OUCA501 - The challenges of responding to a creative brief that involves representing different 'national identities'

National identity:

"National identity, at the basic level, is an awareness of difference, that is, a feeling and recognition of 'we' and 'they.'' (Psychologist Yoonmi Lee)

...a sense of a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language. (Oxford Dictionaries Online)

Pros:

- A national identity can make individuals feel like a part of group. If many people share the same views and opinions, then these can be used to represent the brand or product you are intended to advertise, grabbing the attention of a sometimes large scale audiences (making a brand/company/product potentially popular over night).

- Insightful: researching into different national identities gives you a new, open perspective on how others behave, think and feel on multiple subjects such as brands and products, among other topics (e.g. political and ethical opinions).

- A well constructed advertisement/campaign could highlight the similarities between many national identities that many may not have previously thought existed. (an example could be shown through sport. The top sport played in both Russia and USA is basketball, which could provide a link between two very different cultures).

Cons:

- Stereotyping; using one particular bit of information and applying it to a whole nation.
It's hard to understand how a whole national identity behaves if you, yourself have not experienced the culture, views, beliefs or lifestyle of the particular nation. This could end up with an offensive advertisement or even an 'overly polite' advertisement (which may be easily forgotten).

- Although many studies have shown that the majority can affect an individual, it has also be evidenced that an individual can influence a group. Unless you have a very narrow target audience within a wider sector of people, it is hard to represent many through one advertisement.

- A product/brand may not be popular in one culture but may be in another. There may be multiple reasons behind this and finding these out may end up costing a lot of money and time. (e.g. seafood may be more popular in places such as Japan and Korea rather than the United States of America as the fish typical used within seafood tend to be found in the waters surrounding East Asian states - therefore, these two nationalities have very different diets resulting in separate views. This, however, is only one aspect behind the statement).


Bibliography;
Lee, Yoonmi (2000). Modern Education, Textbooks, and the Image of the Nation: Politics and Modernization and Nationalism in Korean Education: 1880-1910. Routledge (published 2012). p. 29. [Accessed 12/10/14]

Anon (N.D) http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/national-identity [Accessed 12/10/14]