Barbara Mueller

Cross‐cultural advertising research: where we have been and where we need to go

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine recent patterns and developments in the literature on cross‐cultural advertising research.Design/methodology/approach – Citation analysis was performed for cross‐cultural advertising articles published in major marketing and business journals from 1995 to 2006.Findings – Cultural values were the most studied topic area in cross‐cultural advertising research. Content analysis was the most widely employed methodology, followed by surveys. North America and the original European Union (EU) member states were the most frequently investigated, whereas there appears to exist a paucity of research in newer EU countries, and in Latin American, Middle Eastern, and African markets.Originality/value – Based on findings from the citation analysis, the authors outline future directions for the advancement of cross‐cultural advertising research in theoretical foundations, methodological issues, and countries to be explored.

Global consumer culture positioning: Testing perceptions of soft-sell and hard-sell advertising appeals between U.S. and Japanese Consumers

This study tests the effectiveness of global consumer culture positioning (GCCP) in terms of perceptions of soft-sell (indirect and image-based) and hard-sell (direct and information-based) appeals across markets. The authors draw the theoretical base for the study from previous research, along with a series of recent conceptualizations on culture and branding based on global consumer culture theory. If the same appeal is homogeneously and favorably perceived in different markets, such an appeal should be a good candidate for use as part of a GCCP strategy. From prior research, the authors predict that soft-sell appeals are more similarly perceived across markets than hard-sell appeals. They conduct a quasi-experimental study in the United States and Japan with a general consumer sample. After choosing six advertisements using rigorous content analysis, they examine the perceptions of soft-sell and hard-sell appeals, including attitude toward the ad, believability, irritation, and purchase intention. The results indicate somewhat more homogeneous acceptance of soft-sell appeals but, surprisingly, also show relatively homogeneous acceptance of hard-sell appeals across markets. These findings are suggestive of both types of appeals having the potential to be used as part of a GCCP across the United States and Japan and perhaps other markets.

Multinational Advertising: Factors Influencing the Standardised vs. Specialised Approach

Print and television advertisements for American products appearing in the USA, Germany and Japan are content analysed to explore factors influencing the usage of standardised versus specialised approaches in multinational advertising. Three factors are examined: market distance, product type, and advertising medium employed. The results of this pilot study suggest that messages transferred between Western markets (such as the USA and West Germany) are more likely to be standardised than those transferred between Western and Eastern markets (such as the USA and Japan). Product type is not found to play an influential role in the degree of standardisation employed. However, standardisation is found to be significantly more common in television than in print.

Consumer responses towards non-prescription and prescription drug advertising in the US and Germany

Pharmaceutical advertising has generated considerable interest among both researchers and practitioners. This paper analyses overall attitude and scepticism towards both nonprescription and prescription drug advertising, and compares it to attitude and skepticism towards advertising in general, in a cross-cultural setting. The relationship between the cultural dimension of humankind’s relationship to nature and the evaluation of pharmaceutical advertising is explored. A survey of 788 respondents from the US and Germany was conducted. Data revealed that while consumers have less favourable attitudes towards advertising for pharmaceutical products than towards advertising in general, consumers tend to be less sceptical of it (i.e. they believe it more, as compared to advertising in general). Regarding advertising for non-prescription vs prescription medications, consumers have less favourable attitudes towards prescription drug messages than towards non-prescription drug messages, but, contrary to expectations, no significant differences were found with regard to levels of scepticism towards the two types of drug advertising. The cultural dimension of humankind’s relationship to nature (dominance over nature) proved to be related to the evaluation of pharmaceutical advertising, though the relationship was relatively weak. A tendency to dominate nature is related to a more positive attitude and lower levels of scepticism towards pharmaceutical advertising. Regarding cultural differences, US consumers have a more positive attitude towards, and are less sceptical of, advertising in general, and of advertising for prescription and nonprescription drugs, in particular, than are German consumers. Implications for consumer protection policies and for advertisers are discussed. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are addressed.

The GLOBE study — applicability of a new typology of cultural dimensions for cross-cultural marketing and advertising research

One important area of cross-cultural research identifies sets of cultural values useful in describing cultures. Resulting frameworks outline a number of cultural dimensions that attempt to explain a significant portion of country-tocountry variance. This article highlights four such frameworks. The first is Hofstede’s typology of cultural values, by far the most prominent approach to cultural dimensions in marketing and advertising research. Next, two less frequently applied frameworks are presented: Schwartz’s cultural values, and Inglehart’s World Values Survey. Finally, a new, alternative cultural framework — entitled GLOBE (House et al. 2004) - is examined. Drawn from organizational and management science, GLOBE outlines nine cultural dimensions and differentiates between societal values and societal practices. The GLOBE dimensions are briefly described and their applicability to marketing and advertising is addressed.

