the way we choose brands has weighed into the debate on both Nigel's and Jason (+Leo Burnett)'s blog. I wonder if the talented and authoritative Richard of Adliterate fame would care to chip in following his "A Kick in the teeth for Low involvement processing post" now that a robust cast of characters are assembled to stimulate the debate. This is a book that has long challenged my thinking of the different ways advertising can work as I've stated last year over here. All we need are a few clients and we might well be on the way to a civilised and constructive debate to determine when, how and if research should be used. This is what planning blogs were made for isn't it?