Saturday, November 11, 2006
Random Items
I cannot figure out why older gentlemen wander the streets of Beijing at night in their pajamas. I have now seen this on three different occasions in three different areas and cannot figure it out. It must be a cultural thing. But a weird cultural thing..
It finally dawned on me that most of the advertising here does not have Asian models. Billboards, mannequins and ads all use western models. While China does not want to be “westernized”, anything that associates itself with the West sells. We returned to our little restaurant down a hutong from the office the other day for the second time in 3 days. The owner pulled one of our mandarin literate colleagues aside to quiz her on who we were, where we worked and why we liked the restaurant. We are certain that our patronage will turn into popularity for the place, and therefore raise the prices. I am not sure that minorities frequenting a place in the US also drive its popularity and profitability. It is very interesting concept and reality here in China.
It finally dawned on me that most of the advertising here does not have Asian models. Billboards, mannequins and ads all use western models. While China does not want to be “westernized”, anything that associates itself with the West sells. We returned to our little restaurant down a hutong from the office the other day for the second time in 3 days. The owner pulled one of our mandarin literate colleagues aside to quiz her on who we were, where we worked and why we liked the restaurant. We are certain that our patronage will turn into popularity for the place, and therefore raise the prices. I am not sure that minorities frequenting a place in the US also drive its popularity and profitability. It is very interesting concept and reality here in China.
