Chinese Festive Food Advertisements in Malaysia Today, Malaysia is a middle-income country that has succeeded in overcoming many of the developmental obstacles that remained following centuries of colonization and foreign occupation to become a rapidly growing economic powerhouse that is well situated to take advantage of the forces of globalization. Indeed, from a nation largely dependent on extraction industries and raw material exports just 40 years ago, Malaysia has developed a diversified economic infrastructure that promises to achieve the country's goal to achieve high-income status by the year 2020 (Malaysia economy, 2016). In the process, Malaysia has experienced a rapid growth in its upper and middle classes and, with a per capita income of $26,600, even younger consumers have larger amounts of disposable income compared to years past (Malaysia economy, 2016). These trends have also translated into higher levels of festive food consumption levels in Malaysia, an issue that forms the focus of the study proposed herein as discussed below.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of the proposed study is to identify the rhetorical figures and other literary devices (e.g., metaphors, puns, resonance, and repetition) in selected Malaysian Chinese visual and print festive food (i.e., non-core food product) advertisements to determine how consumers from different age groups construct personal meanings in these advertisements today and their implications for marketers.

Problem Statement

In order to optimize its effectiveness, advertisements for festive food must strike a responsive chord in its targeted market but this can be an enormously challenging enterprise even when the target market is well defined and consumer preferences are well researched. In recent years, marketers have attempted to use improve the effectiveness of their advertising by using visual media including television to influence the purchasing habits of young people for food products (Ng, Kelly, Chee et al. 2014).

A study by Ng et al. (2014) found that television advertisements for non-core (i.e., festive) foods on multi-ethnic Malaysian stations that targeted children were more frequent during school holidays and more non-core foods were advertised compared to other periods (Ng et al., 2014). Based on their findings, Ng et al. concluded that, "This study highlights non-core food advertising, and predominantly sugary drinks are commonly screened on Malaysian TV channels. The majority of these sugary drinks were advertised by multinational companies, and this observation warrants regulatory attention" (2014, p. 29).

Notwithstanding the ethical implications of these findings and the need for regulatory attention from Malaysian policymakers, it is reasonable to suggest that this marketing strategy represents an effective approach for advertising Chinese festive food, but there are other marketing strategies that are being used for these purposes that remain understudied. For example, a study by Chan and Fong (2013) analyzed the effectiveness of subway advertising in China, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom where these public transportation alternatives are commonly available. Subways are viewed by food marketers as especially valuable venues because consumers are confined in a space for a period of time, allowing them the opportunity to peruse advertisements at their leisure. In this regard, Chan and Fong (2013) report that, "Subway advertising is an example of captive out-of-home settings that consumers are kept in the space for some time. They are often exposed to advertising message involuntarily" (p. 486).

Moreover, because subway riders tend to use the same lines to travel to and from work, they are exposed to the same advertisements repeatedly. As Chan and Fong point out, "Subway advertising enjoys the benefits of huge audience size, diversified advertising formats, quality display, display at closer proximity to passengers, a captive environment, and a regular passenger base" (p. 486). Despite the involuntary nature of these repetitious exposures to advertisements, the findings that emerged from the Chan and Fong (2013) study indicate that consumers in all three countries expressed more favorable attitudes towards outdoor advertising, including subways compared to Internet advertising.

Likewise, a study by Donnelly (2013) found that marketers are also increasingly using bus exteriors and billboards for outdoor advertisements of festive-type foods. The results of this study mirror the findings of the above-described Ng et al. (2014) study concerning the adverse effects of advertisements for fast food and soft drinks on the health status of consumers, with Donnelly (2013) finding that people who lived near high levels of outdoor advertisements experiencing higher levels of obesity.

These trends in marketing have attracted the attention of industry analysts who question the appropriateness of various types of visual and print media to advertise festive foods given their demonstrated adverse impact on consumer health, especially for young people. For instance, Prendergrast and Hang (1999) emphasize that, "Given that in many countries there is an increase in the use of outdoor advertising, and some products are being criticized for being advertised outdoors, a number of questions...

