A Cultural Analysis of American Indian Advertisements 1

A Cultural Analysis
of American & Indian Advertisements
Prof. (Dr) Sanjeev Bansal

Director-MBA & Head,
Department of Decision Science,
Information Technology
Ph.D. Programme
Amity Business School,
Amity University, Noida. Uttar Pradesh- 201301 India.
+91-98100-70464 (M), +91-120-4392333 (D)
Email-sbansal1@amity.edu
Varsha Khattri
Lecturer
Amity Business School,
Amity University, Noida. Uttar Pradesh- 201301 India.
+ 91-120-4392455 mobile: 919910160709
Email: vkhattri@amity.edu, varshakhattri@gmail.com
A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements
Brief Profile:
Dr. Sanjeev Bansal is Professoor in the area of Decision sciences. He has a work
experience of over 17 years. Currently, he is the Director-MBA & Head,
Department of Decision Sciences, Information Technology and Ph.D. Programme
at
Amity Business School, Amity University, Noida.
Ms. Varsha Khattri is a Lecturer in Amity Business School. She is a Post Graduate
in Management with specialization in Advertising & Public Relations. She has
more than 4 years of teaching experience. To her credentials, she has organized a
large number of marketing events, conferences and seminars.
American & Indian Advertisements: A Cultural Analysis

Abstract
Comparative analysis of advertising from Western industrialized countries and
Eastern developing countries may reveal specific similarities or differences in
manifest cultural values, norms and stereotypes in line with, or divergent from,
those of Western nations. Such information can be used to address the question of
cultural imperialism and the debates over whether and how advertising reflects,
reinforces and affects cultural values of its target audience. On the other hand,
findings about gender role portrayals in advertising may reveal how gender roles
are changing in these societies, and to what extent the images of the gender in
advertising are keeping pace with social change.
From a more pragmatic standpoint, if specific cross-cultural differences or

similarities in advertising strategies, expressions and manifest values and norms
can be identified, researchers and practitioners will better understand which
aspects of advertising can be shared across several countries, and conversely,

which aspects need to be adapted to local cultures.
From the standpoint of international marketing and advertising practitioners, such

cross cultural understanding is imperative in order to be able to formulate
effective localized advertising that would reflect the cultural values and norms of
its intended audience. This research examines the cultural differences from the
point of view of the advertisers who create the ads rather than from the point of
view of the consumer. It also studies the advertising agencies policies of
standardization across the nations where there are present and customization of
advertisements keeping in view the cultural differences among nations. The study
emphasizes the need for localized solutions, which are more efficient in getting its
communication across.
Key Words: High-context cultures, Low-context cultures, Speech acts in

Advertising, Imagery, Elements of Advertisements
American & Indian Advertisements: A Cultural Analysis
Introduction
The phenomenon of advertising has long been a topic of research in several
disciplines such as mass communication, marketing, sociology, cultural
anthropology, social psychology, semiotics and cultural studies. One area that has
attracted a great deal of consideration in several disciplines during the last two
decades is the analysis of mass media advertising content to gain insights into
how cultural factors affect advertising strategies and expressions; how cultural
values, norms and stereotypes are reflected in advertising; how advertising creates
meanings and affects the audience and the larger society over time.
Although the phenomenon of advertising has been studied for several decades,
cross-cultural advertising research is a relatively new area of study. In recent
years, the study of cross-cultural advertising has become a subject of increasing
importance because of several important developments:
In recent years, there has been an increasing interest over the issue of how
advertising reflects, reinforces and affects cultural values of its target audience
As the integration of the world economy has increased significantly in recent

years and as nations of the world have become increasingly economically
interdependent through international trade, diverse people and cultures are coming
into contact through interpersonal interaction as well as advertising and other
media images and messages. In an increasingly global economic environment,
international trade has achieved phenomenal growth resulting in increased
international mass media advertising across diverse cultures.
The "cultural imperialism" issue has attracted a great deal of attention over the
impact of western advertising and other media products on the cultures of
developing nations
Cross-cultural analysis of advertising can identify specific differences and

similarities in advertising strategies, expressions, and manifest cultural values,
norms and stereotypes of the target audience and the larger culture. Such findings
may be used to address the question of whether the same strategies and
expressions can be used in international advertising, and whether the values,
attitudes, desires and tastes of consumers around the world are converging.
High-context cultures (including much of the Middle East, Asia, India, Africa,
and South America) are relational, collectivist, intuitive, and contemplative. This
means that people in these cultures emphasize interpersonal relationships.

