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of a foreign and fascinating “Far East” and next as the Tiger Beer And The site of a mystical and deliberately hyperreal4 “Shangri- 1 la”. In each case, Tiger Beer now positions itself as a Making Of “Asia” cultural comprador between the modern West and an In pursuit of commercial success, Tiger exoticized “Asia”. ! is schizophrenic brand image— Beer often negotiates contradictory identifi ed as a potential brand weakness (Temporal constructions of “Asia” through con! ict- 2006)—might, at fi rst glance, be thought to be a con- sequence of the nature of a global capitalism that is ing marketing strategies and advertis- becoming increasingly fragmented and disjointed in ing campaigns. What does this tell us appearance (Dirlik 2005). However, rather than po- about Tiger Beer and its relationship sition Tiger Beer’s quest to construct multiple and with the region in times of late global disjunctive imaginings of “Asia” in pursuit of global capitalism? capitalist success as sign of postmodern disorienta- tion, I conclude instead that one might, in fact, dis- cern a constant epistemological relationship between SelvaRaj, Christopher Tiger Beer, fi gured always as the hidden “West”, and its shifting regional consciousness of “Asia”, fi gured as a constantly refashioned Other.

Brewed with a Passion: National The Double-Life of Tiger Beer? deterritorialization and “Asian” n the context of contemporary global capitalism, reterritorialization” Tiger Beer has become a powerful brand that is rapidly gaining a foothold in markets all over ! e challenge is how to turn a successful Singa- theI world (Temporal 2006). It has today matured porean brand into an Asian brand and then into a into a ‘pan-Asian beer brand eclipsing the Southeast world brand. ! is is a beer that has a strong heri- Asian market[,] and [is] regarded as a premium Asian tage here (Singapore). How do we take it overseas beer brand in markets outside of Asia’ (Temporal and create the same sort of distinctive positioning 2006:110). In its pursuit of commercial success, Tiger when it’s not their local beer? Beer has however had to traverse multiple—and of- tentimes, contradictory—constructions of the ‘supra- (Les Buckley, quoted in Tan 2000)5 national regionalist imaginary’ (Ching 2001:234) that is “Asia”. ! is essay therefore aims to investigate Tiger Tiger Beer is the fl agship brand of Asia Pacifi c Beer’s intriguing ‘multi-pronged brand positioning’ Breweries Limited (APBL).6 Its roots date back to the (Temporal 2006:112) through a comparative analysis joint venture between Heineken and Fraser & Neave of its marketing strategies and advertising campaigns in 1931 that culminated in the establishment of Ma- employed within as well as outside the region.2 layan Breweries Limited (MBL). In 1932, MBL opened its fi rst brewery; soon after, Tiger Beer was launched Leo Ching (2001) proposes that the regionalist as an original Singapore-brewed beer (APBL 2002). unity of “Asia” is one accomplished through the play Signifi cantly, “Tiger” was the name chosen for this of identity and diff erence. Accordingly, I argue that particular brew of beer because it suggested strength “Asia”, as imagined by Tiger Beer, must be understood in the Chinese culture (Temporal 2006). In 1990, as a site of multiple discursive constructions: as a ‘ter- MBL changed its name to APBL to refl ect an increas- rain “in between” a geographic reality and constructed ing vision for its business interests: a strong foothold discursivity’ (Ching 2001:238) that strategically nego- in the large Asia-Pacifi c market. APBL has continued tiates identity and diff erence. I move fi rst to consider to expand since then, actively evaluating and seizing the historical origins of Tiger Beer, its deterritorializa- new opportunities, eventually cementing Tiger Beer’s tion3 from its origins in Singapore and its subsequent presence—and hitting paydirt—in the region (see reterritorialization as “Asian”. Signifi cantly, I high- Temporal 2006, Teh 2001, Tan 2000, Chong 2001). light that regional unity as discursively constructed by Tiger Beer within the geographic expanse of Asia is APBL’s expansion and Tiger Beer’s “colonization” one congealed around an identifi cation with, and ac- of the Asia-Pacifi c market must be considered in the ceptance of, capitalist modernity. Notably, Tiger Beer context of the logic of global—in this case, regional- also presents itself as