The Pros And Cons Of Individualism

1422 Words6 Pages

According to Hofstede’s Model, individualism is referred to a loosely-knit social framework. This means that individuals tend to care only for themselves and their own families, rather than the whole society. The term “collectivism”, on the other hand, can be defined as a preference for a tightly-knit framework, this kind of society represents individuals that are expected to think and take care of other members of the group and the society as a whole. The difference between these two divisions can be determined in terms of people’s self-image. People in collectivistic countries tend to live in terms of “we”, while people in individualistic countries prefer “I” position in their lives. Regarding these two dimensions (individualism vs collectivism), …show more content…

Nike’s TV commercial "Chamber of Fear" was introduced as a creative, inventive and well-intentioned advertisement in China, but quickly became involved in cultural disputes after its debut. Although social networking was not so developed back to that days, the information was spread so fast that after several days more than 900 messages of the Chinese citizens have been posted on several major Chinese websites. After this wave of discontent, Chinese authorities have banned this commercial. According to the State Administration of Television, Film and Radio (2004), the commercial “violates regulations that mandate that all advertisements in China should uphold national dignity and interest and respect the motherland's culture”. Moreover, the administration claimed that “It also goes against the rules that require ads not to contain content that blasphemes national practices and cultures”. This situation shows how strongly society can affect the course of events. Although foreigners do not catch and understand why this advertisement caused such a heated controversy among Chinese citizens, after reading the unflattering comments, they realised how Nike’s commercial offended Chinese cultural values which lead to impairment of people's perception towards the brand