Elleonor G.

Quibong BSA III

Question: Think of a cultural blunder a western brand made in our country that affect how the
Filipino buying habit.

Unilever is a corporation and it was founded in United Kingdom. This brand is well-
known not just in UK but globally. They offered different kinds of products, one of those is
Block and White Lotion. This product is a whitening lotion, which makes your skin so soft
and brighter. They used the traditional television commercial to promote their product.

It is one of the cultural blunders in the Philippines because most of Filipina here are
tan or also known as Morena. They thought that the advertisement was being racist, but the
truth it was not.

The advertisement went like this; Most Filipina girls want their skin to white because
they think it is more attractive. The commercial was dramatized by showing the two Filipinas
dragging giving their tanned friend, who loves to skate, a makeover. Applying a whitening
lotion was included to her makeover. The advertisement had a bubbly vibe, but the viewers
misinterpret the message of it. They thought that it was a racist but it was not. The
advertisement was just giving its target audience what they wanted. Furthermore, whitening
products are too hot for this country.