Bruce Lee vs. Ludwig van Beethoven
Recently the Bruce Lee Nokia campaign by JWT Beijing won another award, the Chinese Element International Creative Award. Apparently that’s no news. The same campaign won in Cannes 2009 too. Where’s the news then?
As far as I can understand, the Chinese Element Awards go to those campaigns which embed the symbols and styles of the Chinese culture. It’s a way to promote the identity and the cultural background of the country, even if it’s about selling foreign brands. In the specific case, the Chinese elements were martial arts and table tennis. The Bruce Lee-Nokia connection made me think about us, the Europeans. Will a single “European people” with a common iconic and cultural heritage ever exist? I think the European identity problem it’s not just for philosophers or sociologists. It has an impact on the communications industry too. “Indeed the European Union is really a supply sided phenomenon, harmonising production and distribution rather than demand. On January 1, 1993, an European consumer was not born”. That was written by Sir Martin Sorrell in 2007. And I think it’s still relevant. I tried hard to think about what can be the “European element”. The only ideas that came up to my mind were the European flag and the Beethoven anthem. Enough to compete with the legendary Bruce Lee? Is anybody out there ready to help me find the “European element”? And do we really need that?