Developing trust is an important first step to any business transaction. These
cultures are collectivist, have a preference for group harmony and consensus to
individual accomplishment. And people in these cultures are less governed by
reason than by intuition or feelings. Words are not so important as context, which
might include the speakers tone of voice, facial expression, gestures, posture
and even the persons family history and status. A Japanese manager explained
his cultures communication style to an American: We are a homogeneous
people and dont have to speak as much as you do here. When we say one word,
we understand ten, but here you have to say ten to understand one. High-context
communication tends to be more indirect and more formal. Flowery language,
humility, and elaborate apologies are typical.
Low-context cultures (including North America and much of Western Europe)

are logical, linear, individualistic, and action-oriented. People from low-context
cultures value logic, facts, and directness. Solving a problem means lining up the
facts and evaluating one after another. Decisions are based on fact rather than
intuition. Discussions end with actions. And communicators are expected to be
straightforward, concise, and efficient in telling what action is expected. To be
absolutely clear, they strive to use precise words and intend them to be taken
literally. Explicit contracts conclude negotiations. This is very different from
communicators in high-context cultures who depend less on language precision

and legal documents. High-context business people may even distrust contracts
and be offended by the lack of trust they suggest.
The unique features of Indian market which call for special attention and thus,
subsequent changes in the application of marketing concepts are as follows:
a) Cultural Outlook: The Indian consumer values old customs and tradition. Basic
cultural values have not yet faded in India. Buying decisions are highly influenced
by social customs, traditions and beliefs in the rural markets.
b) Literacy Rate: The literacy rate is low in India. This comes in way of the
marketer in promoting the product. Advertising is very expensive making it
difficult to communicate with the target audience.
c) Lack of Proper Communication and infrastructure facilities:
Nearly fifty
percent of the villages in the country do not have all weather roads. The
Infrastructure Facilities like roads, warehouses, communication system, financial
facilities are inadequate in rural areas making physical distribution becomes
costly.
d) Many Languages and Dialects: The number of languages and dialects vary
widely from state to state region to region and probably from district to district.
Even though the numbers of recognized languages are only 16, the dialects are
estimated to be around 850.
e) Low Per Capita Income: Even though about 33-35% of gross domestic product
is generated in the rural areas it is shared by 74% of the population.
Literature Review
Most of the cross-cultural empirical studies that have been conducted to date
compared either two or more Western industrialized countries or Western and
Eastern industrial countries (with a few exceptions).
Studies that conducted
cross-cultural content analysis and provide background information for

conceptual analysis were reviewed first. Other related studies that do not fall
under the umbrella of cross-cultural content analysis but are relevant and useful in
understanding the issues of cross-cultural advertising will also be reviewed.
Engel, Blackwell, and Miniard (1986) define culture as complex values, ideas,
attributes, and other meaningful symbols that serve humans to communicate,
interpret, and evaluate as members of society. Furthermore, the authors believe
that humans develop their values by socialization and acculturation. Socialization
is the process of absorbing ones culture. Acculturation is the process of learning a

new culture. This occurs when a consumer moves to a new country or changes
group identity.
Similarly, Stanton, Etzel, and Walker (1994) define culture as symbols and
artifacts created by society and handed down from generation to generation as
determinants and regulators of human behavior. The symbols/artifacts may be
intangible (attitudes, beliefs, values, and language) or tangible (tools, housing,
and products).
Weinberger and Spotts (1989) conducted a comparative content analysis of the

information content in television advertising in the United States and the United
Kingdom. The results revealed that U.S. television advertising contained a higher
level of information content than British advertising. A comparison between the
U.S. sample and a 1977 Resnik and Stern study showed that informativeness has
increased in U.S. advertising over a decade.
Overall, the ads for high
involvement and rational products contained higher information content. The