the exclusive means through ized—capitalism. I suggest that we witness in APBL’s which this regional unity might be achieved. expansion the attempted surmounting of a funda- mental contradiction within capitalist development: Following this, I move to investigate Tiger Beer’s between the increasingly transnational nature of capi- apparently disjunctive constructions of “Asia” in mar- tal and its historical formation within a nationalized kets exterior to the geographic region; fi rst, as the site economy (Ching 2001). In keeping with this logic, Ti- Volume 2, Issue 1, August 2009 | 85 ger Beer must refuse to be ‘hampered by [its] country Paradoxically however, diff erence is always high- of origin’ (Temporal 2006:xii), in its own ‘narrative lighted: of capitalist emergence’ (Wee 2007:53). ! e clearest example of this refusal is found in the current main Tiger Beer is an Asian brand that means lots of Tiger Beer website (www.tigerbeer.com). ! is website things to diff erent people. conspicuously lacks any mention whatsoever of Tiger Beer’s historical origins. ! e telling absence of a ter- (Jeff Kimble, quoted in Tan 2000)10 ritorializing cyberspace domain (‘.sg’) might also be read as further cementing Tiger Beer’s refusal to re- Tiger Beer’s intentions for a totalizing narrative of main “nationally” grounded. ! ere is simply no refer- a modernizing Asia under the brands exclusive tute- ence to Singapore.7 Instead, a substantial emphasis is lage reveals its impossibility because of its continued placed on the numerous awards, accolades and rec- dependency on the ‘supplementarity of the particu- ognition Tiger Beer has received over the years. Also, laristic’ (Prakash 2000:229) to perpetuate its cause.11 its growing international reputation and its emerging While there is a kernel of truth in Marx’s axiom that status as ‘World Acclaimed’ is constantly and explic- capitalism ‘create[s] a world after its own image’ (Ch- itly highlighted. All that is mentioned with regards to ing 2001:236), the picture is perhaps still much too Tiger Beer’s origins is a single but deliberately notice- simple. Tiger Beer’s construction of a “modern Asia” able line: ‘Brewed with a passion in Asia since 1932’ conducive to its pursuit of capitalist success within (www.tigerbeer.com). the geographic region off ers us valuable insight into a more complex and unstable scenario. In this instance, ! is move is a strategic one. As Wee (2007: 53 - Tiger Beer, while no doubt successful in its attempt to 76) has noted in a diff erent context,8 this represents transcend national boundaries through its construc- the moment when the modern West that is already tion of a “modern Asia(n)” regional identity, must “inside” the origins of Tiger Beer and its enterprise always continue to appropriate elements from the lo- is purposefully hidden. ! e West in this case is rep- cal. An “Asia” defi ned by its embracing of capitalist resented by the unmistakably colonial origins of Ti- modernity under the auspices of Tiger Beer is then at ger Beer as a result of the venture between Dutch best confi gured as a contradictorily heterogeneous yet based Heineken and Fraser & Neave that established simultaneously unifi ed ‘emerging region’ (Gwynne, the MBL. Tiger Beer is now, however, reformulated Klak and Shaw 2003:225). and reterritorialized as distinctly and indigenously “Asian”. Any links that might suggest otherwise are deliberately obscured. Tiger Beer next seeks to shape The “Asia” of Marvel and Mystery: Tiger a regionalist unity through its construction of the Beer as the “Far East’s” most desirable “discerning Asia(n)” that (who) can appreciate Tiger Beer’s ‘fresh, crisp and unique taste’9 and in doing so export ‘set [himself] apart from the rest of the crowd’ (Tem- poral 2006:111). One’s identity as “Asian” is therefore In comparison with Tiger Beer’s positioning of not based exclusively on one’s geographical location itself as the harbinger of capitalist modernity within or residence but premised fi rst and foremost on one’s the geographic region of Asia, its image in markets ability to enjoy a “distinctly Asian” product. outside the region, at fi rst glance, is nothing short of disjunctive. In the next two sections, the focus of my Importantly, there is the implicit assertion here analysis is on Tiger Beer’s representation of “Asia” to that not all “Asians” possess the capacity to enjoy Ti- markets outside the geographical region as ‘exotic and ger Beer as of