A Glimpse into Multicultural Advertising

We live in an advertising-driven world. Of course, this is a world that we have created. We don't enjoy paying full price for products, so we let others pay a portion of the price in exchange for passing a message on to us. So, when we open our favorite magazine, there are dazzling advertisements for clothes, shoes, vehicles, and alcohol. When we turn on the television, we are greeted by cheerful faces attempting to sell us soup, toothpaste, sweets, and politicians.

What we often don't realize is if what we're seeing is an international brand's ad, then it will have a very similar ad in different parts of the country too. While we might only be seeing a part of it in India, ads like this will be aired in all parts of the world. When the same ad is portrayed almost the same way, it becomes a sort of multicultural marketing. Multicultural marketing is crucial because it recognizes the value of your audience's uniqueness and embraces them. Multicultural marketing allows brands to directly appeal to different subgroups and persuade them to engage with the brand.

To drive the point home, the ad I have taken here is made by Coca-Cola. A very famous aerated beverage, Coca-Cola is the favorite of a lot of people. So it is no surprise that it has advertisements aired in almost all parts of the world. The advertisement we are taking into consideration is that of a teenage girl who falls for a handsome hunk who drinks the beverage in a very dreamy way. This particular advertisement was aired in many parts of the world with the tagline, "Taste the Feeling." 

In this ad, you can see how everything is the same from the dress the actors are made to wear to how the ad is structured. Although the three ads are from three different parts of the world such as Asia, Europe, and Africa, it tries to portray the same emotion. If we try to find the physical differences that can be seen in the ad, those are very minor things like the Asian girl eating a lollipop and having more Asian-oriented food preferences in the background when compared to the other two ads. 

When going into detail about the multicultural appeal these ads have, it is safe to say that it does have a strong appeal in itself. It's all about personalizing your message to the people you're marketing to in multicultural marketing. The days of a single message that worked for all demographics are long gone. To be successful with a marketing campaign these days, you must consider not only ethnicity but also trends and pop-cultural allusions. This is exactly what these advertisements have done. Based on the particular region they are marketing for, they have tailored the ad according to the area they are marketing in. 

As for the target audience or the TA of this ad, it is directed at youth from the age of 20 to early '30s. This ad showcases tones of flirtation, seduction, playfulness, cuteness, and beauty. While the heroine of the ad is a young girl who's bored sitting at the store, the hero of the ad is a handsome guy who the teenage girl instantly falls for. Meanwhile, the unintended TA of the ad would be people who are already addicted to Coca-Cola, people who have liked the ad, and young children who easily get influenced by almost anything. 

Although this gives you an idea about what multicultural advertising is and how a simple advertisement differs from region to region, This happens as consumers now, more than ever, demand authenticity and humanity from their sellers. Being genuine fosters trust, mutual goals, and a sense of security that you, as a vendor, empathise with and understand your customers. 

Letter from a Chatterbox

It was two days ago that Whatsapp, Facebook, and Instagram crashed and majority of the world spiralled into what is known as a social media blackout. Not using my phone for quite some time got me thinking, "what would life be like without social media?" I cannot even think of a life without social media. The constant catching up with friends, stalking celebrities, and sending memes. Whatever would I do in a social media blackout? When my cousin put up a status saying that the social media blackout made him realise how cool his wife was, it made me laugh. Then, it got me thinking. Has it really come to a situation where we need a legit social media blackout to force us to 'sit and talk' to each other?

That being said, my most preferred form of communication will always be talking to people when they're just an arm's distance away from me. I don't like texting people, I sure do like calling people. However, there's nothing quite like looking into the eyes of a person and talking to them about everything under the sun. I am old-school that way. I do not want to 'Whatsapp' you, neither do I want to 'DM' you. If there's something I need to tell you, I will rather do it over call or just come over to your home and talk to you. 

There's no such preferred platform as such I would choose for my preferred form of communication. As it's just talking to the people around you, you simply need to do one thing, go up to them, open your mouth, and talk. Although it now seems hard for a lot of people especially after the pandemic and all, nothing speaks comfort to me like talking to a person about anything and everything. Even though the world is changing and people prefer 'digital' than 'traditional', I will always be that one old soul who can keep all her digital 'helpers' away and talk away the night with her close ones. 

To connect with different people, both old and new, I just talk. If it's a new person who's some into my life, I strike up a conversation with them to know what they and I have in common. If it's someone who has been in my life for sometime now, then they already know by now that I talk, a lot. So social media blackout or not, it may feel a little weird without my memes, video calls, and messages, but I will always love to talk! 

'ZODIAC'- MOVIE REVIEW

A movie based on the life of the infamous 'Zodiac Killer' that shook America, Zodiac is a movie critically acclaimed by people all around the world. From the honest opinion of a movie lover, the film starts off slow and boring, but if you are a person who gets obsessed with the lives of serial killers like I do, then this movie is for you!

The movie tells the story of the real-life zodiac killer, who struck California in the late 60's and 70's, and left a huge trail of bodies all over the city. A mix of all things, the movie is a police procedural, part monster movie, and ends up making you think about another of Fincher's masterpiece, the famous movie, Seven.

Informed by history and steeped in pulp fiction, “Zodiac” stars a trio of beauties — Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo — who are all at the top of their game and recorded by cinematographer Harris Savides in out-of-sight high-definition digital. Mr. Gyllenhaal, who plays real-life cartoonist turned writer Robert Graysmith, is the show's sly star, but he doesn't emerge from the shadows until the bodies and inquiries have subsided. Mr. Ruffalo struts his stuff as Dave Toschi, the San Francisco police detective who taught Steve McQueen how to wear a gun in "Bullitt" and pursued Zodiac close to the ground. Mr. Downey plays Paul Avery, a showboating newspaper reporter who chased the killer in print, while Mr. Downey plays Paul Avery, a showboating newspaper reporter who chased the killer in print.

Zodiac is the serial killer version of "All the President's Men," with Woodward and Bernstein replaced by a cop and a cartoonist, respectively. It's not only "based" on the infamous Zodiac killings in California; it seems to radiate the case's odour and provocation. The killer, who was never apprehended, left so many clues that Sherlock Holmes might have solved the case while sitting in his sitting room. Only a newspaper cartoonist with enough tenacity and perseverance could build together a convincing case against a man who was maybe guilty. 

The way "Zodiac" avoids chases, shootouts, grandstanding, and false climaxes and instead follows the plodding course of police work is what makes it authentic. In the same manner that Woodward and Bernstein knocked on a lot of doors, made a lot of phone calls, and met a lot of unusual people, the detectives and Graysmith take strange paths in their investigation. We're concerned about Graysmith's naivete and risk-taking because he's unarmed and civilian, especially during a journey to a basement that is, in its own way, one of the best moments I've ever seen along those lines.

Although the movie is all about finding the Zodiac Killer, the way it connects to everything around you is when you see the characters developing and evolving as the movie progresses. Just like in "All The President's Men", although a large chunk of the movie talks about a real-life issue, the movie also gives equal importance to the characters changing into people they weren't at the beginning of the movie.