researchers concluded that the differences between the U.S. and British
advertising are related to the underlying socio-cultural setting in the respective
countries.
10
Biswas,
Olsen
and
Carlet
(1992)
comparatively
analyzed
magazine
advertisements of France and the United States in terms of information content,

emotional appeals, use of humor and sex.
The study revealed that French
advertisements made greater use of emotional appeals, humor and sex appeals,
while U.S. advertisements contained a greater number of information cues. Cutler
and Javalgi (1992) conducted a comparative analysis of the visual content of print
advertising from the United States, France and England. The results revealed
greater country differences than similarities in terms of various visual components
in advertising. Differences were found in seven elements (size of the visual, use
of black & white visuals, use of photograph etc).
Demographics facts and figure to analyze the population trends in both US and
India, along with consumer buying behavior, trends, influence of children,
teenagers, women, and celebrities were analyzed for this research.
Belk and Bryce (1986) examined television advertisements in Japan and the
United States. Using a content analysis method they attempted to determine if
there was any cultural value difference in advertising in terms of materialism and
individual determinism. The study found that the U.S. advertisements placed
more emphasis on individual determinism and materialism.
11
Mueller (1987) examined magazine advertisements of Japan and the United

States. Using a content analysis method, the author compared the themes in
advertising and concluded that there were considerable similarities among the
consumers in the two countries.
The researcher found that the same basic
advertising appeals were used in both U.S. and Japanese advertisements.

However, the degree to which these appeals were used varied from one country to
another. Muller suggests that the sensitivity to cultural differences is reflected
through the varied degrees of the same appeals.
The author concluded that
appeals such as product merit and status appeal are universal.
Information Content
While value orientations and advertising appeals have been used in studies, others
have examined the information content of advertising messages from one country
or several countries (Al-Olayan & Karande, 2000; Dowling, 1980; Ha, 1998;
Johnstone, Kaynak, & Sparkman, 1987; Katz & Lee, 1992; Martenson, 1987;
Renforth & Raveed, 1983; Tai & Chan, 2001; Weinberger & Spotts, 1989;
Zandpour, Chang, & Catalano, 1992). These studies take inspiration from Resnik
and Sterns (1977), or Stern, Krugman, & Resnicks (1981) studies of information
content. They look for information cues about the product advertised. As a result
they are useful in describing how much information advertising messages actually
give about products. The cues considered with the information content framework
12
are most often pricevalue, quality, performance, components or contents,

availability, special offers, taste, nutrition, packaging or shape, guarantees and
Warranties, and safety.
Nitish Singh of St. Louis University in his paper on Analyzing Cultural

Sensitivity of Websites: A Normative Framework states as the web is advertising
and a cultural document, it is important to be sensitive as to how signs and
symbols are used in the text and graphics. Barber and Badre (1998) use the term
cultural markers to signify interface design elements and features that would be
preferred and understood by a particular cultural group.
He further goes on to talk about country-specific symbols that include anything

that portrays a way of life or culturally specific knowledge. For example in Arabic
cultures use of pictures of men, women, and animals is discouraged, while
elaborate text in form of calligraphic style is acceptable and liked. Furthermore,
use of visual metaphors (star, crescent, cross), animal figures, religious objects
and signs, taboo words, graphics of hand gestures, aesthetic codes, forbidden food
(beef n India), may need a detailed enquiry in the specific culture.
J.Harwood & A.Roy (1999) in their study on The Portrayal of Older Adults in
Indian and U.S. Magazine Advertisements, found a cross-cultural bias against
13
older women in their mass media presence. The predominance of elderly men
over elderly women in the advertisements reflects the double jeopardy of being
old and female (Sontag, 1979). Whereas older males are sometimes evaluated as
wise and mature, older females rarely receive any form of positive evaluation,
even though they outnumber elderly males in the U.S. population (United States
Bureau of the Census, 1994). It should be noted that women do not outnumber
men among older adults in India (Bose, 1988).
Research Methodology
The study compares two countries, which are culturally different, that is, America
and India. While America is a low context culture Indian is a high context culture.
A total of 150 ads from each country were analyzed ranging from durable
products to non durable products and services. The ads included not just
contemporary ads but also ads over a period of time, that is, ads from 1995-2008,
so as to have a comprehensive analysis of the ads.
The advertising was analyzed and compared in terms of

