Can ads tell about a country?
Nowadays some may hold the opinion that advertising can tell you a lot about a country. As far as I am concerned, I agree with this statement. My arguments for this point are listed as follows.
One of the primary causes is that advertising is always a reflection of a country’s culture and customs. Advertising varies from country to country, depending on the country’s particular conventions. For example, a Japanese advertisement may feature a Japanese lady with a traditional kimono, while an American advertisement may feature a western cowboy with a hat and riding a horse. Through advertisements, we can have a general understanding of what people from other countries look like, what they wear during their daily life, what they eat, what kind of transportation they use, and what they do during their spare time. We can always learn different cultures of different countries through these culture specific advertisements.
A further more subtle point we must consider is that we can understand a country by its products. When we see a Toyota or a SONY advertisement on TV, we realize that Japanese people see quality as a vital aspect of their products, and we know that how these people are always trying their best in high technology development, and ensure the best quality in their products. When we have gained a deeper understanding of a product, we can also gain a deeper understanding of that country and people.
What is more, when we become curious about the culture and customs of a country through advertisement, we are willing to spend more time on reading about the country, explore more deeply about it, and even someday travel to a country we like to visit. All these might have started with a small advertisement on TV! Is that amazing?
In short, advertising can really tell you a lot about a country’s culture and customs.
