Thai Ronald MacDonald.

This statue of Ronald MacDonald welcomed me into the MacDonalds on Khaosan Road, Bangkok. The Asian version of his statue made me smile- it's almost as if our Western version of the statue has been adapted for the Asian market. In fact, this is probably exactly what happened, as the bowing motion is culturally a respectful welcoming or thanking gesture throughout Asia.
This made me think about how a character or even brand in general can be recognised worldwide, while still adapted to suit and attract different cultural audiences- a technique that could also be used within advertising campaigns to target specific cultures.

Casio Livin' It Large In Shanghai.

What better way to advertise the importance of time than to have a giant-sized wrist watch in the street- so big that it forces every passer by to look at it and therefore use it. It highlights the convenience of owning a watch in general, especially as it was positioned outside one of the main train station links in Shanghai where time is the essence in many city lives, while advertising the brand Casio. The watch was designed as a typical, retro, Casio wrist watch showing the real time, immediately communicating directly to a wide audience, making it memorable and forcing passers by to interact with it by reading the time.

A Touch Of French... In China.

The French Concession district of Shanghai was a beautiful and quite surreal change of scenery from the usual Chinese city atmosphere. Established in the mid-nineteenth century, it wasn't originally very French despite its name. Previous to 1949, the district was low rent, mainly inhabited by Chinese and Russians. The former Russian Orthodox Mission Church featuring a blue dome roof can still be seen. Many French characteristics have lingured in the area, including various fashion boutiques, bakeries and expensive department stores. What interested me most however, was the Art Deco architecture and trees lining the streets, really making you feel as if you're in a quaint town in France, or one of the main shopping streets of Paris. It was difficult to believe we were still in China in some areas, as it resembled European architecture so much!

Above: The former Russian Orthodox Mission Church.

The French Art Deco architecture of the above building caught my eye instantly. I thought it looked like a former, typical 1930's cinema, before realising it still is today.

Beijing's CCTV tower

Unfortunately we were unable to enter even the grounds of the Beijing CCTV tower, as they were still developing it as the new Headquarters of Central Chinese Television, but the 40-storey building was tall enough for us to view far back from the construction boards surrounding it! I was previously interested in the building, as I had read about local controversy surrounding it due to its unusual shape- some people interpret it as someone kneeling, while others see it as a giant 'Z'. I loved how the building appears to completely change shape depending on the angle at which you view it. The geometric, "gravity defying" shape looks really impressive and has been labelled both the world's most complex building and one of the most expensive at $1.3 billion. It's chunky, yet angular form looks geometrically digital, as if made up of pixels, but also fun, youthful and innovative, as if constructed from giant lego pieces.

Traditional Chinese Symbolism.

Within the Forbidden City in Beijing, I noticed various interesting animals sculptured in a very traditional Chinese style to represent different things...

Two that I continued to see throughout China were the Imperial Guardian Lions, always shown as a pair (Yin and Yang)- one female (Yin, traditionally on the left) and one male (Yang, traditionally on the right). They are believed to have powerful, mythical powers, and are often seen guarding important entrances such as those of temples, government buildings and palaces. The more recently made ones seen outside restaurants and hotels however, are for more decorative purposes. The male lion holds his paw over a sphere, representing power and protection of the structure behind, while the female holds her paw over a cub to represent the cycle of life, protecting the people inside the building. There is also speculation over the representation of the position of the jaws, as they are often seen with the female's mouth closed and the male's mouth open. The Chinese traditional meaning behind this is that it represents the sacred word 'Om', while some Japanese people interpret it as the female inhaling to represent life, and the male exhaling to represent death.

I also came across a turtle, sculptured wearing armor with the head of a dragon (some American tourists made me chuckle when they referred to it as the "dragon turtle"). I have found various different meanings behind this sculpture when I was researching it, including strength, wealth, health, prosperity and fertility. By combining the dragon symbol of success and power, and the turtle symbol of long life, it traditionally brings good fortune and success to your life.

The third animal that I saw at The Forbidden City was a bronze statue of a crane, which is simply believed to bring good luck!

Advertising On The Move...

Throughout China, I experienced many taxi rides with a new advertising medium I haven't come across before. Although it's not a new concept to us to have screens on the back of the front seats in cars, many Chinese taxis used them as interactive screens for various brands to advertise their products. On one single screen, it would play over various video advertisements in a screen saver mode, until you touched the screen to interact with it. Then you would be presented with about 10 different tabs, each representing different brands such as holiday destinations, make-up products and soft drink brands. Select one, and the options are in the advertisers hands- many offered different kinds of interactive opportunities, none that were very memorable or enjoyable though. I couldn't help but feel this medium offers much more potential for creative and innovative advertising than it's currently used for. It's the advertiser's chance to get the audience directly involved with the brand through the interactive screen, in any emotional, playful and/or entertaining way they please! Which would also make it much more memorable and successful as an advertisement. Instead they were rather boring and disappointing if I'm honest. This medium is great but there's vital advertising potential here that's not being used to it's fullest!

World Cup Promotional Posters.

While exploring Seoul's World Cup Stadium, I came across these print based promotional posters from the 2002 FIFA World Cup, when it was held in S.Korea and Japan. Each poster represents key cities of S.Korea that held games within their stadiums, with imagery reflecting themes of each city. While promoting the World Cup Games, this also promotes the tourism in S.Korea by highlighting the main attractions of each city and the variety of  things to see and do throughout S.Korea. They also encourage local patriotism, pride and game spirit, while advertising the games to the local Koreans. The layout and creative illustration of the logo in the style of the chosen city theme, creates continuation throughout the poster campaign.