Calendar Posters and the Business Rivalry in the Tobacco Industry of Modern China, 1920s-1930s

Abstract

月份牌廣告畫在中國興起於十九世紀末，到了1920年代，可謂大行其道，各種新興行業，包括煙草、醫藥、化妝品、保險、食品等，為了推廣產品銷路，無一不利用月份牌廣告畫來大事宣傳。這些集廣告、藝術畫和月份牌三種元素的廣告畫可謂大受歡迎，流通於中國各大城市，甚至遠至海外華人社會。英美煙公司為了雄霸中國市場，一直對具威脅的南洋兄弟煙草公司虎視眈眈，不惜耗用巨大資本，於1920至1930年代掀起一場激烈的廣告戰，務求把對手擠倒。面對這場激烈的商業競爭，廣告畫的畫師都使出渾身解數，盡量繪畫能吸引消費者注意的廣告畫，創造出與傳統不同的「摩登美女」形象。由於廣告畫和其他的媒體廣告不同，主要標榜的是圖像而非文字，所以畫師們都別出心裁地設計，務求引起消費者的注意，因而運動型、吸煙型、性感型等不同女性形象一一應運而生。這一方面表現了畫師自己本身的藝術措藝，另一方面反映了商業競爭對廣告效果的需求，「摩登美女」的形象可謂完全商業化。過去，學界對月份牌廣告畫並沒有給予足夠的重視，今天這批視覺材料重新被注意，研究的角度多從美術史、視覺文化出發，以討論中國社會現代性、中國的女性形象、女性認同等問題。本文嘗試從不同渠道搜集得來的共284種煙草業的月份牌廣告畫，討論煙草業的競爭和月份牌廣告畫發展的關係，在畫師筆下，如何創造不同的「摩登美女」形象。 Calendar posters did not appear in China until the late nineteenth century, and it was not until the 1920s that major new industries emerged. These included tobacco, medicine, cosmetics, insurance and food. Big business thus coincided with the heyday of calendar posters. These posters were usually composed of three major elements: the advertisements for the merchandise; the artwork; and the actual calendar. They became popular in almost every Chinese city and even in overseas Chinese communities. When British American Tobacco, Ltd. (B.A.T.) started to operate in China in 1902, it developed a strategy to eliminate all potential competitors. Therefore, an advertising war was declared with its rival the Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Co., Ltd. In order to cater to the needs of their clients, painters of calendar posters wisely created different new images of the 'modern Chinese girl,' which successfully drew the attention of the general public. These images promoted Chinese girls as sporty, healthy, scholarly, successful in business, and even sexy, all regarded as revolutionary qualities for women. Since calendar posters differed from other modes of advertising such as newspapers, as they relied heavily on graphics rather on text, painters had to use their designs to project their image of the 'modern girl.' For example, the image of the 'smoking girl' was used to attract female smokers. This tactic on the one hand reflected the art talent of the painters, but on the other indicated the design was completely driven by commercial reasons. In the past, little attention was given to these calendar posters, but they have now become one of the major visual art materials for the study of Chinese modernity and the history of Chinese women. Based on 284 selected calendar posters of the tobacco industry, this article discusses how the images of 'modern Chinese girl' were created from the keen competition between the two tobacco giants in modern China.