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Kal Khogali | all galleries >> Galleries >> Corporate Candids > "The Real Thing"?, Shanghai 2006
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10-FEB-2006

"The Real Thing"?, Shanghai 2006

Corporate Candids

Canon EOS 20D
1/160s f/2.8 at 70.0mm iso1600 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Guest 27-Feb-2006 09:02
Good compo, strong symbolism.
Kal Khogali26-Feb-2006 09:07
Not an urban legend Ray, but the Chinese tell me a true story...your translation of the final version is pretty much spot on...
Ray Rebortira26-Feb-2006 07:17
There is an urban legend that tells of the company's initial transliteration of the tradename into Chinese characters which read: "bite the wax tadpole!" So they went back to the drawing board and came up with four characters which phonetically sounded like Coca Cola but this time it meant "to allow the mouth to rejoice". The symbols were registered in 1928 as the real thing. Cultural sensitivity often translates into commercial success --- it is a marketing rule.
Guest 26-Feb-2006 02:58
The light of the East looks toward the West.But how devastating the consequences.The shock of cultural cross pollination can be unpredictable.Incredible vivid color.
~V!~
Guest 25-Feb-2006 18:40
Hello, Kal. It's rare I comment, but I always review your work as you post new items. I must agree 100% with Phil. This really is a wonderful example of cultural incongruity (my incongruity-related term creation hahaha). The photo shows how China is trying to integrate Western products to within defacto Chinese cultural symbols (in this case, lamps/lanterns) as a form of advertising. Keep shooting! -- Rod :)
Phil Douglis25-Feb-2006 16:09
Both you and Jen have been posting images rich in social commentary recently by contrasting East Vs. West cultural symbols. This is a wonderful example of subject incongruity, as opposed to perceptual incongruity.
The Coke shade was just sitting there, waiting for you to find it and photograph it amidst the Chinese lanterns. All you really did here was to stress the Coke lantern by including more of it, and then over-saturate the image to increase the rich colors in the scene. Perceptual incongruities, on the other hand, are not found, as this was, but made with the camera.
Marisa Livet25-Feb-2006 14:10
Just ironically splendid, I found the incredible presence only after a handful of second, at the first sight, maybe just an unconscious censorship against flashy invading presences prevented me from noticing Coca Cola .
I wanted to see only the beautiful warm colour of Chinese lanterns…
Meaningful capture, Khal!
Marisa
Craig Persel25-Feb-2006 13:18
Great concept and execution. Works on a lot of levels.
Guest 25-Feb-2006 06:03
The coke ad conflicts with the traditional looking lamps. Yes, coke is truly everywhere. Ugh.
Guest 25-Feb-2006 05:15
Have a Coke and a Smile!!!
Pathfinder25-Feb-2006 04:42
Is there anywhere in the world you can't find a coke ;-)
Kal Khogali25-Feb-2006 03:52
You inspired it, so I am sooo glad you were the first to comment ;-)) K
...duncan25-Feb-2006 03:51
Haha, Nicely done. I do prefer Pepsi though, well nothing beats a nice cuppa Earl Grey but that is another story in itself.
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