Japan + High Context Culture = Condoms

Everyone knows that Tokyo is the place to be if you are looking for the latest crazy idea and although the idea of packaging condoms to NOT look like condoms is not a new idea, Japan is bringing this pehnomenon to greater heights.

Now, condoms are packaged to look like food products thus if the buyer wishes to purchase the item, they only have to ask for a certain 'snack'. Different 'snacks' refer to different types of condoms thus one will have to be careful what 'snack' they choose because it may be an entirely different product altogether.



Japan is an Asian country and most Asian countries have soft-spoken cultures thus Japan, like other Asian countries, have high context cultures. Sex may no longer be a conversational taboo like 10 years ago but buying a condom in a provison shop still is. When buying such an item, it is best to be subtle because the explicit communication style is deem to be coarse and vulgar in such a scenario. The asking party (source) uses restricted codes and contextual cues to put across the message and the receptionist (receiver) is equally subtle about it.

Actually such an intriging idea has been exising for quite a while, it is just that no one really put the idea down to work. Here are some 'drafts'. Enjoy. =D



Using tasteful snack slogans to create flavourful condoms

China Hitting Headlines Everywhere, Including My Blog

China has been hitting the headlines these recent months for all the right and the wrong reasons. First, there was the highly successful Beijing Olympics that blew the world away with awe and fascination. Then was the highly fatal Melamine that blew the world away from China products.


Only thing you can trust about Made-In-China products:
The fortune cookies never tell lies.

Of the 4 media functions, surveillance prevails in this scenario as the media is responsible for gathering and disseminating information to the public. The media sources can easily influence the audience by warning them of crises or dangers, and by giving them the instrumental information they need in order to get through a day. The media acts as the “watchdogs of a free society”, informing us of how Melamine is prevalent in most milk products produced in China and raises our awareness of what to consume and what to avoid. Thus it is irrefutable that the media intrinsically determines a lot of the decisions that we make on our purchases.

This is not the first time that China faced fierce criticisms from consumers of the safety of their products, be it poisoned food, lead-based toys or toddler strangling prams. However, this has to be the first time when the intensity of the censure is so strong. Now, brace yourselves for what may be the most callous and malicious comment that you are going to hear regarding this incident – the reason for the immense repercussion this time round may be due to the fact that Made-In-China products finally managed to kill Made-In-China babies. The waves of China melamine finally hit the shores of home in the form of an unforgiving tsunami, that’s karma coming back for you. Honestly speaking, if this milk scandal did not hit China harder than it hit other consuming countries, China is most likely to still be defensive of their own products (like how they did for the past few times) and allow more foreign consumers to suffer under their unscrupulous money-laundering means.


Anti-Made-In-China-For-The-Chinese:
Boycotting the most evil products of the world

China’s producing industry has been greatly hit by this milk scandal as people now have a greater trepidation of China made products as compared to before. The media not only disseminated this piece of critical information to the public, it also wrecked China’s credibility to pieces. For China to regain the confidence of the consumers in their edible products, they have got a really long way to go. The media was the initial culprit that painted China in very bad light. Thus, as a start, they need to convince the media to put across positive information of their stringent quality controlling standards and they MUST make sure that they really do more to ensure the safety of their products.

The media may be able to control the flow of information through channels. However the receivers will still practise selective exposure as the tendency to avoid the positive news and to seek out the negative news about China products will be dominant. Whether the world will be able to pull through this “contaminated food” era will depend on how media portrays China products in future and how the audience reacts to it.


"Dear Santa, I've been a good girl this year. Can I have a Barbie doll?"
As for me? This is one reason why I choose to be a naughty girl this year.

GroupThink with Halloween

Halloween is round the corner and despite its significance to be lesser than that of Chinese New Year or the recent Deepavali, many do look forward to it. Including me.

Halloween is a festival celebrated on the 31st of October and, as quoted from Wikipedia, "activities include trick-or-treating, ghost tours, bonfires, costume parties, visiting haunted attractions, carving jack-o'-lanterns, reading scary stories and watching horror movies. Of that long list of activities, the one that Singaporeans are more actively participating are the costume parties.

