A Lighter Shade of Pale

Caucasian models were most often used in ads for global brands like Estee Lauder and L’Oreal. Forty-four percent of Korean and fifty-four percent of Japanese ads used Caucasian models. Local models did not often appear in global brands’ ads in Korea, Hong Kong or Japan but eighty-two percent of the Indian ads used Indian models or celebrities. One reason for this may be the recent globalization of Indian beauty as affirmed by a number of Indian winners of such global beauty contests as Miss World and Miss Universe. From 1990-2006 Indian models won 11 of these titles. The dominance of Bollywood film in India also diminishes the impact of Hollywood ideologies in Indian culture. Indian celebrities appear to be the dominant body ideals for Indian women. Domestic and regional brands (including Asian brands like Shiseido) use more local models in each of the countries studied. In Japan, celebrities who participated in Hollywood movies, including Kaori Momoi from Geisha and Koyuki from Last Samurai, are used in ads for global brands (e.g., SK-II). In contrast to the global brands’ localization strategies (e.g., “for Asian skin”), here the Hollywood reference claims a more global status for local brands, playing on local pride. In other words, local models in Asian cultures are moving upwards towards the global standard–the western standard…

Read all the essay “Skin Lightening and Beauty in Four Asian Cultures” here