Communication

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Gentlemen, ask your girlfriend which horoscope does she belong to before proposing!

Recently, a company selling traditional wedding cakes in Taiwan spent one million on producing 12 commercials just to attract consumers to patronize. This company not only sells cakes but also plans events for their customers. These advertisements were trying to promote their agency as a wedding planning company. Why is the company willing to spend so much money on them? They attribute it to the mentality that people have about the Hungry Ghost Festival as it is considered inauspicious to get married in the 7th month of the Lunar calendar. Due to this attribution, the process of assigning cause to human behaviour, the company decides to create these advertisements. By forming this attribution, the company answered a series of questions such as: “ What is causing the behaviour we observe?”, “ How likely is the behaviour to continue in the future?”  and “ Does the people performing the behaviour have control over their actions?”. The spokesperson mentioned that they lost about 25% of customers, which equates to 20,000 couples, due to this festival. These 12 advertisements each featured a girl with the respective 12 horoscopes mainly Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn and how they react to a marriage proposal. These had caused a lot of controversy not only in Taiwan but also Mainland China. Below is the link to a short video clip on the news.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoSTNeSP5KA


For instance, this advertisement on Gemini showed the couple, who are also colleagues in the Peace Enforcing Special Service Forces in Taiwan, on duty. The man then proposed to the woman using hand gestures. Non-verbal communication, which is defined as communication that is nonlinguistic or without words, was used in this advertisement. The man’s message was receiver-oriented, as his girlfriend could understand what he was trying to express through his non-verbal cue. In this case, non-verbal behaviour is both normative and idiosyncratic in interpretation. The act of the man putting both his thumbs up and knocking his knuckles together is a socially agreed upon cue which represents getting married. The woman then communicated emotion through her non-verbal cue when she smiled, this meant that she agreed to marry him.


The commercial on Scorpio starts off with the man asking if the woman heard anything. The woman then gave a bewildered look saying no. And after the man proposed, she broke into a smile and was shocked. This is one of the channels of non-verbal communication, where the cue conveys emotion. The woman then moved closer to the man to see what was supposedly making the sound. This act conveys a meaning and it belongs to one of the categories of communication, proximics, the area that examines space and distance in communication.


The 9th commercial on Libra shows a man asking the woman to choose left or right hand. The man opened his palm after the woman made her choice but he hesitated. In paralinguistics, the study of vocal non-verbal cues, his silence conveyed his nervousness. After he proposed, the woman squatted down, which expressed her amazement. According to kinesics, the study of body movements, this conveyed her emotion
Out of these 12, there are some that also uses non-verbal communication. Can you identify them? Where and when did these cues occur? How controversial can they be?

Here are the links to the rest of the advertisements:
Aquarius - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHPH9cD5XRY&feature=related
Pisces – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i74Mzf0FCYo
Aries – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWWGjKdXGmw&feature=related
Taurus – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFzVBppdpdo&feature=related
Cancer – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31UMWry1fH4
Leo – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZNRc9WWvbU&feature=related
Virgo – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLm5u6_EPdw&feature=related
Sagittarius - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0WvF32bcQc&feature=related
Capricorn - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYH6ptxf_nY&feature=related

posted by Communications @ 9:30 PM  

20 Comments:

  • At September 27, 2009 at 12:31 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I think it's a really wise choice for the company to set a theme based on horoscopes, something that the public can relate it well with themselves. Though some may argue that the description for some horoscopes are not true, take note that these are just commercials. Its main objective is to capture the audience's attention. Like what people always say, "monkey see, monkey do". After watching these advertisements, the curiousity may kick in. The couples will then approach the company to plan the wedding for them, hoping that they will get rewarding results like those in the videos.

    (p.s.) the gemini video is interesting! the wonders of non verbal communication (:

     

  • At September 27, 2009 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous shawn said...

    The meanings attached to the non-verbal cues normally involves interpretation and judgement. Sometimes, the same cue might mean different things in a different context or society. For example, in this case, the advertisement on Gemini, the man showing the thumbs up sign might not mean let's get married, but instead, could mean coast clear. This is the same as him placing 2 fingers of each hand to his temples does not really mean use your brain. This is because non-verbal communication is subjective and that cue could be interpreted differently by different people.

