Foreign Artist Questions Whether M’sians Relate to White Models on Ads After Seeing Them Everywhere

One thing about Malaysia is that often times, you would only see Caucasian or Pan Asian models on advertisements promoting cosmetics or clothing.

Even for some local traditional wear advertisements, you’d see Caucasian models donning the attire instead of local models.

A foreign artists living in Kuala Lumpur, Sara Ryan, took to her TikTok page to question whether Malaysian women actually relate to Caucasian models when they see them on advertisement everywhere we go.

She wrote, “I’m not judging, I only want to share my thoughts, what do you think?”

In the video, Sara could be seen at a train station somewhere in Kuala Lumpur, where she noticed an cosmetics advertisements with Caucasian models pasted on almost all of the doorways.

“This brand thought it would be a good idea to use all the white models to promote their brand, and I mean, look,” she said as she showed the advertisements behind her.

“Well, they’re pretty but, I mean, why not local models? I mean, they could use local models, right? Malaysia has a lot of beautiful models, beautiful faces and people can relate (to them). But this one, I don’t know, you tell me. Can you (Malaysians) relate to this?” she asked as she gestured to one of the advertisements with a Caucasian model.

You can check out her video here: 

@sarainkualalumpur

Im not judging , I only wanted to share my thoughts , what do you think? #modelingmalaysia #asianmodels #modelsasia

♬ original sound – Sara Ryan – Sara Ryan

What do you think? Should brands start hiring and utilising more local, Malaysian models in their advertisements?

Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.

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