Well... there is a cultural history behind the origination of Halloween but that will hardly ever concern Singapore since it relates to agriculture, a field we do not place a lot of emphasis on. Thus the only reason the youths in Singapore are embracing this festival is most probably due to the fact that for one night, they can dress up (or down, depending on who they are modeling) and act all stupid. If you ask me, I think its all Groupthink.



Groupthink is actually the mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive group, when the members' strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action. In my opinion, this is highly prominent during Halloween because there will be groups of friends who want to dress in a particular manner to achieve optimal costume effect. Girls may want to dress as a house of fairies like Winx Club and boys may want to dress up as a battlion of terrorists or army fugitives. One example can be seen in the above pictures where a trio dressed up as the game blocks for Teris. The togetherness in their costumes may not appeal to one or two members who may prefer uniqueness. However they may practise self-censorship and follow suit just to please the majority because there tends to be pressure on the dissenters. There is an illusion of unanimity as we can clearly from their uniform dressing however there is stifling of personal opinions which we are unable to grasp. Thus it becomes a pity because for all we know, the few personal opinions that are left unsaid may be more eye-catching ideas.

Even though Halloween has hardly any cultural relation to Singapore, let us all embrace this new tradition and just have fun.

Scrutinising the Relational Formation and Development between Trio in Harry Potter

Lazing around while holding a novel in my hand is my favourite pastime. One such novel that is often seen around me is JK Rowling's Harry Potter series so please bear with me in this post as I put on my Harry-Potter-glasses and reveal my inner geek.

Amazingly brilliant plot aside, I admire the way Rowling portrayed the characters and the different relationship or magical bonds between them. Some notable ones include the trio's friendship, Harry Potter's mysterious link with Lord Voldermort and the ancient magical bond between Harry Potter and his mother.


Small little people but with spiderweb-like entangling with one another

J K Rowling did an amazing job at establishing the friendship between the trio in the series. For one, the trio were not all agreeable at the start of the series. There was an unmistakable disdain between the the two boys and Hermione due to the glaring dissimilarities between them. Hermione was exceptionally perspicacious and by-the-book while the two boys were hazardous in nature. Yet, as Rowling so aptly wrote, "There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them."


"Probably a nose-breaking wrestle with Snape in the dungeons?"

That one similar incident made them realise that they do have a similar sense of loyalty towards people who helped them and this attitudinal similarity enabled them to form a bond with one another. This is due to people's tendency to form relationships with those we perceive to be similar to us. The three of them realised that the values they share may be the same despite differences in their characters. Forming relationships due to this reason can reduce our uncertainties about them, reduce the associated risks in the relationship and serve as a form of social validation.

During later parts of the development of their friendship, one will see that their initial dissimilarities (or complementarities) actually sustained their relationship as they function better together than separately. Each of them had specific characteristics that enabled the trio to survive through many treacherous vicissitudes. Harry's valour motivated the trio to brave the many obstacles, Hermione's brilliance with spells warded off many magical disasters, and Ron's goofy nature was... well... great moral support? Their dependency on one other was exemplified when cracks appeared in their friendship but they soon realise that their bond was an intrinsic part of each other and patched up soon enough.

JK Rowling ingeniously portrayed how similarities and dissimilarities between people can co-exist and, most importantly, build a bond so pure and perennial that it evokes envy among people who yearn true friendship. I believe the series will continue to touch the hearts of many others even after her mortal departure (choy choy choy), becoming an old Classic like Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. It will continue to impart values of courage and loyalty, and teach the future generations of love and friendship.


PS, pictures in this post do not belong to me, click on pictures to reveal credits...

