Jamaican culture. Trini culture.

While viewing the final of the Magnum King and Queen of Dancehall competition on Jamaican television last week, I saw an ad that startled me and I remained in that state long after its thirty seconds had elapsed. There she was, this midnight black , loud mouth woman with a row of missing front teeth on an ad for Worldnet Investment, a finance company.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WydBJd6X4lg

The woman looked like some I had seen being interviewed during the earlier news report on TVJ so I thought it a real individual. With the tagline, “A loan fi everybody”, I understood Worldnet’s choice to have this “lower bracket” person in their communications. People such as her contribute on a major scale to their client base. Of course I immediately thought about Trinidad and wondered if we would do something like that. I think not. Our cultures are different. From my observations of Jamaica and conversations with Jamaicans, the different aspects that constitutes their culture is acknowledged and held up to say, “This is Jamaica”, both ends of the spectrum. What I have seen in Trinidad is that despite the target or client base may primarily constitute the “grass roots” people, we are told that the ad should reflect the target, “but don’t go too grass roots.” I remember speaking to a coworker some years ago about one of our clients. Their major clientèle was the common man, but the campaigns were always full of sophistication. I told her that I found this odd. “Shouldn’t the messages be a little more down market?” I said. She agreed that their audience was of the “folk” but the company wanted to present a high end image. I found that interesting.

Now, please, before the detractors come screaming, I am not saying that either approach is better. I am just observing the difference of the cultures. It highlight to me more the importance of doing research on a foreign culture in order to be in touch with the nuances there on the odd occasion when we have to create work for an external territory.

NOTA BENI: The video I posted is not the one I had seen during the commercial break. The one I saw had her speaking even in more the vernacular and louder. I could not find it on Youtube. Anyway, I later discovered that the woman in the ad is a character called Delcita Coldwater played by Jamaican actress, Andrea Wright. The frank speaking Delcita is somewhat like our Philomena. She is quite popular and has been appearing in a number of successful stage shows since her debut in 1996.

Have a look at the woman behind the mask. It’s an amazing difference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv9wbxo7wjI&NR=1

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