     

  • At September 29, 2009 at 11:03 AM , Anonymous Kath said...

    In many of instances, non-verbal cues and body language seem to be more important than verbal communication. This is the main reason why people often have misunderstandings after misreading an email or a text message. Verbal cues provide an important clue-in to the true meaning and context of what a person is saying. As for the advertisements,I do not know Mandarin and was able to understand what was happening in these advertisements with no issues. This is a clear indication of the true power of non-verbal communication.

     

  • At September 29, 2009 at 11:21 AM , Anonymous Dawn said...

    For a marriage proposal, I believe that nonverbal cues actually conveys the message more than their verbal counterparts. Although a marriage proposal cannot do without the norm " Will you marry me", the body language of the person actually shows how sincere he is. This is especially so in the gemini advertisement. From the beginning to the end, there is no form of verbal communication between the couple. Their main form of communication was nonverbal and through the gestures that they both recognise.

     

  • At October 1, 2009 at 10:27 PM , Anonymous en said...

    Communication scholars have said that the majority of meanings in most communication situations is conveyed non verbally and some estimates it to be as high as 93%. This shows that non-verbal cues are an extremely influential source of meaning. By this, it means that communication occurs non verbally most of the time. In the case of these advertisements, we could see the various reactions of the female leads and they always expressed their emotions non-verbally and then followed by their verbal cues. Some of the female leads did not even use any verbal cue to respond to the message received. Hence this proves that we cannot avoid or do without non-verbal communication.

     

  • At October 3, 2009 at 8:45 PM , Anonymous Hui Qin said...

    These commercials were produced to attract a wide range of audience including those who are either curious about their services or interested to know the services that they provide. Amongst them, they showed all the different methods to propose to woman of different horoscopes. By portraying how successful the methods were, it actually showed that their services are reliable and will be able to cater to the different preferences of their customer, be it their horoscope or special needs.Even if one does not require their services, they would be curious about the other versions of the commercial and when will their horoscope be shown. This would actually help Isabelle to spread their reputation by word of mouth due to their commercials and gain more customers.

     

  • At October 3, 2009 at 11:49 PM , Anonymous en said...

    Great point there brought up as I feel that the company was using horoscope as a selling point in the advertisements. Viewers, especially women, would be attracted by the commercials as many of them believe in horoscopes. Though they might not actually engage the services of this company, they might mention these advertisements to their relatives and friends and if any of them happens to be in need of such a service, then it is absolutely free advertising for the company itself.

     

  • At October 3, 2009 at 11:50 PM , Anonymous char said...

    As part of the marketing strategies, the company has used the horoscope concept to portray the various ladies' reactions. This may lead to audience being convinced that those shown in the commercials will be the likely outcomes that they will achieve. However sadly, this may not be the case in actual fact, and some guys may feel disappointed if they follow the "steps" in the commercial, and yet getting another response from the females. This just shows how great media can influence us, in the negative way.

    Other than that, I believe that these commercials actually bring about postive impacts. Not only there is a significant increase in the number of couples approaching the company, it actually makes a point to us - non verbal communication is indeed very important! This point can be seen when some of the females in the commercials actually do understand the guys' actions even before they mention "let's get married!".

     

  • At October 6, 2009 at 10:17 AM , Anonymous Keith said...

    With reference to the Libra video mentioned in the post:-

    "The man opened his palm after the woman made her choice but he hesitated. In paralinguistics, the study of vocal non-verbal cues, his silence conveyed his nervousness."

    This video seems to have a very strong display of non-verbal communication. When the man extends his hand, he not only is silent,he looks nervous to the point of passing out. This reflects his state of mind. And when the woman crouches on the ground, it shows the true extent of her elation towards getting proposed to. This advertisement is one of the ads with the least amount of dialogue, but it manages to show the true emotions of the couple portayed.

     

  • At October 6, 2009 at 10:27 AM , Anonymous Alicia said...

    The comments about non-verbal communication have been very insightful. However, it is mentioned in the post that the girls who were proposed to were of 12 different horoscope signs. How aboout the men who proposed to them? I wonder if they were of the same horoscope and how that would have affected the way they proposed.

     

  • At October 6, 2009 at 9:50 PM , Anonymous en said...