The Master of NonVerbal Communication - Tina Fey

A very BOLD claim: If you have yet to watch this video on the Internet, you have no idea what you are missing out on.


http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/palin-hillary-open/656281/

or for a less detailed version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdDqSvJ6aHc

This clip features an impersonation of Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton. Anyone who follows the elections in America will definitely place more attention on the Sarah Palin character in the parody as most have doubts regarding her capabilities as compared to Hillary Clinton's. And if anyone does notice anything in the clip at all, Tina Fey's impersonation of Sarah Palin was one that portrayed her to be totally daft.

While the speech totally demeans Palin's perspicacity, the the physical impersonation was uncanny. Since the speech was not what we expected to hear from Palin's mouth, the only way to make the impersonation convincing would definitely be through the nonverbal aspect of the act. Tina Fey clearly spent hours in front of her (television or computer) screen, dissecting Palin to the smallest hairpin and smile.

There are several types of nonverbal communication and Tina Fey's act of impersonation focused on kinesics, paralinguistic, oculesics and physical appearance.

Kinesics is the study of body movement, which Tina Fey managed to nail perfectly by studying the emblems, illustrators, regulators and adaptors that Palin tended to make in her speeches. Most of them were accurate except for the ones Fey made when 'Hillary' finally lost her cool and started to criticise 'Palin' and Fey was there waving and smiling away serenely. Palin smiles a lot but she does not do those ridiculous rock-guitar actions.

In my opinion, the paralinguistic and physical appearance aspects of the impersonation were flawless. Those Palin-signature spectacles and hairdo made Tina Fey almost indistinguishable from Sarah Palin. Furthermore, even though the verbal aspect was 100% inaccurate, the vocal nonverbal cues were perfectly precise. Fey's in-depth study of Palin's quality of voice, vocalics and non-fluencies were so exact that it seemed as though someone just ripped out Sarah Palin's intelligence and replaced it with rotten eggs. Ok maybe not rotten eggs but you get my point.

Some may refer to this act as blasphemy to the 2 women who are supposed to create a better future to not just America but to the rest of the world as well. However, in light of the solemnity of the elections, a little laughter is just what I think we need. Hope everyone reading this will enjoy the skit as much as I do.


Can you even spot the difference between these 2 people?
Which one is Tina Fey and which one is Sarah Palin?

When Obsession Overflows

NBC News Channel

Wednesday, September 10 2008

MSN Online Video

HIGH HEELS FOR _______ (read on to find out)

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Speaking from my personal perspective first, no matter how insane my obsession about a particular subject or object is, there is a limit to it and it will gradually deflate even if it may not totally be out of my system. However 2 women proved to me that one's obsession can push the boundaries so far that "insane" is no longer a word that can sufficiently describe them.

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2 well-heeled women from Los Angeles, Britta Bacon Hayden Porter, founded the very first company that sells pointy heels. I know, I know. It is not uncommon for women to form establishments that cater to the their own loves. Yet, how many women will love heels enough to actually create a pair for their infants? Yes. Let us welcome the most amazing innovation of the year, drum-roll please, the "Pointy-Heels For Infants"!

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(Credits to MSN Video and NBC News Channel)

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I was so elated when I read this piece of news that I almost wet my pants with excitement! I have always wanted to buy pairs after pairs of heels for my new-born baby and subject her to hours and hours of agonizing, feet squashing torture! (dripping major sarcasm)

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It is only human nature to use schemata to form impressions of other people, forming Person Prototypes, idealized representations of a certain kind of person. From their obsession with heels, I would initially group them under the Fashionista-Who-Chooses-Beauty-Over-Health category. However, after reading about their latest fetish of not just wearing heels to torment their feet but inflict this form of abuse on their babies as well, I am at a loss as to how else to categorise them.

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The Personal Constructs (characteristics noticed on a daily basis about others) observable from these 2 women is that they are exceedingly creative and dreadfully demented. Albeit the infant-heels may not exactly crucify the babies' feet like their adult counterparts, the thought of them wanting to make their babies wear heels and actually getting down to do it, scares me. However I know of plenty of people who beg to differ from my opinion and think of these heels as the coolest kids in town. Those shoes have been flying off the racks ever since the first one was sold 14 weeks ago and it may not be long before the phenomenon hits our shores (and possibly overwhelm the fashion scene here). Maybe the idea is not as insane as it seems, I am just too narrow-minded.

