The article in the url below profiles a recent HSBC ad that is part of its “the world's local bank” campaign. The tag lines used in the campaign’s ads are “Never underestimate the importance of local knowledge” and “We find potential in the most unexpected places. Do you?” They focus on spreading cultural awareness by stressing how different cultures view the same issue. One ad I have seen, for example, shows photos of three balls: an American football, a UK football, and an Australian rules football – all with the same “football” caption underneath:
For more examples, see: http://gr8creativeideas.com/Gallery_Advertisements_Banking%20%26%20Finance_01_HSBC.html#
The ad featured in the article below, however, takes the idea of cultural relativity a little far and demonstrates the cultural ineptitude the campaign is trying to defeat:
“The ad features a photograph of a desert oasis. In the background are some electrical lines, and in the foreground a lone, robed figure stands behind an old-fashioned video camera. Beside the image is text: ‘Only 4% of American films are made by women. In Iran it's 25%,’ HSBC informs us. ‘We find potential in the most unexpected places. Do you?’”
The article, admittedly an op-ed written by an associate editor at the WSJ (so a little prone to an overly-sensitive reaction to such issues), pillories the bank:
“Just like that, the banking behemoth reveals the danger of bubble-gum corporate cosmopolitanism: Every now and then, you might suggest that a murderous theocracy is actually a progressive place.”
HSBC, which attempted to defend itself by claiming that the ad “deliberately make[s] no judgment and instead encourage[s] debate and discussion so that people make their own judgments” has withdrawn this particular ad. Interestingly, however, HSBC “continue[s] to do business in Iran.”
Take care
David
Instructor Teaching Site: http://www.sagepub.com/strategiccsr/
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A Banking Giant's Moral Bankruptcy on Iran
By David Feith
737 words
31 December 2010
The Wall Street Journal
A9
