Are they taking your hints?

I was stopping at an intersection, waiting for the lights to turn green. Then I looked up saw this ad of Virgin Airlines.

Got me laughing in the car, it's a clever pun though. Asia trumps America, with the chopsticks pulling Trump's head shaped sushi. And with the other side giving Boris' head a kick for cheap flights deals to Europe.

This ad was displayed in an Asian population concentrated suburb, the outside wall of the main shopping centre. I couldn't help but wonder, would the residents in this area full understand the meaning with these words at first glance? With the suburb's being more than half of the population English as their second language.

I wonder if they test the responsiveness of this ad being placed in the Asian suburbs. Or if there is market research being implemented before they spend a large number of media budgets on the billboards without knowing that their message could not get across to their supposedly "target audiences".

Not to mention that the language barrier might be a side issue. Still, there are several heated news lately discussing that Asians population living in western societies are being the least participating cohort in politics and social justice.

Having these ads displayed in the Asian community with the use of political touches of humour might not be the most effective idea to appeal to the emotions of people in this area.

With that being said, there might be other intensions with the ads placements that I do not aware of, but from a marketing point of view, know your audience before targeting them might be something to keep in mind.