yet—in fact, this lack of ability is to be fascinating’ (Temporal 2006:112). ! e global (read expected. ! ere is at this point a deliberate fi ssuring Western) consumer is positioned to discover “Asia” of “Asian” identity; to be successfully interpellated as via Tiger Beer as the marvelous and mysterious “Far “Asian” by Tiger Beer signals one is part of a privileged East” and the mystical “Shangri-la”. My analysis in discursive unity (super)imposed on a geographic area. this section is based on selected Tiger Beer websites ! e “discerning Asian” is the “modern Asian” that that specifi cally target markets outside the geographic self-refl exively must set himself as distinct from the region. In the subsequent section, I draw on a series of rest of the region’s inhabitants. ! is “modern Asian” advertisements promoting Tiger Beer in the United as envisioned by Tiger Beer must not, however, be un- Kingdom. derstood to be an unattainable status. Instead, it is Ti- ger Beer’s aim for the entire region. Just as important- It is immediately apparent that the Tiger Beer ly, Tiger Beer situates itself as the exclusive means by website(s) catered to markets outside Asia have a dif- which one might attain the status of “modern Asian”. ferent thematic priority. ! is shift in orientation is With this in mind, while the “modern Asian” is pre- best framed by the slogan that is conspicuously dis- mised on a diff erence from the “pre-modern (Asian) played on the website: Tiger Beer is now repositioned crowd”, this diff erence is seen as something that must as ‘the Far East’s most desirable export since 1932’ ultimately be overcome and eventually assimilated (www.tigerbeer.co.uk). ! e focus, correspondingly, is though the collective consumption of Tiger Beer. USP Undergraduate Journal | 86 on Tiger Beer’s discursively constructed special posi- consumes this diff erence while demanding nothing tion as gatekeeper to a ‘vision of the East […] envel- less than universal assimilation. Nevertheless, con- oped in a halo of myth and mystery’ (Savage 1984:28). tinued exoticism and exoticization remain at best un- ! e websites, replete with Orientalist tropes, narrates stable systems of containment since the ‘assimilation elements of an exoticized “Asia”: subsections titled of the [O]ther to the [S]ame can never be defi nitive or ‘Asian Travel,’ ‘Taste Asia’ as well as ‘Eastern Culture’ exhaustive’ (Huggan 2006:424) because diff erence is entice the consumer to (re)discover a little-known continually refashioned—a point I will elaborate on “Asia.” Of course, this notion of “Asia” entices the further in the next section. ! e construction of “Asia” global consumer precisely because it rearticulates and as exotic Other is in that case a symptom of the ‘pa- reconfi rms First-World metropolitan longings for an thology of cultural representation under late capital- “Asia” off ering endless possibilities for conquest and ism; the result of the spiraling commodifi cation of consumption.12 It is especially interesting at this point cultural diff erence (Huggan 2006:424). Ching cap- to consider how Tiger Beer’s position as a cultural tures this point eloquently: comprador, as a bridge between “Asia” and the West, is established. ! e emphasis on Tiger Beer’s colonial ‘“Asia” itself is neither a misrepresentation of the origins is now decisively made explicit as it is present- Orientalists nor the collective representation of the ed as the result of a distinctly Western enterprise to anti-imperialists. “Asia” has become a market, and bring back the essence of “Asia”—neatly domesticated “Asianness” has become a commodity circulating and safely packaged. globally through late capitalism’ (2001:257)

Tiger Beer’s claim to off er a means by which one, The Spectacle of Exteriority: Tiger Beer who is not familiar with the region, might come to and the Journey to “Shangri-la”13 “know Asia” must be interrogated. Edward Said has detailed the means and processes by which an Other (in his work, the Orient) is constructed and dominated, Asia impresses our imaginations by virtue of her within a fi eld of knowledge and power, in the process antiquity, her wonder and her mystery. Hers is a of being “known” (Ashcroft and Ahluwalia 1999). He land of buried story, of hidden records, of forgot- goes on to assert that there is in fact no “real” Other; ten romance. ! e East baffl es us while she fasci- the Other itself is a completely constituted entity (Said nates us: fascinates