 |
| Still number one: Stars and
Stripes are ‘in’ among Hanoi’s
hip youth. |
| Photo by Thomas Jandl |
Visiting Vietnam, many Americans are prepared to
deny, in English, Vietnamese and any number of other
languages, their origins. With the agony of what
is here called “the American War” still
lingering, war handicapped and agent orange victims,
a residual dislike for America is to be expected.
In reality, however, America’s image in Vietnam
is one of success, prosperity and progress, fueled
by the large number of Viet kieu, Vietnamese who emigrated
after the war and now, with normalization, return
in large numbers. While their stories in the United
States are not always happy, tradition wants it that
the far-away cousin brings home at least an illusion
of success, and returning Viet kieu routinely go into
debt to bring along lavishing gifts as tokens of a
life of prosperity across the ocean.
Hollywood and free-spending tourists also play a role
in portraying the United States as a land of unlimited
opportunities, a model to strive for rather than one
to reject for reasons of a war which for most Vietnamese
is ancient history. Two in three Vietnamese were born
after unification in 1975, and have no personal memory
of an America at war with their aspirations for independence.
Walking the streets of Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City,
the former Saigon, today, youths wearing U.S. brand
T-shirts and sneakers will hawk American chewing gum
and Coke or Pepsi, touting the quality of their products
proclaiming “America number one.”
Unlike in many other parts of Asia, where quality
products are associated with the label Made in Japan,
in Vietnam it is a benefit to have an association
with the Stars and Stripes.
In the South, many products are still known from the
time when the United States’ military had a large
presence and American products were household names.
But even in the North, American products are preferred.
Says Vaidyanath Swamy, country manger for Procter
& Gamble: “Overseas Vietnamese used to bring
American household products when they came to visit
at a time when they were hard to get here, so they
have a certain feel of familiarity and quality to
them.” Even in a country with still very low
disposable income, his company sells products labeled
Made in USA at a premium over similar locally-made
items.
“Our American heritage counts for something here,”
says Jason Liu, the general director for Ford Vietnam.
Ford uses its American association to portray a quality
product, and has done well in Vietnam, moving from
the seventh automotive brand in 1997 to third, and
shooting for number two.
Saigon Beer markets its “333” beer in the
United States partly to be able to say that the brand
sells in the United States. That’s a powerful
argument to convince people in Vietnam about the quality,
says the company’s general director, Nguyen Chi
Thanh.
The power of a U.S. brand is so strong that it
amounts to a business opportunity in itself. Especially
in the pharmaceutical and food industries, products
associated with America, even if only made with
U.S. technology or based on U.S. standards, will
outsell other brands, says Huynh Quang Hai, marketing
director of Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park. “That
fact alone amounts to a business opportunity. Companies
may want to enter into a joint venture with an American
firm just to be able to associate themselves with
U.S. quality.
Politics and business don’t
mix
While in private attitudes and business the Vietnamese
show great appreciation for all things American, politically
the two countries are at times still at loggerheads.
Most recently, Vietnam has taken a strongly critical
position of the war in the Persian Gulf, not mincing
its words about its beliefs.
To their credit, the Vietnamese have the sophistication
to make a clear distinction between politics and business
or their feelings vis-à-vis Americans in general.
While President George Bush may easily be the most
unpopular individual in Vietnam, Americans are still
cordially welcome, and boycotts of American products
are unheard of.
A common site nowadays is a young woman on motorbikes
wearing a U.S. flag as a face mask against the dust.
But ask about the war and they will voice their disgust
over American policies and politicians – even
as they speak through their veil emblazoned with the
Stars and Stripes.
The challenge for the United States is to avoid that
individual disagreements turn into a more generalized
dislike for America overall. Especially trade actions
against Vietnamese industries that had been promised
free trade in the land of the free, such as the catfish
or shrimp sectors, can easily cause widespread anger.
After many years of touting the benefits of free trade
and open markets, much harm to America’s reputation
can be done by only a few careless pieces of special
interest legislation if they prevent those Vietnamese
who listened to promises of the American dream from
being part of the promised new world order.
Vietnam is a market of 80 million people with rapidly
growing disposable income levels where Made in USA
still is a powerful buying incentive. It is also a
country where Americans can travel without fear of
harassment or worse.
So far, politics and business don’t get into
each other’s way, and it appears to be in the
best mutual interest to keep it that way. |
