A Profile of Advertising in China’s “Socialist-Market Economy”

abstract

It is now over two decades since China embarked upon its programme of “Four Modernizations” and since the early 1990s, the expansion of capitalism has accelerated, accompanied by increased numbers of foreign advertisers and foreign advertising agencies. In some sectors, such as advertising and technology, China has been able to leapfrog stages of development that took place over a much longer time frame in the West. There has been a rapid change in the profile of advertising and sophisticated advertising has been introduced by multinational advertising agencies in a relatively short period of time. Consumer attitudes to advertising in China have evolved since the late 1980s, from a preference for informational advertising to a desire for entertainment and transformational strategies. In the early 1990s, Chinese consumers favoured foreign brands but within a decade they were switching their allegiance to local products. Foreign agencies began taking on more local clients after 2000. Unlike other emerging economies, Chinese brands now dominate the contemporary market and this is reflected in high levels of advertising expenditure. The expansion of advertising has had significant impact on cultural changes dominated by the expansion of consumerism and materialism as key values. There are other implications for far-reaching social change, especially in targeting the youth market. Examples of outdoor advertising collected in a visit to China in October 2003 are used to illustrate trends indicated by a survey of the literature of advertising history in China, along with the social and cultural changes arising from China’s transition from a Communist to a “socialist-market” economy

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Lynne Ciochetto

Lynne Ciochetto is an Associate Professor at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand. Her approach is interdisciplinary, with a research focus on visual documentation of international advertising and signage.