Linguistic codification (informational, directive, poetic and expressive speech
acts).
14
Visual codification (iconic stance of characters, indexical value transfer,
iconic image of women)

Combined verbal/visual codification (direct and indirect comparative
approach)
Use of Information Cues:
Ads were first analyzed on the bases on types of information they provide.
Table 1: Use of Information cues
15
Type of information
US ads
Indian Ads
Availability Info Cue
15 (10%)
80 (53%)
Quality/ Performance
128 (85%)
129 (86%)
Components
44 (29%)
33 (22%)
Price/ value
22 (15%)
18 (12%)
Safety
17(11%)
17 (11%)
Website Address
73(48%)
17(11%)
New Ideas/Features
8(5%)
10 (7%)
Nutrition
7(5%)
2(1%)
Special Offers
6(4%)
3(2%)
Warranties/ Guaranties
7 (5%)
2(1%)
15 (10%)
1(.7%)
Packaging
1 (.7%)
1 (7%)
Taste
2(1%)
Company Research
16
Type of information
Ind. Research
US ads
Indian Ads
8(5%)
In both Indian and US ads, quality/performance information was the most

commonly used cue.
In US ads, the second most frequent used information cue was
components/ingredients, while in Indian ads, the second most common

information was availability information.
Website address was very important information for US advertisers as compared
to Indian advertisers, who preferred availability cues.
However no significant differences were found in the importance of various
information cues between the two countries.
17
Importance of elements in Ads

An ad has ideally 5 elements in it namely:
Headlines
Subhead
Tagline/Baseline/ Logo
Imagery
Body copy
Table 2: An analysis was done in the ads of both the country to find out which
element was given greater emphasis in the two countries
Elements
US ads
Indian Ads
Headlines
20%
84%
Subhead
13%
53%
Bodycopy
19%
72%
Image
100%
100%
Tagline/Baseline/ Logo
100%
100%
18
While the American ads scored low on headlines and subhead, the scored high
on imagery and tagline/logo, the Indian ads scored high on the 5 elements.
This can be attributed to the emergence of Minimalist Advertising school of
thought in America where time is a constraint and people are bombarded with a
high number of messages per day.
On the other hand the imagery scores high in India because of large-scale
illiteracy in India and also because of the high context culture.
Overall Indian ads contained more information as compared to American ads.
This can be attributed to the high context of Indian culture as compared to low
context American culture
100
80
60
American
Indian
40
20
0
Headline
Subhead
Bodycopy
Image
Tagline/Logo
CHART 1: Relevance of Elements
Tagline and imagery was 100% in both countries but for different reasons. In
India it was because of large-scale illiteracy, which means greater role of images
and Logo so that the users can identify the product/brand. On the other hand
19
images and tagline have replaced headlines, subheads, body-copy for effective
communication and also for brand building.
Minimalist communication is important in LC cultures. That because
according to most conservative estimates an American is exposed to 247

commercial messages per day, which means that the communication with the
consumer in order to be effective has to be short precise and to the point. That
why American ads have minimalist communication.
Speech Acts in advertising
The analysis of the 3 variables of speech acts revealed that there was a
significant difference in the use of different types of speech acts in the
advertisements of the two countries.
20
Chart 2: Presents the number and the percentage of advertisements using

different types of speech acts. The analysis revealed that the US ads used the
expressive speech acts more often than did the Indian ads. The results indicate
that 65% of the US ads used the expressive speech acts while 45% of the Indian
ads contained the expressive speech acts.
Table 3: Use of different speech acts
Speech acts
Indian Ads
US ads
Expressive
98 (65%, n=150)
68(45%, n =150)
Directive
91 (61%, n = 150)
71 (47%, n =150
Poetic
14(9%, n =150)
59(39%, n=150)
More use of Poetic Speech was found in Indian Ads because of its High Context
Culture.
Direct Speech in American ads relating to Low context culture
Table 4: Feature Transfer
21
Feature Transfer
US Ads
Indian Ads
Physical Attractiveness
7 (5%, n = 150)
6 (4%, n= 150)
Status Attributes
1 (7%, n=150)
7 (5%, n=150)
Loving Caring Attributes
25(17%, n=150)
27(18%, n= 150)
Iconic Image of women