    The men I believe are not of the same horoscopes as the women generally. The advertisements focused on how the women will react to the marriage proposal with respect to their horoscope. I would not deny that in some of the advertisements, the man may be of the same horoscope as the lady but I think that the advertisement would not attract that much customers to patronize as the viewers would feel that it is only feasible for that particular horoscope of men and women. This topic triggered discussion amongst viewers and was debated online and the conclusion that was draw by majority was that only the women was of the 12 horoscopes stated.

     

  • At October 7, 2009 at 7:43 PM , Anonymous Jolyn said...

    The most important message sent out by these advertisements is that thoughts need not to be communicated by words but can be through non-verbal communication such as body languages and expressions. The latter proves to be a more powerful communication than words as it represents the direct feelings or thoughts from an individual. Words may not speak the truth but body language can. For interpersonal relationship to be successful, it is probably important to understand the different body languages one has. This makes each and every relationship unique on its own. In my own perspective, what is crucial through these advertisements is not about how people respond to their respective horoscopes, but the way they portray their words through actions to their significant other.

     

  • At October 21, 2009 at 10:41 AM , Anonymous jeffrey said...

    Interesting videos! The advertisement on Leo also has a few non-verbal cues in it. When the woman pulled up the blinds, he was taken aback and this was represented by his slight moving back of his body. Also, he looked down for a moment when he realised the whole office staring at him. This communicated his nervousness at the moment. Thus, we cannot deny that non-verbal communication is part and parcel of our life.

     

  • At October 27, 2009 at 9:26 PM , Anonymous PaoPao said...

    In the pisces version, the girl chose not to reply the man and ignored him. Her silence probably showed her annoyance or avoidance of the man and it is also a form of non verbal communication. Without any verbal communication or actions from the girl, the man could not know what was her reply and decided to ask her the same question on every storey.If the man had misunderstood her silence as a no and stops proposing to her, it could lead to miscommunication.

     

  • At October 27, 2009 at 10:53 PM , Anonymous en said...

    Indeed silence is part of non-verbal communication. I agree with you that it can be easy to misunderstand someone's silence for something else in non-verbal communication. In the case of the pisces video, the man could have misunderstood. However, I believe that in this case no man would give up until he gets a verbal reply from the woman. And that is what makes the advertisement different from others.

     

  • At October 29, 2009 at 11:47 PM , Anonymous Tammy said...

    The advertisements are rather one sided. They have only focussed on the women's reaction. Men will have a rough idea what their other half's reaction will be like, based on the respective horoscopes. On the other hand, what about the women? There are no videos pertaining to the men's reactions. I guess it will be better if there are videos on the guys' characteristics/reactions, according to their horoscopes. The targeted audience will be much larger? :)

     

  • At November 1, 2009 at 8:36 PM , Anonymous yvonne said...

    Maybe the videos on the men's reaction can also be made as in this 21st century,it is no longer just the man proposing. A lady can propose to a man as well. As pointed out by tammy,the range of the targeted audience would most probably widen. But then again,the cost of producing these 12 videos is estimated to be one million. Thus it would require much more capital for the company to produce the films and it is not that much practical commercially.

     

  • At November 5, 2009 at 10:35 PM , Anonymous Jonas said...

    These advertisements I must say has caught my attention.One will be curious about the contents of the advertisements and then search for more information regarding the services the advertisements are offering.The effectiveness of the advertisements could be seen by the increase in number of patrons of Isabelle.Also,using horoscopes to appeal to the viewers,they have successfully arouse curiosity and attracted many people to enquire about their services.

     

  • At November 8, 2009 at 10:49 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

    wow... i think it's quite smart of the company to think of the strategy of using horoscope in their advertisements.

    But i think it's kind of weird that they're doing ads about different reactions and actions from different horoscopes.

    First of all, a person's reaction or interpretation of a non-verbal message is according to his or her own experience.

     

  • At November 8, 2009 at 10:51 PM , Anonymous Cassandra said...

    I feel that many people would be attracted by the advertisement and this would result in more people knowing about the products that this company offers. Not only that, the services offered will capture the attention of the audience and might lead to an increase in the number of customers just over the month after the advertisements are shown.

     

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