CULTURAL ISSUE BETWEEN MALAYSIA AND USA ADVERTISING 

Advertising plays a great cultural role in our society. It is much more than giving us information about products and services, it tells us what products signify and mean. It does this by marrying aspects of the product to aspects of the culture. The products we consume express who we are, they are cultural signifiers: the type of watch we wear, the brand of athletic shoes, or the kind of car we drive tell others a lot about us. So, advertising not only tells us about products we consume but it also tells us what those products signify in our culture (Stern, 1992). 

ABOUT THE AD

 The advertisement shows Willem Dafoe plays a hungry version of Monroe in a recreation of the skirt scene in the 1955 film “The Seven Year Itch”. Comedian Eugene Levy plays the stage hand in charge of making Marilyn Monroe‟s dress flap in the wind above a subway grate. The look of loathing on Willem Dafoe's face is priceless. Audience meant to laugh at Willem‟s muscular, manly body and his gruff voice in juxtaposition with the beautiful actress we know he‟s impersonating. A production associate hands Willem a chocolate bar and says “Eat a Snickers; you get a little cranky when you're hungry.” Willem takes a bite and is magically transformed back into the radiant Marilyn. She slips back into her famous pose with the greatest of ease. The commercial ends with a cameo by Eugene Levy, famous for his work in the Christopher Guest documentaries and the American Pie movies. Levy‟s character says of the quintessential Marilyn shot, “This scene will never make the cut. Morons.” 

THE SELECTED MATERIALS 

The commercial has been made by BBDO Advertising agency. BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The spot goes back to 1955 (even leveraging the 1950‟s SNICKERS packaging) and features a hungry Marilyn Monroe on the set of the classic film „The Seven Year Itch.‟ In the all-new: 30 commercial, the hungry blonde bombshell transforms into a cranky version of herself, played by actor Willem Dafoe. 

CULTURAL ISSUE ELEMENTS 

IMAGE 

Despite the obvious openness to influences from around the globe, society in Malaysia remains fairly conservative and conformist. Behavior that departs from established cultural and behavioral norms – basically, anything that draws attention to the individuals concerned – is avoided. With a multicultural population, Malaysia has been known to be one of the world's more moderate Muslim nations. As in the advertisement, the main actor was wearing a mini dress which shows a lot of skin and it may not suitable to be play in Malaysia. 

COLOR 

Color communicates a message without having to use words. Understanding the diverse cultural perspectives on color symbolism is important to know what is or is not acceptable in a specific culture when a company's vision is to expand beyond the borders of its own country. This advertisement does not use any color that might touch any sensitive issue among the audience. SYMBOLS 

This advertisement puts the spotlight on Willem Dafoe in his attempt to play what looks to be a cranky Marilyn Monroe in the shooting of the famous skirt-blowing scene from the 1955 movie classic “The Seven Year Itch.” (And boy was he cranky) Plus, there's a cameo at the end from Eugene Levy. 

COMMUNICATION STYLE 

While the “you're not you when you're hungry” theme has been done and done again, Snickers manages to switch it up enough each year to keep it fresh, funny and surprising. 

LANGUAGE 

The main actor has been using a word that is not suitable to be used publicly that is moron. It may be applicable in the US but not in Malaysia. Advertisements are experienced as part of cultural communication and hence can reveal cultural values and norms of the target audience. When carefully analyzed, they can uncover any prevalent or recurring pattern as well as discover its possible meanings and messages. Cross– 50 Vesna Lazović Content Analysis of Advertisements in Different Cultures cultural analysis of advertisements therefore can highlight cultural similarities and differences in advertising as well as reveal how different elements of an advertising campaign are impacted by culture 

REFERENCES 

1. "Snickers." Snickers. Mars, Incorporated, 2014. Web. 28 November 2014. http://www.snickers.com/ 

 2. Effie Awards. 2011 Gold Effie Winner “You‟re Not Your When You‟re Hungry” N.p.: Effie Awards, 2011. Effie.org, 2011. Web. 1 Mar. 2015. 

 3. "Snickers: Marilyn | BBDO Worldwide". BBDO Worldwide. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 Nov. 2016. 

4. "Snickers Commercial 2016 | Super Bowl Commercials 2016". Super Bowl Commercials 2016. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.