“Drink Tsingtao, Understand China” reads one ad from the Chinese beer label’s newest campaign. Others play on Chinese drinking customs, like “In China, there’s a penalty for arriving late to drinks: down 3 beers.” Even though they are only displayed domestically, these ads are in English. Approximate Chinese “translations” in much smaller characters are also included below the main text.

Using a language that is not the mother tongue of the country’s majority population is an interesting communication approach. While the campaign targets the influx of visitors to Shanghai’s 2010 World Expo, it also appeals to modern and urban Chinese consumers.

Placement & Timeliness

In Shanghai, the ads are displayed in areas with high levels of foreigner traffic such as western restaurants, expat magazines, and subway stations. Its timely placement plays off the theme of cultural exchange that dominates World Expo ads spread over the city; its tongue in cheek version of how to learn about Chinese customs engages passers-by in a relevant conversation. This enforces an important perception of viewers that the product is relevant to and consistent with their lives and experiences.

Emphasis on Chinese Expertise

Behind the comical illustrations, cartoony typography, and humorous sayings, Tsingtao tacitly showcases its knowledge of Chinese social customs. This implicit self-positioning as a connoisseur and ambassador of Chinese culture in general and drinking traditions in particular encourages viewers to recall the brand’s century-old presence in this market. It also draws upon its close association with Qingdao, the city in China where the brand was founded, and from which it draws its name. The amusing tidbits of information have an added functional value for expats and foreigners, who can adopt them to connect with locals. Furthermore, the ads generate an emotional connection with Chinese consumers by tapping into their memories of classic Chinese sayings.

Brand Differentiation

Compared with other local beers, Tsingtao already enjoys higher levels of brand awareness and recognition. This ad campaign helps it to stand out further against competitor’s Chinese beer ads, which typically show close-up images of cold bottled beer, emphasizing refreshing qualities through a vivid yellow pigment and placement next to ice or in tropical surroundings.

In the Tsingtao ad, the actual beer bottles are relegated to a bottom corner. The frame is instead dominated by clean white lettering over the brand’s signature verdant green. Without a doubt, the simple aesthetic design plays more to Western tastes; typically, the Chinese have predispositions towards busier illustrations. The green colour also calls to mind foreign drinking cultures such as that of the Irish and the visual identity and bottle design of foreign beer brands like Heineken.

Differentiating itself from its competitors, Tsingtao benefits from a more modern and creative image. In spite of its historical legacy, it concurrently radiates a youthful, western-tinged playfulness. This brand image greatly appeals to its young and domestic target consumers, who have been turning to foreign and imported alcohol brands at the same time as their purchase powers have been increasing. The English language advertisement can therefore also be interpreted as an attempt to attract this rising class of Xiao Zi, or Chinese “yuppies.”

Bridging East and West

The conclusion that we can draw from Tsingtao’s advertising campaign is that through emphasizing its Chinese roots while calling on trendy Western associations, the brand is positioning itself as a bridge between eastern and western culture. This is consistent with the history of the brand, which was originally founded by Germans in China 1903.

But will the Tsingtao beer dilute its brand esteem and knowledge by appearing both local and foreign? Can a brand be both East and West at the same time, even if their target consumers are? We will have to wait to discover the long term effects such a brand image might have on Tsingtao’s brand equity.