HSBC; Warm & Cuddly Financial Services.

I picked this up from LRB’s forums; this is a sweet TVC; sentimental imagery that pulls at the heart strings.

It’s interesting how it plays out; following the life of a middle aged man as he progresses through the different stages in his life is an HSBC rep, a young woman who resembles Zhang Zi Yi before she became a big star, when she looked pure and innocent in her first movie “The Road Home”.

It’s interesting a young innocent-looking woman was chosen to be the rep, you’d really think it would be a grizzled old financial veteran who knows how to handle your money; what’s that say about Chinese culture? The juxtaposition of middle aged man and this young woman, almost seems like a father/daughter relationship with the father being helped by the daughter.

This plays into traditional Chinese culture, of children stepping up to help parents as both parties mature through life stages. A certain pride is there; the young woman is soft, but strong; and the middle age man can depend and rely on her.

Another element shows how women are stepping up and being featured as the traditional “caring +nurturing”, but now also a reliable source of business professionalism, wrapped in warmth and openness.

Is this really what the average woman in China is like? I’m going to tactfully choose not to answer that question. Regardless, the dream is what’s being sold, and this one seems to hit the mark.

Related articles from around the web.

• What can we learn from Confucianism? (guardian.co.uk)
• Could a Mixed-Race Contestant Become a Chinese Idol? (time.com)
• Zhang Huan: from baroque to Beijing (telegraph.co.uk)

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Tagged as: Asia, Asian, China, Chinese, Culture of China, Eastern