Currently, SK II is the No. 1 Cosmetic brand in SEA (don't know about HK and China as I'm not familiar with these markets). Lauder has dropped a couple of notches in its ranking in SEA since the 90s. Shiseido is doing worse. The problem with Lauder is that it is associated with the older generation and known as a brand used by "older/mature" women. During their "hey" days Lauder and Shiseido were always trading places at the No. 1 and 2 spots in terms of cosmetics sales in SEA. But with the introduction of so many new brands with hipper images that appeal to the younger generation, competition has been very stiff in the cosmetics industry.

Refering back to what NSF has mentioned earlier, the Asian women can relate better to an Asian counterpart in Jessica than someone like Gwyneth Paltrow. Using Jessica as a rep for Lauder in the Far East and SEA would be a smart move for Lauder. Usage of these 30 or 45 seconds TVC would however have to be very market specific due to local demographics and legislations. For example, using Jessica to push Lauder in India or the Mid-east won't work.

As for legislation, I do know that some countries would require that you use only local talents for production of TVCs. For example, in Malaysia, for every single foreign talent you use, you have to use another 10 local talents in the same TVC! (Though I have noticed that they sometimes seem to be lax in control in some instances). The Jessica ad idea would not fly in these countries.

At the end of the day, to use only locally produced full 30 or 45 seconds TVCs or not is a decision that can only be made by the board in Lauder's New York office. Brand image is very important in the cosmetics industry. Producng a cosmetics TVC is very different from producing a TVC for a bar of chocolate... Tight controls from the Head Office is inevitable. What the Hong Kong Lauder Team did was to piggyback the 10-second Jessica ad to the main International commercial to specifically target the local market. They are not allowed by the New York Office to use a full locally produced commercial. That is why Jessica's portion of the ad is only 10 seconds.

Lastly, I do believe strongly that part of the reason why SK II does so well in SEA and the Far East, is their strategy in using Sammi Cheng to promote their products in these markets.

though Jess just appears in 10 seconds in this CF but it's really great and worth seeing . I hope that it'll be showed in Viet Nam.

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Replying to:

Currently, SK II is the No. 1 Cosmetic brand in SEA (don't know about HK and China as I'm not familiar with these markets). Lauder has dropped a couple of notches in its ranking in SEA since the 90s. Shiseido is doing worse. The problem with Lauder is that it is associated with the older generation and known as a brand used by "older/mature" women. During their "hey" days Lauder and Shiseido were always trading places at the No. 1 and 2 spots in terms of cosmetics sales in SEA. But with the introduction of so many new brands with hipper images that appeal to the younger generation, competition has been very stiff in the cosmetics industry.

Refering back to what NSF has mentioned earlier, the Asian women can relate better to an Asian counterpart in Jessica than someone like Gwyneth Paltrow. Using Jessica as a rep for Lauder in the Far East and SEA would be a smart move for Lauder. Usage of these 30 or 45 seconds TVC would however have to be very market specific due to local demographics and legislations. For example, using Jessica to push Lauder in India or the Mid-east won't work.

As for legislation, I do know that some countries would require that you use only local talents for production of TVCs. For example, in Malaysia, for every single foreign talent you use, you have to use another 10 local talents in the same TVC! (Though I have noticed that they sometimes seem to be lax in control in some instances). The Jessica ad idea would not fly in these countries.

At the end of the day, to use only locally produced full 30 or 45 seconds TVCs or not is a decision that can only be made by the board in Lauder's New York office. Brand image is very important in the cosmetics industry. Producng a cosmetics TVC is very different from producing a TVC for a bar of chocolate... Tight controls from the Head Office is inevitable. What the Hong Kong Lauder Team did was to piggyback the 10-second Jessica ad to the main International commercial to specifically target the local market. They are not allowed by the New York Office to use a full locally produced commercial. That is why Jessica's portion of the ad is only 10 seconds.

Lastly, I do believe strongly that part of the reason why SK II does so well in SEA and the Far East, is their strategy in using Sammi Cheng to promote their products in these markets.

I do have a tendency to be long-winded in my writings....

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Replying to:

Currently, SK II is the No. 1 Cosmetic brand in SEA (don't know about HK and China as I'm not familiar with these markets). Lauder has dropped a couple of notches in its ranking in SEA since the 90s. Shiseido is doing worse. The problem with Lauder is that it is associated with the older generation and known as a brand used by "older/mature" women. During their "hey" days Lauder and Shiseido were always trading places at the No. 1 and 2 spots in terms of cosmetics sales in SEA. But with the introduction of so many new brands with hipper images that appeal to the younger generation, competition has been very stiff in the cosmetics industry.

Refering back to what NSF has mentioned earlier, the Asian women can relate better to an Asian counterpart in Jessica than someone like Gwyneth Paltrow. Using Jessica as a rep for Lauder in the Far East and SEA would be a smart move for Lauder. Usage of these 30 or 45 seconds TVC would however have to be very market specific due to local demographics and legislations. For example, using Jessica to push Lauder in India or the Mid-east won't work.

As for legislation, I do know that some countries would require that you use only local talents for production of TVCs. For example, in Malaysia, for every single foreign talent you use, you have to use another 10 local talents in the same TVC! (Though I have noticed that they sometimes seem to be lax in control in some instances). The Jessica ad idea would not fly in these countries.

