let the whitening begin

Essentially the polar opposite of our obsession with beautifully tanned bodies, is China's obsession with pasty, white skin. In China, to have tan skin is the social equivalent of being a farmer - and not in the sexy, shirtless on a tractor kind of way, but the bottom of the food-chain, class-caste system way.

Whenever you buy skin products in China, you have to be so careful as to whether or not they have skin bleaching elements in them (almost all do).

Facials are so cheap in Beijing and because the climate is so dry, many people get them on a regular basis - a luxury I wouldn't dream of back in the US! Upon returning from a trip home to Florida, the conversation with the facialist always goes something like this:
Me - enter room feeling gorgeous with my sun-kissed skin (yet proud that I used sunscreen and didn't burn!)
Facialist: Your skin is too black. We should use the bleaching product.
Me: Gasps in horror - No! Foreigners like their skin to be a little tan, a responsible amount of sunshine is good for you (ie I don't carry umbrellas in the sunshine).
Facialist: No, why do you want to look like a peasant?
Me: It's just a tan!
Facialist: You should bleach now, skin too black.

Then I have to check that she doesn't switch products on me and try to trick me into bleaching my face! Sometimes you see girls here who are so pretty, but their face doesn't quite match their body, the pigment has been somehow damaged by their skin creams - scary!

Copyranter brought my attention to this hilarious Beijing ad for a whitening product, using non other than the Prince of Pop as their spokesperson (probably illegally!). Is that really the best product positioning? I mean, I appreciate breaking from the norm (boring photoshopped women rubbing whitening cream on their face) as much as the next person, but really...