because she baffl es. Sphinx-like 1978). Hichem Djait provides an useful extension of she propounds riddles which few can answer, Said’s work on Orientalism as he situates it—and pro- luring us onwards with illusive hopes of inspiring vides it with a sort of telos—as the handmaiden of an revelation[.] instrumental (Western) modernity that aims to ‘bring non-Western cultures into the ambit of its own notion (Hugh Cliff ord quoted in Savage 1984:27) of humanity’ (cited in Sardar 1999:63-64). Modernity must then constantly construct an Other to be over- [D]iff erence itself exists only as a commodity, a come for its enterprise to be successful. spectacle to be consumed in a globalized capitalist system precisely at the moment where exteriority is Djait’s analysis, while useful, does not adequately no longer imaginable treat modernity in the historical context of late global capitalism and the postcolonial condition. Graham (Ching 2001:236) Huggan’s work however does consider this context with his description of the current ‘capitali[zation] [of] “Asia” constructed and consumed as an exoti- the widespread circulation of ideas about cultural oth- cized region of marvel and mystery, as we have seen erness and the worldwide traffi cking of culturally ‘[O] in the previous section, must be understood to be pre- thered’ artifacts and goods’ (2006:421). Accordingly, mised on ‘[an] unequivocal [constructed] diff erence Tiger Beer’s discursive (mis)construction intentionally between Asia and the West’ under which “Asia” is frames “Asia” as little more than a postcolonial exotic framed as the ‘absolute Other to an increasingly colo- Other. ! is marketing strategy promptly exposes the nized world system’ (Ching 2001:236). In the context “hidden” West in Tiger Beer’s enterprise to be very of an advanced stage of global capitalism in which the much present. ! e absence of any “real Asia” further “West” has become reterritorialized as the globe, the circumscribes Tiger Beer’s role, not as a legitimate cul- ‘absolutely Other [has become] refracted as the [suc- tural comprador but instead as a mediator between cessfully] domesticated Other’ (Prakash 2000:231). the West and its own self-generating fantasies. Consequently, the notion of the exterior, a fundamen- tal basis of commodifi ed diff erence, is placed at risk as We must then ask, as Huggan does, if is indeed more of the globe comes under the ambit of a global ‘possible to account for cultural diff erence without at capitalist modernity. However, a series of Tiger Beer the same time mystifying it’ (2006:423). ! e contin- advertisements14 masterfully circumvents this prob- ued construction of the exotic Other as the embodi- lem by refashioning diff erence via the construction of ment of diff erence must be recognized to be vital to simulated exterior(s).! is is done through the deliber- the perpetuation of a global capitalism that feverishly ate generation of models of the “real” without origin Volume 2, Issue 1, August 2009 | 87 or reality (Baudrillard 2004). An “Asia” modeled on a is disciplined and packaged for safe consumption. On hyperreal “Shangri-la” is one such example. another level, Tiger Beer in its very attempt to em- body this hyperreal “Asia” reveals it to be a completely ! e theme around which this series of Tiger Beer constructed entity. Once more, one does not discover advertisements is based is simple and worth cursorily “Asia” through Tiger Beer; one merely indulges one- expounding on. In each of the advertisements, a dif- self in a fantasy of “Asia” in a manner dictated and ferent woman—to my reading, positioned as a sort mediated by Tiger Beer. “Asia” as Other is exposed as of femme fatale—gazes outward alluringly, her facial pure spectacle whose only real purpose is to be con- expression inviting, her body position expectant. ! e sumed. setting in which each woman is placed is nothing short of spectacularly fantastical; in each advertisement, Conclusion one is immediately confronted by the strange and the unchartered. ! e slogan at the bottom right of each Tiger Beer has become a powerful “Asian” brand advertisement reads: “Discover the Tiger”. While it that is rapidly gaining a foothold in markets all over might seem intuitive to characterize these depictions the world. Intriguingly, it has adopted multiple and of- as exaggerated, or even, vulgar exoticizations—and to tentimes disjunctive marketing approaches to increase a certain extent these arguments could