Marketing Japanese Products in the Context of Chinese Nationalism

摘要

This paper examines the rise of consumer nationalism in China through an in-depthrnanalysis of two recent controversial Japanese ad campaigns. I situate the analysis in thernsociopolitical and cultural contexts of contemporary China. I argue that Japanesernproducers shoulder a particular burden of history as expressed in consumer nationalism,rnwhich is a combination of the production and reproduction of Japanese imperial history,rnthe construction of Chinese identity, the expression of dissatisfaction toward the Chineserngovernment and consumerist ethos in the context of globalization. The Internet hasrnbecome a crucial space that organizes Chinese consumer nationalism and enablesrnconsumers to feel a sense of empowerment when they express complaints with therncontroversial ads. Consumer nationalism in China can also be understood as whatrnBenedict Anderson (1991) calls an ‘‘imagined community’’ that attempts to unite thernChinese in a problematic way.