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It is clear that although print and visual advertisements for Chinese festive foods can be effective, the question remains how best to frame these marketing tools to optimize their effectiveness while taking the ethical issues that are involved into account. Therefore, by identifying the various rhetorical figures and other literary devices that are used in Malaysian Chinese visual and print food advertisements, it will be possible to gain some fresh insights into how consumers from different age groups construct personal meanings in these advertisements today, an outcome that directly relates to the proposed study's objectives which are set forth below.

Objectives

The overarching objectives of the proposed study are four-fold as follows:

1. To identify the relationships between media, communication and culture;

2. To determine the best industry practices in the contemporary literature on media audience studies; and,

3. To evaluate the significance of studying print/visual advertisements;

4. To determine how this analysis can contribute to the larger debate academic debates concerning effective marketing practices.

Research Questions

The proposed study's guiding research questions that correspond to the foregoing objectives are as follows:

What are the relationships between media, communication and culture?

What are the best industry practices in the contemporary literature on media audience studies?

What is the significance of studying print/visual advertisements?

How can this analysis contribute to the larger debate academic debates concerning effective marketing practices?

Methodology

Qualitative social science researchers have a wide range of methodologies available, including case studies, phenomenological studies, grounded theory studies, content and narrative analyses as well as ethnographies (Neuman, 2009). Based on the respective strengths and weaknesses of each of these methodologies, the research will be conducted using a qualitative, ethnographic approach. The ethnographic approach to social science research provides a rich, detailed description of different cultures in order to gain a better understanding of it (Neuman, 2009).

This attributes makes a qualitative ethnographic approach particularly well suited for the purposes of the study proposed herein, an assertion that is further supported by Creswell (2003) who emphasizes, "An ethnography is a description and interpretation of a cultural or social group or system. The researcher examines the group's observable and learned patterns of behavior, customs, and ways of life" (p. 58). In fact, the emphasis on developing a detailed and comprehensive understanding concerning the behavior of consumers in different cultures is a defining feature of ethnographic studies (Creswell, 2003), making it the methodology of choice for the purpose of the proposed study using the conceptual and theoretical framework described below.

Theoretical Framework

A study's theoretical framework consists of a general set of statements that are used to guide the research process (Grinnell & Unrau, 2005). Theoretical frameworks are used to account for a particular domain of reality, in this case festive food marketing and culture (Jensen, 2007). Therefore, the theoretical framework that will guide the proposed study it is possible to develop a better understanding concerning the effects of rhetorical figures and other literary devices in selected Malaysian Chinese visual and print festive food advertisements to determine how consumers from different age groups construct personal meanings in these advertisements. This theoretical framework is highly congruent with the observation by Ng et al. (2014) that, "Within marketing, food promotion is a form of communication designed to increase the recognition, appeal and/or consumption of specific food products" (p. 25).

Likewise, gaining a richer understanding concerning the effects of Chinese festive food advertisements on Malaysia consumers can be facilitated by examining salient cross-cultural differences between Chinese festive food marketers and the target markets. In this regard, Chan and Moon (2005) point out that:

The influence of culture is particularly important in transferring advertising strategy across the borders, because communication patterns are closely linked to cultural norms in each market. If advertising differences across cultures can be predictable, the task of the advertiser in multiple cultures can be much simplified. (2005, p. 248)

This point is also made by So (2004) who cites the importance of understanding the effects of cross-cultural differences on advertising effectiveness within different societies. Although some countries such as Japan have a highly homogeneous population, many countries are comprised of a diverse population that defies easy market segmentation. Despite the difficulties and challenges that are involved, it is vitally important for food marketers to employ advertising methods that are sensitive to such cross-cultural differences while retaining their core marketing message.…