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I love my heels but I love my walking ability more. A note to girls who wear heels on a regular basis - visit a pediatric orthopaedist because you will need all the help you can get in future to ensure that you do not lose your mobility to your love for heels.

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How about you? What do you think of them and their invention?

Feel free to comment! =D

Applying Classroom Theories To Advertising

The Straits Times
Saturday, September 6 2008
PAGE C25 (World Section)
ZENITHOPTIMEDIA WINS TOP PRIZE

The annual Singapore Media Awards is into their fourth year and being a student whose first major is Communications, how can I miss out on the juicy bites of this prestigious event?

ZenithOptimedia's winning piece is a successful campaign that is aimed at drawing more crowd to the museums and libraries.

"Operating on a tight budget, advertising agency ZenithOptimedia made museum ambassadors out of local actor Mark Lee and a fleet of taxi drivers. It then splashed images of these people in newspaper advertorials and online platforms like Facebook. Its campaign, Explore Singapore! 2007, which aimed to draw more people to museums and libraries, attracted more than half a million visitors. For that dazzling success, the agency received the most prestigous Grand Prix Award at the annual Singapore Media Awards last night."
_________________________________The Straits Times

People normally associate libraries and museums to the 'keen learners' (or as most of the schooling society so cruelly taunt them to be 'Nerds') and avoid these places if they do not seek interest in what they provide. Idols of the cave, that is what most of us are, cookie-cutter mentalities within a narrow understanding, assuming libraries and museums to be a haven for the knowledge-thirsty freaks. And that is where the role of Mark Lee so aptly comes in.

I doubt I have to go into detail about Mark Lee's history and reputation since I assume my readers to be mainly Singaporeans or residing here (Idols of the Tribe, I know, I am a careless thinker) thus Mark Lee should not be foreign to any readers here. His comedian background acts as an ice-breaker between the general public and the libraries and museums.

The older generation who were intimidated by the overwhelming use of English and technology were won over by Mark Lee's humorous and (I know this may sound a little brutal but) less-than-English-speaking nature. The museum managed to banish the former image of being cold and exclusively-for-elitists, appearing more welcoming because of Mark Lee's charming, less-than-serious joker profile. Appealing through one's character to gain favour and appealing through emotions, that is Ethos and Pathos. The younger generation will be attracted to the cool technology and the interesting manner that history and arts were fused together to be presented to them, appealing through logic, that is Logos completing the equation.

ZenithoOptimedia also did a great job when it came to audience analysis. Their target audience is the general population of Singapore thus there is no specification when it comes to age or gender.

(Credits to MediaCorp)

Mark Lee was given a three-part series, Amuse Me, where he and co-host Vivian casted as intrepid museum guides and allowed the viewers to embark on a whimsical adventure. Viewers followed their lead and enjoyed their humorous adventures and antics as they explored Singapore’s museums and libraries while unearthing many fascinating but little known facts about Singapore’s past. The style of the show was very lighthearted yet educational, lively and engaging and the delivery was natural and varied. It was little wonder that the show received great response from all walks of life especially the seniors, families and children.

For the group of teenagers and 20-somethings who surf the net more than watch the television, ZenithOptimedia splashed advertisements on popular networking platforms such as Facebook and Friendster, knowing specifically where the "on-liners" crowd will be dwelling at.

All in all, congrats to ZenithOptimedia and salutes to the awards for providing a platform to showcase and appreciate the best campaigns and innovations in advertising. It is, in my humble opinion, not only a chance to bestow upon the worthy candidates their deserving attention, it is also a very good opportunity to induce a bit of positive rivalry amongst the advertising firms and show the world that we Singaporeans are not babies who require nannying - we can rock your socks off when we want to. We definitely know how to apply what we have learnt in the classrooms to our future work.

What do you think? Feel free to elaborate in the comment! =D