When the variables iconic image of women in advertising was analyzed within
each country by the type of product, the results did not find any differences,
which were statistically significant.
Chart 3: Shows the type of images of women in both countries

50
40
30
American
Indian
20
10
0
Stereotypical
Sex Objects
Liberal
Neutral
TABLE 5
Iconic Image of Women
US ads
Indian Ads
22
Women as Sex Objects
19(48%, n=40)
13 (23%, n=56)
Women in stereotypical role
9 (23%, n= 40)
24 (43%, n =56)
Liberal
and
economically 12 (5%, n= 40)
Independent
Neutral
9 (16%, n =
56)
10 (25%, n =40)
4
(7%, n = 56)
Different Strategies to Attract Readers

Chart 4: Explains the various strategies adopted by Indian and US ads in order to
attract readers attention and put across their point.
23
American Ads seems to utilize humour and rational argument more as compared
to Indian ads.
Indian advertisers still rely on negative tactics to scare customers. Products like
personal care, childcare, insurance, banking and tax, excise department use scare
tactics.
Emotional appeal was higher than rational appeal in Indian ads.
Comparative argument was seen more in American ads either directly or indirect
as compared to Indian ads.
Analysis of Results and Derivations

Collectivistic v/s Individualistic Values
It is important to analyze the values that are portrayed along with the product, and
how these connect with those ideologies relevant to the target group culture.
24
Values prevailing in HC cultures are generally tied to collectivism and those in

LC cultures to individualism, hence we can assume that HC and LC culture ads
manifest different values according to their ideologies.
Collectivist cultures tend to emphasize being in good physical shape and time
spent with family and friends as their dominant values, whereas the notion of
freedom and personal time valued in individualist societies implies relaxation and
time spent by oneself. Ads of individuals dancing or doing sports are more
prominent on HC websites than LC websites, whereas in LC countries individuals
tend to be portrayed in more relaxed situations or situations connoting holiday
activities, such as a trip to the lake or listening to music.
IN THE ABOVE AMERICAN AD: McDonald's uses different approaches to
25
profess its slogan "I'm lovin' it." The slogan not only promotes the food, but a
whole lifestyle. The American ads displays images of individuals enjoying
themselves with music and relaxation, and offers an in-depth explanation of the
philosophy behind the new slogan: "You're immediately at the center of attention
your individuality, your everyday life, situations in which you recognize
yourself and where you would like to see yourself."
26
The Indian ad emphasizes a different enjoyable experience, which is different to

that of time which is spent by oneself, for instance by listening to music with
earphones large enough to block out the outside world.
McDonalds clearly lays more emphasis on family values and tries to promote
itself as a family restaurant in India where people can come and have a good
time. Hence the user imagery is that of families having fun time at
McDonalds. This is a result and reflection of the collective society that India
is.
Motive and intention of Ads in India and America

In American ads the main motive and intention was:
Long- term Building brand image
Brand awareness
Promoting Goodwill
Brand Recall
Building brand loyalty
Tackle competition
The reason why American ads focus more building brand image and goodwill as
compared to ids because of the following facts
27
Saturation of American
The marketers in America are now looking to increase the Share of Wallet
(SoW: wallet share is, it is the percentage of the customer's overall revenue and
profit potential that you are realizing.) among the current users as the market is
saturated. So the intention of the ads is to increase awareness and promote brand
loyalty and recall value.
This explained why Americans ads have lesser information as compared to

Indian ads and have lesser availability cues as compared to other elements such
as product logo and tagline.
In Indian Ads the motive and intention was:

Increase sales of the product, which is short term in nature.
Inform the consumers about the product availability.
Inform consumers about schemes, promotions, gifts, offers, discounts, freebies
etc.
Make the consumer familiar with the product/brand.
Build brand image.
The reasons for this are:
28
As compared to America, India is an unsaturated market.

