Yang Bo, Vice President of Aigo Digital Technology Co. Ltd., spoke to ChinAfrica about the advertisement and Sino-Africa cultural and economic exchanges.

Could you introduce the advert?

I didn't realize the advertisement is the first one ever shown on the Internet of the Chinese mainland that is about Africa. We feel privileged to be the first company to shoot such an ad, especially knowing that we are contributing to economic and cultural exchanges between China and Africa.

The product promoted in the advertisement is a hi-tech digital item, combining the functions of storage, player and editor in one. It holds huge storage capacity, in a small, lightweight format. The advertisement shows the product's durability.    

Why did Aigo choose to promote its products by shooting a film of Chinese in Africa?

There are three reasons.

First, we need an advertisement to promote our brand to compete against other domestic companies like Epson who have set their eyes on the African market. Some products manufactured by Aigo have been sold in Africa.

Second, it is a good way to exhibit our products. As is well-known to all and is shown in the ad, Africa is typified by remote places that suffer from poor transportation and communication infrastructure. The ad proves our products can be safely used there. Therefore, consumers from all over the world can feel confident about the durability of our products.

Third, I believe the advertisement might inspire many Chinese to travel to Africa for tourism or business purposes.

Will the advert be broadcast in Africa?

It will be broadcast in Africa as long as possible. We will dub it with local languages so viewing audiences in African countries can understand our vital message for them.

Due to differences between China and Africa, particularly cultural ones, we must make our marketing strategies comprehensible to local people while we expand our business into Africa. To some extent, advertisement is an "international language," and can be a messenger for China-Africa economic and cultural exchanges. Even if the dialogue of the advertisement is deleted, audiences, whether African or Chinese, can still understand it.

Making it understandable and acceptable to local people is always our principle of conducting external economic and cultural exchanges. Aigo has been a multinational corporation whose business has expanded to countries across the world and is now moving into the Africa market. Communicating with locals through advertisements has proven to be a success. For example, we used a local agent who owns a television broadcasting station in Mexico and the promotion of our products there became a success as whenever people turn on the TV, they will see our company's advertisement, making locals aware of Aigo, Chinese people and Chinese products.  

What kind of African elements were shown in the advert?

First of all, we chose an actor from an African country to play a character in the advertisement. He performs in a plain, sincere and natural way. In the 44-second long ad, he acts as a driver and guide, who makes five gestures; giving directions to show his faithfulness and dedication to work; patting shoulders to reveal his friendliness and kindness; holding up the thumb to show his passion; stretching this hands to express his worries about Chinese friends who are in trouble; and dancing since he's happy knowing his friends have escaped troubles. All his gestures show dedication, hospitality, agreeableness and resiliency of the African people. His personality contrasts with the tough environment in Africa, enriching the story and easing audience's feelings of tension at the same time. Most importantly, his personality represents the mainstream culture of Africa.