From reader Sherry S in Paris: Posters there show ads similar to Wall Street English (with the tongue, reminder below).
From numerous readers in Japan: Ubiquitous posters there for the GABA language school very similar to the English First ads in China (bondage theme). GABA below, EF reminder under that.
From numerous professional and amateur semiologists: generally worried comments about what the imagery of these ads says about the stereotyped relationships between Asian women and Western men. I'm not going near that for the moment. But here is a reminder that the target audience for these ads is in fact young Asian people, largely women. I look forward to dissertations on this topic -- and on the subtle but clear difference in affect between the Westerners shown in the Chinese vs the Japanese tied/chained-together ads. Thanks to, among others, Landon Thorpe and Jed Schmidt, and to this "Eikawa Wonderland" site for the GABA pic.
UPDATE: below and after the jump, testimony from a former English teacher in Japan about why the lashed-together imagery of the ad was shrewd target marketing:
I worked in Japan a few years ago for the now defunct Nova Corp, and Nova had an extremely strict non-fraternization policy, which was a key selling point. Nervous moms would sign their daughter up, safe in the knowledge that the wouldn't have to worry about little gaijin [foreign] babies a year down the line.
Gaba, on the other hand, had fraternization as their key selling point. They hire generally fit, good looking western instructors who work one on one with a set client list. They are trained to develop a close connection with students, and encouraged to develop friendships with these students. It's the "whole package" approach that has earned Gaba the (slightly exaggerated) reputation as the high end escort service eikawa [English conversation school].
In that sense, the poster entirely plays to that image
