微电影 | 中国剩女的广告？
In China, the phrase “leftover woman” refers to a woman who has the gall to remain single past the age of 25.
A new documentary-style commercial from SK-II, a high-end skincare brand owned by Procter & Gamble, aims to remove the stigma from this term—and empower the country’s unmarried women to find pride in their careers and devotion to finding real love.
Called “Marriage Market Takeover,” the four-minute video introduces us to several of these “sheng nu,” who talk about the riot of emotions they feel around their status as single women: sadness that are disappointing their parents, frustration with the search for a mate, and pride in their independent lives and accomplishments.
https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=g0192ndaw26&width=500&height=375&auto=0
What is SOFT SELL?
A soft sell (软广) is an advertisement or campaign that uses a more subtle, casual, or friendly sales message.
软广是运用更狡猾、更随意、更友善的销售信息进行广告的形式。
In 1914, Theodore MacManus of MacManus, John & Adams wrote the classic model of the soft-sell or "impressionistic" ad. The headline was "The penalty of leadership," and beneath it was an eloquent, thoughtful essay on the burdens of being associated with being the best in one's field.
1914年，麦克马努斯-约翰亚当斯公司的西奥多-麦克马努斯写下了软广经典——一条“印象派”广告。标题是“领导者的惩罚”，下面是一条雄辩、深刻的文章，讲述身为领域内翘楚的负担。
The copy never mentioned the advertiser, Cadillac, and no illustration accompanied the ad. It ran in The Saturday Evening Post on Jan. 2, 1915, and became one of the most influential single ads ever written.
广告没有提到广告客户凯迪拉克，也没有配图。1915年1月2日在《周六晚间邮报》刊登，成为有史以来最有影响力的广告之一。
In the 1920s and '30s, Raymond Rubicam carried on the MacManus tradition at . In radio, the agency became an early pioneer in integrating spots into the flow of comedy and variety programs. Comedian Jack Benny's commercials for Jell-O, for example, often became part of the story line of his show.
二十世纪二三十年代，雷蒙德-鲁比坎延续了麦克马努斯的传统。该广告公司将固定节目档融入喜剧和串烧节目，堪为先驱。喜剧演员杰克-本尼给吉露果冻作商业广告成为他节目的一部分。
The agency that best epitomized the soft-sell approach after World War II was Doyle Dane Bernbach. William Bernbach's approach emphasized creative execution, sometimes at the expense of content.
二战后软广的集大成者是DDB公司。威廉-波恩巴赫的风格强调创造型教育，甚至牺牲内容。
Entertainment and humor became trademarks of the Bernbach style, and both were used to gain the consumer's attention and reward those who investigated the ads more fully.
娱乐和幽默是伯恩巴赫风格的商标，两者被用来吸引消费者注意，那些仔细研究者才看得出门道。
Mr. Bernbach was responsible for a number of memorable ad campaigns. In 1962, created the "We're No. 2, we try harder" campaign for Avis Rent a Car.
伯恩巴赫出品了不少令人难忘的广告。1962年，DDB为Avis Rent a Car只做了“我们是第二名，我们更加努力”。
The agency also created the "Lemon" ad for Volkswagen. When the VW Beetle ad debuted in 1960, the concept of humorously disparaging the advertised product was quite radical; the "Lemon" ad thus represented the birth of irony in modern advertising.
公司还给大众公司创作了“柠檬”。大众的甲壳虫广告1960年上市时，幽默的贬损广告标的实在极端，“柠檬”代表了现代广告中反讽手法的诞生。
译者注：“柠檬”在美国俚语中指“残次品”。柠檬市场效应则是指在信息不对称的情况下，往往好的商品遭受淘汰，而劣等品会逐渐占领市场，从而取代好的商品，导致市场中都是劣等品，二手车销售市场是典型的柠檬市场。
下面这段视频是百事可乐猴年在中国地区投放的电影广告，讲述了六小龄童从一个书呆子成为猴王的故事。这段广告有这样的背景，六小龄童近年来对广告订单有了明确要求，和早年间金猴皮鞋不同，他婉拒以孙悟空形象说广告词，不亲自喊产品名称，这给了广告商挑战，也是机遇。这段广告中，有观众对六小龄童说：“祝您百事可乐。”他回答：“未来看你们的了。”巧妙实现了这一要求。
https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=a01785stnrw&width=500&height=375&auto=0
近年来，中国公司也在探索拍摄类似软广告，去年比较火的是下面这段南航的南疆少年足球梦。
https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=h017996d3ej&width=500&height=375&auto=0
百事和南航的广告都抓住了you can be anything you like这一美国好莱坞式的梦想，构思制作均属上乘，笔者看来唯一可改进之处，尤其南航广告，还可以更“软”，南航只需轻轻飘过即可，不要低估了国内观众的理解程度。
Quiz
微电影名称“Marriage Market Takeover”该如何翻译？请评论回复。