Evolution in the usage of localized appeals in Japanese and American print advertising

Based on global consumer culture theory, this empirical investigation examines how the usage of local appeals in Japanese and American advertising content has shifted over a period of nearly three decades. It replicates and improves upon Mueller’s investigation (Journal of Advertising Research, 1987, 27(3)). Content analysis determined the existence or absence of five traditionally Japanese appeals vs five traditionally Western appeals in 2005 issues of women’s, general interest, business and sports magazines published in each country. A total of 899 US ads and 853 Japanese ads were collected. Japanese advertisers appear to have turned to a rather more direct and persuasive selling approach, but continue to maintain a tradition of Japanese subtlety. American ads have shifted from a hard-hitting and aggressive strategy to a more benefit-orientated strategy with a distinctly softer touch. Appeals employed, however, were found to vary with the product category promoted. Overall, findings suggest that while Japanese advertising may have become somewhat more ‘American’, American advertising appears to have become significantly more ‘Japanese’. Possible future convergence between Eastern and Western advertising has implications for international marketers as they craft messages to appeal to these audiences.

The cultural dimension of assertiveness in cross-cultural advertising

This paper proposes a conceptual model that attempts to explain the impact of the cultural dimension of assertiveness on the perception and evaluation of a standardized advertisement. The basic concept of the model is that a given standardised advertising stimulus is likely to be perceived and evaluated differently in various cultures, dependent upon the level of importance individuals place on assertiveness (individual level assertiveness) as well as the level of assertiveness in the environment surrounding that individual (societal level assertiveness). Applying the GLO BE framework of cultural dimensions (House et al. 2004) to advertising research, consumers in the United States, Germany, Great Britain, Austria and Argentina were surveyed. Results indicate that, overall, assertiveness is a favourable cultural dimension for advertising purposes. Results demonstrate that it is not consumers from the country with the highest assertiveness scores who most positively evaluate advertisements incorporating assertive appeals. Rather, consumers from the country who perceive the highest level of assertiveness in the advertisement tend to evaluate it most positively – and they, in fact, are from the country with the lowest assertiveness scores. The proposed model was confirmed to a large extent. Implications for the use of assertive appeals in international advertising are discussed and the limitations of the research are addressed.

Channel One and Commercials in Classrooms: Advertising Content Aimed at Students.

A content analysis of a sample of advertisements on Whittle Communications commercially sponsored daily 12-minute television program for high school students shows that 86% of the commercials were for products and 14% were public service announcements. Values stressed in commercials were those emphasizing leisure/pleasure, appearance/sexuality, wisdom and independence. Dominant themes were being popular, having friends, having fun and being attractive. The commercials were the same as those on regular television and emphasized whites as characters. Public service ads stressed staying away from drugs and driving safely.

The Tension between Strategy and Execution: Challenges for International Advertising Research: Globalization is Much More Than Universal Branding

ABSTRACT The primary “international advertising” topic over the past five decades is the question of whether, and to what degree, advertising can and should be standardized. This article begins with a discussion of the cumulative findings of this stream of research, followed by a look at major theories that have been applied to international advertising research, with a special focus on the application of cultures use as a conceptual basis for advertising studies. An exploration of the recent trend toward considering advertising in the context of global branding strategies is followed by a discussion of methodological issues in international advertising research, focusing on problems that have been identified and “best practices” for researchers in overcoming these problems.

Skepticism Toward Pharmaceutical Advertising in the U.S. and Germany

The purpose of this investigation is to add to the body of knowledge regarding consumer skepticism toward advertising in general, and toward pharmaceutical advertising in particular. The study was conducted in the U.S. and in Germany. Skepticism toward advertising for both prescription and non-prescription pharmaceuticals was analyzed. Additional variables explored include: health consciousness, product involvement with pharmaceuticals, satisfaction with information in pharmaceutical advertising, and the importance of pharmaceutical advertising as a source of information. Furthermore, differences in the cultural value of uncertainty avoidance between U.S. and German consumers were examined and related to skepticism toward pharmaceutical advertising. Three hundred and forty-one Americans and 447 Germans were surveyed. A significant finding of this research revealed that skepticism toward pharmaceutical advertising is lower than skepticism toward advertising in general. Results also indicated that consumers showed no difference in their level of skepticism toward advertising for prescription versus non-prescription drugs. This is a particularly relevant finding as it relates directly to the ongoing discussion in Europe regarding whether or not to lift the ban on advertising for prescription drugs. Skepticism toward pharmaceutical advertising was found to be significantly negatively related to involvement with pharmaceuticals, to satisfaction with the informational content of the advertisements, to satisfaction with the comprehensibility of the advertisements, and to the importance placed on advertising as a source of health information. Regarding cultural differences, U.S. consumers appear to be less skeptical toward advertising in general, and toward advertising for prescription and non-prescription drugs in particular, than German consumers. This may be due to the lower degree of uncertainty avoidance in the U.S. Differences between the two countries related to the additional variables examined in the study are addressed as well. Implications for consumer protection policies are discussed, and recommendations for advertisers of pharmaceutical products are provided. The authors provide a cultural explanation for differences in the degree of skepticism between U.S. and German audiences.