Malaysia Outlaws ‘Insulting’ Brad Pitt Ads

While beauty standards across the globe may be converging to a blonde, blue-eyed ideal, one Asian government is saying 'Not on our turf!' The globalization of the media has allowed some American and European celebrities to enjoy international face recognition, and big-name celebrities can make big money pushing products in Asia that would never get approval from their agents and image managers in their home countries. But Malaysia says advertisements targeting its citizens should feature Asian faces. The government just announced that it will not allow Toyota to use American movie star Brad Pitt in its car advertisements in the Southeast Asian country. "Why must we use their faces in our advertisements? Aren't our own people handsome enough?" asked Malaysia's deputy information minister. It remains to be seen, though, if Malaysia's official attitude on the issue will be adopted by others in the region. – YaleGlobal