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I think this commercial nicely sums up the mainstream view of China in the West: the past 40 years simply did not take place. It is 1966. The Cultural Revolution is in full swing — except in Shanghai, maybe. To be honest, I felt embarrassed watching this commercial.
Commenters, however, thought it kind of rang true:
Umm… having worked in elementary and middle schools… the only thing that’s changed is the colour of the uniform and the colour of the film… though it’s rainy today, so that sorta matches.
Another commenter thinks most Western viewers will assume the setting is supposed to be North Korea.
Commenters over at YouTube could care less. Here's a sampling:
So far this is the most eyecatching advert ive ever seen!Oh wow, I had a dream like this!Lol!
We need to see more Asian faces in TV commercial!!!
This commercial is awesome. :]
Ha! the guy is hot.
xD!That guy is drop dead hawt...*drool*
I have been looking for this comercial everywhere! I love it! And that guy is freaking hot!!
Whoa! What a hot guy!
when i see this add I think Nazi
So, what do you think, readers? Is that guy hawt or what?!?!?! OMG LOL WTF ;) :-D
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
post to facebook
Saw this ad when living in England with my Shanghai ren fiancee and though nothing of it at the time, nor now... we weren't aware it was attempting to depict modern day China, infact both of us thought it was intentionally 'old worldly'.
Not so much that I thought viewers would think it was North Korea--most Western viewers, I thought, wouldn't know Chinese from Korean, even with written Chinese in the ad and a map of China behind the teacher. More that I was wondering what might have inspired the ad team to come up with that story line. North Korea's new haircut length law of last year seemed a possible culprit--just a random playful guess--though it could also be an interpretation of the typical Chinese Middle School experience.
Meh, I don't think it's bad. I don't think anyone would really believe that's the way things actually work in China, but then again I'm biased by the fact that I know Chinese schools, so how can I know if my perception is accurate?
By the same token, I suppose if it was all written and spoken in the language of North Korea... hell, I'd probably assume it was accurate, not knowing a damn thing about the place. ;>
Woah let me get this straight! You are implying that there is deliberate exaggeration and untruthfulness in commercial advertising!? Wow I have never considered that!
The ad is harmless fun. The guy is not my cup of tea, but I´m totally, like, not a 14 year old like ABC.
No, it's not representative of Chinese schools.
Yes, it is catchy.
As a most commercial advertisement, this TV ad doesn't strive for accuracy. Ads attract viewers to the product. This one does a good job.
Although product advertisements have the ability to persuade and educate, I hope most people know better than to take them for fact.
I don't find the advertisement crude or offensive. I appreciate seeing Asian faces and storylines. If this were the only storyline being perpetuated in Western societies, I would find it problematic, and it would no longer be inventive.
But in a dearth of plots outside the imaginary white-collar, white face "norm", hurray for recognizing and adding to the diverse representations of humanity.
Apparently this is set in some alternative universe where Tibet is in the east of China, and Harbin is in the west. Just look at the map behind the teacher.
Maybe the ad was set in '66. Pathetic PC fuckwits.
Interesting Adv. Must show it to my Mother-in-Law when she comes back from Beijing!
Bet she disagree's with the premise...
Oh, I like that, that's funny. 一起玩吧。Do you really think Westerners will take this to be a spoof of modern China? I wish you were wrong... As for the Cultural Revolution, surely the students should be intimidating the teachers and not the other way round. Oh, whatever, it's conceptually confused but cool.
I'm studying in a Chinese uni that looks very like the first shot of this ad, except for the grey people.
Made me LOL! :)
I like it - but it's really sad that the world thinks this of China.
So, just who is the guy? Has he been any other films?
I don't see any problem with it. I think its good and it fits their slogan. Does any one know the song being played in it?