The motive is not Share of Wallet (SoW) but new customers and increasing
customer base.
The focus is hence not on brand building through print ads but increase sales
revenue.
The limited penetration on internet has not made it possible for it to be used for
online shopping on a large scale, which means that ads need to show availability
information more as compared to American ads which show very less of
information cues as they often mention just the web address which provides the
American users with further information and also facilitates online shopping.
29
An American ad, which focuses on brand building. Note that only web address is
given on the bottom right corner. Brand: Stacy Adams.
An Indian ad with high information content. Note at the bottom the availability
cues Brand: Xerox.
The research shows that there were significant differences in many aspects of
advertising elements and expressions in India and the US. However, the findings
also indicated that there were some similarities in certain aspects of advertising
expressions in both countries, which may have been because of either same
reasons or different reasons. For example, high use of imagery in both countries
because of different reasons in India and US. While in India it was due to large-
30
scale illiteracy in US it was due to the fact that message speed needs to be very
short.
In the use of information cues, the two countries differed across several
categories like availability, website address etc. this was found across all types of
ads for different products and services. Indian ads scored very low in company
sponsored information and research. Surprisingly, US ads lay more emphasis on
price/value than Indian advertisements. This can be attributed to saturation of US
market and fight for Share of Wallet (SoW).
In Indian ads the second most important cue was availability while in the US ads
it was component along with website address.
American ads which use Low Context (LC) communication style are "expected
to communicate in ways that are consistent with their feelings," whereas HC
culture Indian ads will set the context and the setting and let the message evolve
without referring to the problem directly. Indian High context (HC) cultures ads
tend to use indirect, non-confrontational, and vague language, relying on the
listener or reader's ability to grasp the meaning from the context. LC cultures
American ads tend to use a more direct, confrontational, and explicit approach to
ensure that the listener receives the message exactly as it was sent.
31
The LC culture American ads used direct and expressive words/sentences and the
HC culture Indian ads used more poetic words/sentences
The American ads lacked subheads, body-copy and scored very high on imagery
and tagline/logo. This is because the transparency is US ads are greater along with
the message speed and thus the prevalence of minimalist school of advertising. As
life is fast in the US and Americans are exposed it greater number of messages
per day (247 according to most conservative estimates) the message speed has to
short precise and to the point.
On the other hand Indian ads were rich in Headlines, subhead and body-copy
because the HC culture were a lot of information is given to the reader and give
the user maximum information. Indian ads have various layers to it. It is rich in
information content with respect to quality, performance, availability cues,
features ingredients, safety uses components etc.
In terms of portrayal of women, the Indian ads scored high on stereotypical

portrayal of women whereas American ads showed a higher tendency to show
them as sex objects. Both the countries scored low on showing either a neutral or
liberal portrayal of women in ads.
32
More single men were shown in Indian ads as compared to American ads. It is a
reflection of the Indian society, which is male dominated and where male is
decision maker in purchase decision. Although even American ads showed a high
percentage of ads, which only had men in it, it was still lower than those
American ads, which showed only women. Family portrayal was higher in Indian
ads as compared to American ads which show that Indian ads had a collective
stance as compared to the individualistic stance of American ads.
Ads in India showed more children and cartoons whereas ads in America
showed more elderly because of the demographics of both nations. While India
has a younger population, the population of America is getting older. Moreover
according to studies the children in India play a very active role in buying
decisions of the family both in case of durable or non-durable products as
compared to their American counter parts.
The demographics of India show that 0-14 years comprise 31.2% of Indias
population, 15- 25 year old comprises 30.8% of population. It is projected that the
population of
India will remain YOUNG till 2060. This justifies the use of
children cartoons etc in Indian ads. Since the population of America is ageing
more elderly were shown.
33
Use of Celebrities is more in India as compared to US owing to the following

factors:
Decline of Celebrity endorsements in US due to ageing population
Celebrities play a major role in influencing the opinions of kids in India.
Demographic Connect: Different stars appeal differently to various
demographics segments (age, gender, class, geography etc). Since India

has more youngsters, children, the use of celebs is justified in India.
In India Stars are looked up to as Demi-gods as compared to US which
is a very individualistic society were self is most important.

