Keywords
Sensitive issues
Moderated expression
Affective narratives
Audience negotiation
Submitted : 2026-01-01
Accepted : 2026-01-16
Published : 2026-01-31
Abstract
Focusing on SK-II’s advertising campaign addressing marital pressure, this study examines how multinational brands engage with locally sensitive issues in the Chinese context. Drawing on emotional branding, post-feminist discourse, and affective publics, the study analyzes how documentary-style visuals and moderated narration transform women’s everyday experiences into shareable emotional structures while managing cultural risk. Through open-ended storytelling, the campaign enables audience reinterpretation and circulation across social media, extending beyond a commercial text into a relational medium. The findings suggest that communicative effectiveness depends on nuanced representations of lived experience and the accommodation of diverse audience interpretations.
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