Welcome! As a part of my portfolio assignment for my International Advertising in a European Context class, I have created this blog to explore what exaclty international advertising means. By integrating class materials and secondary research, I will provide in-depth analyses from observations this semester, gest lectures and what I’ve learned from class.
In this portfolio, I would like to focus on how different nations across the globe implement campaigns on AIDS and practices on safe sex. Although both “topics” fall under the same branch, the approaches used are completely different. I seek to explore the mechanisms behind the delivery of these message that wish to be conveyed, reasoning and strategies behind campaigns on AIDS (such as the target audience, advertisement placement) and how this issue is presented to the public.
With a Strategic Communications major and International Studies minor, my goal is to become an effective communicator by integrating strategic planning skills and knowledge of the world. My passion is to unify people by bridging cultural gaps through intercultural communications.
I think the field of Communications is a fascinating arena because it’s about conveying one strong message at a time and most importantly how you construct that message. Communication is a subject matter that covers a wide spectrum. People simply do not only communicate through words and pictures, but also hand gestures and body language. Many of the ads that I am about to explore rely heavily on cultural context. What is acceptable in one culture may be banned in another. By analyzing the executional styles and appeals of each ad, I learn to put myself in advertiser’s shoes and become more aware the environment I am in.
We encounter advertisements that try to persuade us into buying products on a daily basis. But what about global issues covering sensitive topics that require international action and cooperation such as domestic abuse, AIDS and smoking? Most people would agree to a certain extent that these matters are “wrong,” but each culture perceives these issues differently. For example, nudity and sexual content in advertising are more acceptable in western cultures, but forbidden in eastern cultures.
