Annoying "Study Chinese in China" banner

[Manuel]

Yes, I know many males don't come to China just to learn Chinese, but every time I come to Chinse-Forums the first thing I see at the top of the page is this:

 

 

Why not use a bloke instead of a lady? Answer: because they know more foreign males than females come to China, and men are more sexual-focused, which increases the chances of horny prospective male students clicking the banner. Personally, I think they would get more clicks if the lady was topless.

[OneEye]

Do you think you may be overthinking it just a bit?

 

I've been told it was sexist not to have any women in my company's videos (the founders are all male, and no women volunteered...should we have forced them?). Now you're complaining about having a woman in an ad. It seems no matter what you do, somebody will find a way to complain about it.

 

And is it accurate to claim that "men are more sexual-focused?" Are women not (just as) interested in sex?

 

And interestingly, studies have found that both men and women respond better to a female voice giving directions than to a male voice. Could it be that the same is true of having a female in an ad? Perhaps both sexes prefer a woman in the ad.

 

So where's the problem here? It seems like you're really reaching. And shouldn't you be talking to the company who made the ad and paid for it to be placed at Chinese-forums rather than venting about it here?

[imron]

but every time I come to Chinse-Forums the first thing I see at the top of the page is this:

This problem is easily solved by clicking 'remember me' on the login box.  I haven't seen an ad on Chinese-forums for years.  (Edit:, I mean a big picture ad, obviously there are the list of sponsors on the main page)

 

 

 

Personally, I think they would get more clicks if the lady was topless.

It's been tried before.  Not sure how successful they were.

[edelweis]

hm

I must be missing something?

Where does Manuel say that the ad is sexist?

Where does he say having women in ads is sexist?

Someone is overreacting/overthinking but I don't think it's Manuel.

[OneEye]

Fair enough, he didn't say it. But he certainly seems unhappy about there being a woman in the ad.

 

Post modified accordingly.

[edelweis]

Perhaps it makes visiting the forum awkward for a young man who lives in his mother's house.

Edit: well, maybe I mistook Manuel for sujeto...

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/29068-is-cucas-legit/?p=344913

[Demonic_Duck]

Using faces to humanise a product in advertising is a pretty well-known technique. I mean, sure, so is sex appeal, but honestly, the fact that they used a female face hardly indicates that they're trying to use sex appeal to sell the product. There's nothing sexualised about the image - it's just a smiling face. I would assume that she is intended to represent a Chinese teacher, rather than a potential girlfriend (otherwise, why does she appear in an advert for learning Chinese, rather than an ad for one of those "Asian dating services"?) In which case, it makes sense to use a Chinese woman, as the vast majority of Chinese teachers are both Chinese and female.

[Manuel]

This was merely my "random thought of the day" and I thought it would be fun to spark up a discussion. As a bloke, who by the way hasn't lived at his parents' since age 18, I think it's rather pleasant to be greeted by a beautiful smiley female face, and I was only wondering how female forum members would view this kind of ad. Turns out I've learnt other things in the process too! I don't have a problem with the pic in the ad at all by the way, keep 'em coming, but IMO it is still an artfully insinuating, tried-n-tested, marketing gimmick the likes of which have been seen many times before.

[Demonic_Duck]

Annoying "Study Chinese in China" banner

 

I think it's rather pleasant to be greeted by a beautiful smiley female face

 

(Emphases mine.) Aren't "annoying" and "pleasant" mutually exclusive? Seems like you're backtracking now.

 

Without changing the gender, how would you change the image to make it less sexualised? Have her frowning instead of smiling? Have her wearing a niqab? Have a disclaimer at the bottom stating "the model used in this advert has taken a vow of chastity"?

[imron]

Aren't "annoying" and "pleasant" mutually exclusive?

I can sort see where he's coming from.

 

The picture itself can be seen as pleasant, but the idea behind the motivation for using it in an ad can be annoying.

 

I'd be fairly certain that having a picture of a woman on the ad almost certainly generates more clicks than if it had been a man.  I'm also fairly sure that's why the creators of the ad chose to use a female face, and so I can see why and how it would cause resentment among people who don't like ads that try to manipulate them (it's the same reason I hate things priced at 0.99 or 9.99).

 

Many years back I stopped using Lang-8 over the ads they had.  It's not quite similar to the ad in the OP, because these were ads about online dating, but they way they did it meant that you had pictures of pretty Asian women plastered all over your screen and no way to turn them off - I even lodged a feature request asking to introduce a paid version without the ads, because anyone who didn't understand Chinese who was looking at my screen would just see a mass of Chinese characters and then ads in English saying 'date Asian women' and draw very wrong conclusions.

[Shelley]

As a women I am not at all bothered by that one, for me its the one next to that, that has lately been a very scantily clad woman in a provocative position advertising umm i can't remember (so that really works ) I suppose I try to ignore it so never pay attention to the content.

 

I think I understand that the ad on the right is static but the one on the left is "random" so I don't suppose the content can be controlled. But it would be nice if they had some connection to the forum content.

 

I am not overly put out by any of the ads as I am usually signed in before I have to spend too long looking at them.

[Bad Cao Cao]

Annoying "White Knight in Chinese Forums" OP.

[geraldc]

Look how they advertise tutors in Hong Kong, they are styled to  look like models!

 

http://world.time.com/2013/12/30/rich-and-famous-why-hong-kongs-private-tutors-are-millionaire-idols/

 

With the banner ad, there's always a chance it's not a stock photo, but an actual tutor

[Xiao Kui]

There might be something to your theory, since I as a female, am always greeted by this shuaige ;)

[Shelley]

Ah interesting, I get both randomly, sometimes 3 days in row I get her then 4 days I get him and so on. Maybe they are not sure what I am!!!

[XiaoXi]

I think it appeals to both sexes because does nobody else look at that picture and see a man dressed up as a woman? Certainly not the most feminine looking woman that's for sure.

[Demonic_Duck]

Well now, that's just unkind. I'd say she's quite attractive, but certainly not "unrealistic supermodel-level attractive", hence why OP's objections make no sense.

[XiaoXi]

Well they do say the kind of Chinese girls foreigners find attractive look very different to the kind Chinese people find attractive - maybe that's why.

[Shelley]

Yes, she is probably a real tutor/teacher as per geraldc's post #13. And she does have a very pleasant smile.

[Lu]

As a woman I find it mildly annoying that it's usually attractive women who are used for such ads, for exactly the reasonds Imron and Manuel stated. But there are worse offenders, so while this ad is part of the big pattern, I don't mind this one in particular all that much. (Or wouldn't mind it if I'd see it, which I don't.)