By Michelle Xia
On June 28, 2013, there was a press conference held in Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York City about the new Taiwanese project releasing in one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. In hopes to attract new tourists, Taiwan is moving in on the west through the form of commercials. They have produced two 30-second commercials, which will be featured in selected movies in AMC and Regal from June 28 to July 28.
The two commercials featured are uniquely different. The first one is called “It’s Time for Taiwan”. These commercial features different clips of Taiwanese hot spots showcasing a glimpse of everything Taiwan has to offer. From the street food carts to the evergreen scenery, it’s used to brand Taiwan and to encourage travelers to pay a visit.
“I like the first one because it will be very easy to catch. It has a strong sense of Taiwan,” said Steve Chang, general manager of China Airlines.
The second is “Heart of Asia”. This short and simplistic animation is used as more of a branding the Taiwanese program. Thomas Chang explained that this commercial is used to show the hospitality Taiwan has for visitors.
In the press conference, both ambassador, Andrew Kao, and tourism director, Thomas Chang, looks forward to the great results from these commercials, explaining the capability to shape Taiwan’s perception to the out side world and the potential for new tourists. Through investing in putting the commercials in the previews of movies, it creates a large audience. Andrew Kao brings up the popularity of the movie “Man of Steel” generating 400 million dollars already. With the belief that the revenue sales will continue to increase within the next month, Andrew is confident for this investment to be worthwhile.
There are many sponsors for this project as well who not only believes in the positive outcomes for Taiwan in general, but for their company. Benjamin Wang, the general manager of EVA Airways Corporation of the America Head Office, sees this investment as a great opportunity to expand network and brand EVA. These commercials will promote both Taiwan and EVA’s services.
In these 31 days, these two commercials will be featured in “Monster’s University”, “Man of Steel”, and “World War Z” in movie theaters around New York City. Intertwined with trailers of future movies, these two commercials were able to stand out, bringing the movie viewers a different experience. Many are excited for this project to be up and running, to promote and brand the ideal of Taiwan, and to ultimately attract more tourist to visit the place known to be the “heart of Asia”.
I saw this when catching Man of Steel over the weekend. It’s a good start but if they’re truly looking to maximize advertising budget, they should at least hire a Westerner/American copywriter proof their language: “Touch your heart” means nothing to an English speaker; in fact this is commonly referred to as “Chinglish”—an awkward outcome of Chinese/Taiwanese appropriation of English words. In the West it’s standard practice to test ads with their target audience before wide release. Post-college twenty-somethings are a major travel demographic—were any of these asked for their opinions on the adverts? I wonder if this is another classic example of developing an ad for yourself instead of your intended audience.