be made—to its commercial success in the context of global capital- do so, I think, is to gloss over more pertinent mecha- ism. ! is approach has led to Tiger Beer’s brand im- nisms at work in the semiotics of Tiger Beer’s strategy age being described as schizophrenic that might con- of advertising. ! e most pressing issue must surely be sequently lead to ‘customer confusion due to exposure the inability to identify a real referent on which each to varied communication’ (Temporal 2006:114). One image is based. Each image—and one comes easily to might conclude from this—too easily—that Tiger this conclusion—bears no relation to any reality. Each Beer’s brand image exhibits classic signs of postmod- image is its own pure simulacrum (Baudrillard 2004). ern disorientation. However, as I hope to have demon- Paradoxically, these simulacra are also simultaneously strated, one might refute this claim through the dis- positioned as the new spectacle of an “exterior” to cernment of a consistent epistemological relationship the “real” global, eagerly awaiting discovery and, of between Tiger Beer always fi gured as the “hidden” course, consumption.15 West and its shifting regional consciousness of “Asia” fi gured as a continually refashioned Other. In spite of One particular advertisement intriguingly themed what might appear to be contradictory fashionings of a around the notion of Shangri-la will be the focus of single supranational regionalist imaginary, Tiger Beer my analysis.16 Previous constructions of “modern is always complicit in the perpetuation of (Western) Asia” and the “Far East’” as well as their relation to modernity’s fantasies that have shaped, constructed the geographical region are liquefi ed—“Asia” is resur- and will continue to orientate global capitalism. ! at rected this time as pure sign. ! e choice of the utopic being said, there is still need for a great deal of work Shangri-la is a strategic one. Since it exists on a plane to be done: work that considers, for example, the re- that is perpetually “exterior” to the real, it represents actions of consumers to Tiger Beer’s advertisements diff erence that can never completely be domesticated and marketing strategies. Only then might we begin by capitalist modernity. Strangely enough, one con- to reach nuanced conclusions that are more complex tinues to discern a strong trope of travel that runs and complete. through these advertisements. While “Asia” as Shan- gri-la is presented as existing on a plane that can never be actually known, it is simultaneously presented as awaiting “discovery”. Upon closer consideration how- ever, one concludes that far from being inviting, each advertisement juxtaposes stylistically sinister elements of danger, threat, bondage, poison and death. ! e journey to the unknowable “exterior” is one that is en- chanting, but also terrifying and potentially deadly.

At this point, we see Tiger Beer attempt once again to reprise its role as comprador. ! e slogan ‘Discover the Tiger’ presents a situation in which Tiger Beer al- ludes to itself as a metonym of the perpetually exte- rior and essentially unknowable “Asia” as Shangri-la. Since actual discovery is presented as surely deadly if not impossible, Tiger Beer, amazingly, off ers the next best thing: the bottled “essence” of this phantasma- goric (un)real. Of course, this narrative of discovery is one also always mediated by the safe return to the “real.” In this way, potentially threatening diff erence USP Undergraduate Journal | 88 Endnotes References

1 I would like to thank two anonymous peer reviewers for Ashcroft, Bill and Ahluwalia, Pal. 1999. Edward Said: ! e their careful reading, insightful criticisms and valuable paradox of identity. New York: Routledge. comments. Asia-Pacifi c Breweries Limited Annual Report. 2002. 2 It must be noted here that Tiger Beer’s marketing Baudrillard, Jean. 2004. Simulacra and Simulations. In Literary strategies and advertising campaigns are immense and ! eory: An anthology, edited by Julie Rivkin and Michael always in a process of constant change. ! is paper only Ryan. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. considers a specifi c, and therefore necessarily limited, set of Ching, Leo. 2000. Globalizing the regional, regionalizing the advertisements and advertising mediums. global: Mass culture and Asianism in the age of late capital. 3 Deterritorialization as a concept was fi rst employed by Public Culture, 12:1, 233-257. Giles Deleuze & Felix Guattari in their book Anti-Oedipus Chong, Vince. 