In China, the female labour force has contributed significantly to the booming of the economy in recent years, and remains even more so during the global pandemic. The women-targeted market, or what is referred to as the ‘she economy’, is a competitive field where brands introduce progressive marketing strategies to garner women’s attention, keep them engaged and secure market share. In May this year, Victoria’s Secret in China has launched its latest campaign featuring three new top-tiered female celebrities, who are perceived by some as ‘not necessarily sexy in a traditional sense’.
The campaign showcases the brand’s comeback strategy since its 2019 dramatic backlash that has forced it to abandon the ‘perfect body’ marketing methods, and equally its ambition to share a lucrative ‘piece of cake’ in the Chinese market. But even with an intent to diversify representations, sexiness, although much more implicit nowadays, still pervades in the brand’s marketing concept. From this case, a timely question needs to be asked: would representing sexiness achieve a desirable result in today’s ‘she economy’ in China?
- Representing women in advertising
When it comes to female representations in marketing content, sexual imagery is often utilised to create sensory impressions and arouse reactions hardwired in human behaviour. Western brands such as Victoria’s Secret and Calvin Klein are well-known for their branded content that often results in disputes around sex and sexism. On the academic side, an analysis of the 2019 Cannes Lions Work discovered that female models are four times more likely to be represented in revealing clothing than their male counterparts.
These cases show that the distinction between femininity and sexualisation remains a grey area for many brands – while some have started to rethink the meaning of sexuality in marketing practices, most are still inclined, more or less, to conjure up the stereotypical depiction of women in constructing a momentarily close-at-hand idealised world of sensual fantasy.
Related: The New York Times: In a Long History of Sexist Ads and Outrage, It’s the Apology That’s New
In this article, the author provides a reality check of the ideas of feminism and choice in today’s social media era, and how it relates to the shifting of advertising practices in the US.
Such practices would actually do more harm than good. In China’s case, gender relationships are witnessing changes more rapidly than ever before, which underpins the ‘she economy’ where female consumers are becoming assertive in making individual choices. In other words, they are more likely to purchase products that resonate with their perceptions of gender values – yet being sexy now doesn’t seem to be falling under this umbrella.
- The changing attitudes in the ‘she economy’
According to Statista, in China the most important attributes in making a woman beautiful are happiness, kindness, confidence and dignity. Sexiness does not even rank among the top 10. This result well responds to the marketing consultancy Ipsos’ 2019 global poll on beauty where positive attributes like those mentioned are generally more celebrated than being sexy. With these preferred attributes, women in China now value the sense of inner self – being powerful and independent – and believe that only with such an individual recognition can one truly be beautiful and self-realising.
The skincare brand SK-II Change Destiny campaign is one example that resonates with the social imagination of independence and empowerment. In one of the ads, the world-record swimmer Liu Xiang was featured to face a sea monster – a manifestation of social media’s obsession with her body image instead of her actual achievements. The film ended with a powerful statement: “our looks can be judged in a second, but our achievements last a lifetime.”
However, celebrating independence and power does not always sound as positive as it may appear. In the same study by Ipsos, youthfulness is also highly valued among Chinese female consumers (65%, almost double the global average). While it is not linked to the idea of being sexy but that of self-recognition and agency, the pursuit of youthfulness is itself frenzied, considering the massive growth of the cosmetic beauty industry driven by a very young female generation. Consequently, being beautiful, other than caring for the inner self, is at the same time commodified, where the enhancement of beauty is actualised through cosmetic products and sometimes plastic surgery – for materialistic aims such as improving job prospects.
- Final thoughts
The above examples give a snapshot of the changing attitudes in the ‘she economy’ in contemporary China. The reality check itself is by all means complex and conflictual; in China’s case, the balance between the inner self and the outbound appearance remains yet to be found. Arguably, being sexy is one of the many facets that exist within these dynamics of tension, but it no longer works as it is once intended and so assured of. So, for Victoria’s Secret, other than building on existing storytelling of sexiness, the brand needs to relate to women in a more positive way; perhaps consider how happiness, kindness, confidence and dignity can be depicted to increase positive emotional engagement.
Against the same backdrop, cross-cultural marketers shall be prepared to understand the changing attitudes and behaviours of consumption, because this would ultimately determine whether the brand resonates with the values and cultural norms in society, and more importantly, appeals to their target markets.
Mark Chen 
Thank you for this article!
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