吸煙與愛國：「五四運動」前後南洋兄弟煙草公司在新加坡《叻報》的廣告

Smoking and Patriotism: A Study of the Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company’s Advertisements on Lat Pau During the May Fourth Movement Period

《叻報》創辦於1881 年，發行至1932 年，是新加坡首份華人自辦的中文日報。《叻報》名稱取新加坡古稱「石叻」之意，為馬來語Selat（意指「海峽」）之音譯。二十世紀初成立的南洋兄弟煙草公司，曾經是中國最大的華人資本煙草公司。1916 年，南洋兄弟煙草公司在新加坡設立營銷發行所，第二年開始在《叻報》頭版刊登廣告，直到1921年8月中旬，其後轉移廣告到其他版面，這段期間，正是中國發生「五四運動」前後。本文擬從視覺文化的角度，分析1917 年至1921 年南洋兄弟煙草公司在《叻報》上廣告的語言、圖象與行銷策略，進而反思民族情感與愛國意識對於消費行為的影響。研究結果顯示：南洋兄弟煙草公司的廣告有三項特色：高張愛國旗幟、轉易經典詩文，以及營造「祖國情調」。這些特色結合「中國人請吸中國煙」的口號，有效地創造了南洋兄弟煙草公司銷售的佳績。然而，隨著中國內部的紛亂和對日抗戰爆發，「吸煙」及「愛國」的關係面臨了更多的質疑與考驗。「五四運動」前後遂成為南洋兄弟煙草公司不再復得的黃金時代。

Lat Pau， the first ever locally established Chinese paper in Singapore， was set up in 1881 and its distributions were terminated in 1932. Its name “Lat Pau” was derived from the word “Selat” (Malay for “Straits”)， which was another name for Singapore used in earlier times.On the other hand， the Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company was established in the early 20th century and was once the largest Chinese-owned tobacco company in China. In 1916， a branch of the company was set up in Singapore. They started their from page advertising on Lat Pau in the subsequent year， which lasted until mid-august in 1921. Thereafter， the advertisements were transferred to the other pages of the paper. These changes took place just as the May Fourth Movement occurred in China.This paper aims to study the advertisements that were published on Lat Pau by the Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company between 1917 and 1921. Based on visual culture， the language， images and marketing strategies adopted in the advertisements will be analyzed， in attempt to elucidate the ways in which nationalistic sentiments and patriotism imfluence consumer behaviour.The study has observed three characteristics of the advertisements， namely the display of partiotism， the dissemination of classic poetry and prose， and the creation of an affective appeal for the homeland. Together with slogans such as “Chinese cigarettes for Chinese，” the advertising created an exceptionally high sales performance. The success was， however， short-lived， following the civil strife and anti-Japanese war that broke out in China. Set in such tumultuous times， the correlation between smoking and patriotism faced doubts and challenges. As such， it can be said that the period during which the May Fourth Movement occurred was a golden age that was never to return for the Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company.