2001. APB hits paydirt in region, earnings rise (1972). Since its original conception, the term has been 88%. In ! e Business Times, 13th November. transformed and re-appropriated in a variety of ways. In this Dirlik, Arif. 2005. ! e postcolonial aura: third world criticism paper, I employ the term to conceptualize the removal of a in the age of global capitalism. In Cultural studies: From cultural object from conditions of its “origin”. theory to action, edited by Pepi Leistyna. Malden, MA: 4 I use the term hyperreal in a similar fashion as Jean Blackwell Publishing. Baudrillard: loosely, to denote “reality by proxy.” ! is Gwynne, Robert N., Shaw, Denis J.B. and Klak, ! omas. 2003. does not mean that the hyperreal is simply virtual reality. Alternative capitalisms: Geographies of emerging regions. Instead, it circumscribes a condition in which fantasy and London: Arnold. reality become inextricably intertwined, to the point that it Huggan, Graham. 2006. ! e postcolonial exotic. In ! e post- is almost impossible to distinguish one from the other. colonial studies reader (2nd Edition), edited by Bill Ashcroft, 5 Les Buckly is the General Manager of APB (Singapore). Gareth Griffi ths and Helen Tiffi n. London & New York: 6 APBL has a portfolio of over 40 beer brands and brand Routledge. variants including Tiger Beer and Heineken. See APBL Prakash, Gyan. 2000. Can the ‘subaltern’ ride? A reply to Annual Report, 2002. O’Hanlon and Washbrook. In Mapping subaltern studies 7 It must be noted that the website www.tigerbeer.com.sg and the postcolonial, edited by Vinayak Chaturvedi. does exist. However, it has been positioned as “just another” London: Verso. derivative/subsidiary website, given no special mention or Said, Edward W. 1978. Orientalism. London & Henley: privilege. Routledge & Kegan Paul. 8 Wee notes that ‘the appearance of the Singapore state’s Sardar, Ziauddin. 1999. Orientalism. Philadelphia, PA: Open Asian modernity discourse represent[ed] the moment when University Press. the West that [was] already inside the city-state gets hidden’ Savage, Victor. 1984. Western impressions of nature and landscape (Wee 2007:53-76). in Southeast Asia. Singapore: Singapore University Press. 9 Today (March 14th 2008). Please refer to Appendix Fig. 1. Tan, Audrey. 2000. ! e Tiger has come a long way. In ! e 10 Jeff Kimble is the assistant general manager (group Business Times, 7th August. marketing) of APB (Singapore). Teh, Hooi Ling. 2001. APB may restart stalled Vietnam brewery 11 For example, while Tiger Beer in China is linked to Wu project. In ! e Business Times, 12th June. Song, Tiger Beer in Singapore is presented in a ‘90s modern, Temporal, Paul. 2006. Asia’s star brands. Singapore: John Wiley slick way, with a Fatboy Slim soundtrack(Tan 2000). and Sons (Asia) Pte. Ltd. 12 Further examples from the websites include mention of TigerBeer.com. 2009. Retrieved March 2008 exotic foods, mysterious destinations of travel, distinctly (www.tigerbeer.com). “Asian” guides to relaxation and, of course, mystical Oriental Tiger Beer. 2009. Retrieved November 2006 and March 2008 horoscopes. (www.tigerbeer.co.uk). 13 “Shangri-la” is a fi ctional location described by James Hilton Wee, Christopher Justin Wan-Ling. 2007. ! e Asian modern: in his 1933 novel Lost Horizon. While it commonly evokes Culture, capitalist development, Singapore. Singapore: an imagery of the exotic Orient, what I want to emphasize is NUS Press. its “location” that is perpetually “exterior” to the West and “Western knowledge. 14 Please refer to Appendix Fig. 2, Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. 15 Simulacra in eff ect conceal the fact that reality no more exists outside than inside the bounds of an artifi cial perimeter (Baudrillard 2004:370). As I suggest later, to confl ate this simulated perimeter as a “real” perimeter circumscribing an “exterior” that is accessible through “travel” and “discovery” is then certainly problematic. 16 Please refer to Appendix Fig. 4.

Christopher SelvaRaj is an Honors year Sociology student at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, NUS and is also enrolled in the University Scholars Programme. This article is a revised version of a paper he wrote for the USP Advanced Seminar ‘Asianism and Singapore’ with Dr. Yew Kong Leong. Volume 2, Issue 1, August 2009 | 89 Appendix

Figure 1

Figure 2 USP Undergraduate Journal | 90

Figure 3

Figure 4