Commercials

First, some abbreviations:

CF = commercial film (used widely in Korea)

So does that mean CM = commercial movie? (CM is the abbreviation used in Japan for commercials.)

NG = no-good (bad take, usually leads to a blooper clip)

I prefer Asian commercials over American ones, which I find to be more and more annoying with time. There aren't many good American jingles ("ba da da da da, I'm lovin' it" isn't that great), and the little snippets of American life are usually mind-numbing and pathetic. At least many Asian commercials feature glamourous celebs who don't give obnoxious "real-life" performances (even if it's only for 10 or 20 seconds). Besides, I'm more likely to pass over obnoxious behavior in an Asian commercial, as the desire to experience something Asian overrules good taste and my normal tolerance level.

And then there are those American commercials that are just plain inappropriate because of the product being advertised -- like drugs for erectile dysfunction, genital herpes treatment, KY Jelly, Vagisil, HPV vaccine and so on.

Even though much of E. Asia is dominated by consumerism/materalism/hedonism, I don't see that attitude or way of life being promoted as much in Asian commercials as I do in American commercials. Yes, there is some consumerism bound up with the nature of the thing itself and with advertising in general--this product is necessary for your life, so go buy it--but the "rules of advertising" also dictate that one know the part of the market one is trying to appeal to and to create an advertisement accordingly. So there are American commercials geared towards the single man or the single woman (e.g., the "Sex and the City" lifestyle). I don't see that as much with Asian commercials, which are directed more towards a general audience, and hence more family-friendly, shall we say? Perhaps the commercials played at a later time or on adult-oriented channels are different, but during primetime hours, this seems to be the case.

Korean and Japanese commercials in particular are attractive--HK ones tend to be not so good; many are commercials from other countries that have been dubbed over and recut to feature the product with Chinese labelling. The native commercials are all right, though, for the reasons given above, and it's good to hear Cantonese being spoken. (I don't hear as many Cantonese mis-pronunciations in commercials or in dramas/comedies as I do in TV interviews with HK stars and movies.) Taiwanese commercials, from what I remember of them... well... they're in Mandarin, so what else do I need to say to give an indication of how much I like them.

Conan O'Brien played some commercials Arnold Shwarzenegger did in Japan for some sports/energy drink? You can see some here. I have not seen many Korean commercials featuring American celebrities--one suspects at present, their budget cannot afford an American celeb. (It is not clear to me if an endorsement by an American star would really be effective in Korea--it seems that the Japanese are more taken in by American celebrities than Koreans? America seems to be a stronger trend-setter in Japan, though there are other influences, of course, especially Italy. Any trends that are adopted in Japan are then transmitted to other parts of E. Asia.) 24 has apparently become a hit in Japan, and there are some commercials for an energy drink featuring Keifer Sutherland as Jack Bauer. (See this post.)

Of course, there is also the "cute" factor for many Asian commercials, which can go a long way to making a commercial memorable. (Even if it is overdone, the commercial is usually mercifully short, so it doesn't get too annoying, unlike, say a 2 hour concert featuring Morning Musume or one of its derivative groups.) For me, I doubt the commercials would achieve their purpose, which would be to entice me to buy the product. Nonetheless, as a product of Asian pop culture, featuring popular Asian celebs, they have some entertainment value.

Links:
www.tvcf.co.kr
CM Japan
CM Databank
CM Site
Yahoo KR search results for "CF NG"

And of course, Morning Musume's official site, Hello! Project