At the end of the day, to use only locally produced full 30 or 45 seconds TVCs or not is a decision that can only be made by the board in Lauder's New York office. Brand image is very important in the cosmetics industry. Producng a cosmetics TVC is very different from producing a TVC for a bar of chocolate... Tight controls from the Head Office is inevitable. What the Hong Kong Lauder Team did was to piggyback the 10-second Jessica ad to the main International commercial to specifically target the local market. They are not allowed by the New York Office to use a full locally produced commercial. That is why Jessica's portion of the ad is only 10 seconds.

Lastly, I do believe strongly that part of the reason why SK II does so well in SEA and the Far East, is their strategy in using Sammi Cheng to promote their products in these markets.

Thanks Bubbles, for enlightening us on the workings of the cosmetics industry. I never knew there's so much legislation governing the TV ads for cosmetics. It's been very educational for me after reading your post.

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Replying to:

Currently, SK II is the No. 1 Cosmetic brand in SEA (don't know about HK and China as I'm not familiar with these markets). Lauder has dropped a couple of notches in its ranking in SEA since the 90s. Shiseido is doing worse. The problem with Lauder is that it is associated with the older generation and known as a brand used by "older/mature" women. During their "hey" days Lauder and Shiseido were always trading places at the No. 1 and 2 spots in terms of cosmetics sales in SEA. But with the introduction of so many new brands with hipper images that appeal to the younger generation, competition has been very stiff in the cosmetics industry.

Refering back to what NSF has mentioned earlier, the Asian women can relate better to an Asian counterpart in Jessica than someone like Gwyneth Paltrow. Using Jessica as a rep for Lauder in the Far East and SEA would be a smart move for Lauder. Usage of these 30 or 45 seconds TVC would however have to be very market specific due to local demographics and legislations. For example, using Jessica to push Lauder in India or the Mid-east won't work.

As for legislation, I do know that some countries would require that you use only local talents for production of TVCs. For example, in Malaysia, for every single foreign talent you use, you have to use another 10 local talents in the same TVC! (Though I have noticed that they sometimes seem to be lax in control in some instances). The Jessica ad idea would not fly in these countries.

At the end of the day, to use only locally produced full 30 or 45 seconds TVCs or not is a decision that can only be made by the board in Lauder's New York office. Brand image is very important in the cosmetics industry. Producng a cosmetics TVC is very different from producing a TVC for a bar of chocolate... Tight controls from the Head Office is inevitable. What the Hong Kong Lauder Team did was to piggyback the 10-second Jessica ad to the main International commercial to specifically target the local market. They are not allowed by the New York Office to use a full locally produced commercial. That is why Jessica's portion of the ad is only 10 seconds.

Lastly, I do believe strongly that part of the reason why SK II does so well in SEA and the Far East, is their strategy in using Sammi Cheng to promote their products in these markets.

I must thank you too for your numerous contributions in translating all the articles/newsprints. I've learned a few Chinese phrases (those beyond my limited Mandarin vocab) from your postings too!

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Replying to:

Thanks Bubbles, for enlightening us on the workings of the cosmetics industry. I never knew there's so much legislation governing the TV ads for cosmetics. It's been very educational for me after reading your post.

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Replying to:

Currently, SK II is the No. 1 Cosmetic brand in SEA (don't know about HK and China as I'm not familiar with these markets). Lauder has dropped a couple of notches in its ranking in SEA since the 90s. Shiseido is doing worse. The problem with Lauder is that it is associated with the older generation and known as a brand used by "older/mature" women. During their "hey" days Lauder and Shiseido were always trading places at the No. 1 and 2 spots in terms of cosmetics sales in SEA. But with the introduction of so many new brands with hipper images that appeal to the younger generation, competition has been very stiff in the cosmetics industry.

Refering back to what NSF has mentioned earlier, the Asian women can relate better to an Asian counterpart in Jessica than someone like Gwyneth Paltrow. Using Jessica as a rep for Lauder in the Far East and SEA would be a smart move for Lauder. Usage of these 30 or 45 seconds TVC would however have to be very market specific due to local demographics and legislations. For example, using Jessica to push Lauder in India or the Mid-east won't work.

As for legislation, I do know that some countries would require that you use only local talents for production of TVCs. For example, in Malaysia, for every single foreign talent you use, you have to use another 10 local talents in the same TVC! (Though I have noticed that they sometimes seem to be lax in control in some instances). The Jessica ad idea would not fly in these countries.

At the end of the day, to use only locally produced full 30 or 45 seconds TVCs or not is a decision that can only be made by the board in Lauder's New York office. Brand image is very important in the cosmetics industry. Producng a cosmetics TVC is very different from producing a TVC for a bar of chocolate... Tight controls from the Head Office is inevitable. What the Hong Kong Lauder Team did was to piggyback the 10-second Jessica ad to the main International commercial to specifically target the local market. They are not allowed by the New York Office to use a full locally produced commercial. That is why Jessica's portion of the ad is only 10 seconds.

Lastly, I do believe strongly that part of the reason why SK II does so well in SEA and the Far East, is their strategy in using Sammi Cheng to promote their products in these markets.