Ageing population of America justifies use of politicians, social workers
writers as celebrities.
Indian ads use more vibrant colours like red yellow green etc. as compared to
American ads. American ads use more darker colours black blue or dull colours
like grey. Use of vibrant colours in Indian ads can be attributed to the fact that
colours like red yellow green etc are auspicious colours and reflective of Indian
culture. American ads use more of black, as it is a symbol of power, authority and
individuality. American ads use more sober and subtle colours.
34
American ads rely more on rational arguments and humour along with
comparative arguments, whereas Indian ads rely more on emotional appeal and
insecurity of the customers. Once again a reflection of LC American culture and
HC Indian culture.
From a realistic point of view, the findings of this study provide useful insights
into the nature of advertising in Indian and the US over a period of time. The
results show which rudiments and characteristics of advertising are different or
similar between the two countries. From the point of view of international
promotional communiqu, such cross- cultural understanding is vital in order to
be able to formulate successful localized advertising or public relations
communication that would appeal to or mirror the cultural principles and models
of its intended audience. In a broader sense, a localized approach is advantageous
not only to international communicators but also to the larger host the public. The
findings of this study are especially applicable and timely in light if the fact that
now western and eastern culture has come into greater contact due to a
momentous increase in international trade. This augmented contact between the
west and the east has created a need for an improved perceptive of international
promotional communication.
35
From a sociological point of view, the analysis of variable portrayals of women

provides useful insights into how gender role norms are manifested in advertising
of the two cultures. Despite the differences in the level of portrayals, it is evident
that advertising of both cultures still portrays women stereotypical roles. Although
considerable changes have taken place within both cultures in terms of gender
roles following the womens liberation movement, the images of women in
advertising are not keeping pace with social changes. Comparatively, the Indian
advertisements are more conventional than their US counterparts. This can be
attributed to the fact that the womens liberation movements were slow to develop
in India. This is also partly due to the fact that Indian culture is high power
distance meaning that power is more unequally distributed, roles of men and
women are more clearly distinguished and the pressure to maintain these
distinctions is quite strong. On the other hand, because of a more traditional
orientation in society, advertising in India does not use sexual portrayals o f
women as much as US ads.
From a professional point of view the research tries to answer a question, which
many marketers and advertisers face. Whether to have standardized solutions or
localized solutions? The research finding clearly emphasizes importance to
localized solutions as compared to standardizations. The issue of cross cultural
analysis of advertising has also become significant in dealing with a recent debate
36
over outsourcing a service like advertising to other regions. It tries to answer the
question whether a service like advertising and advertising professional who are
deeply influenced by the culture of a particular region, will be able to deliver in
case of being pitched for international clients on assignments for different regions,
alien to their cultures.
From the standpoint of international marketing and advertising professionals, such

cross cultural understanding is very important in order to be able to devise
successful localized advertising that would reflect the cultural values and norms
of its proposed audience. In broader sense, a localized approach is more valuable
and advantageous not only to the international marketer (more useful and
effective in getting its message across) but also to the larger host society (its
culture is not adversely affected by alien values, beliefs, and lifestyles).
37
References:
Wrtz, E. (2005). A cross-cultural analysis of websites from high-context

cultures and low-context cultures. Journal of Computer-Mediated
Communication, 11(1), article 13.
Desmarais, F. (2007). Issues in cross-cultural studies of advertising

audiovisual material. PRism 4(3):
Niaz Ahmed (1996), Cross-Cultural Content Analysis of Advertising from

the United States and India
Emmanuel C. Alozie (2003), Critical Analysis of Cultural Values Found in

Nigerian Mass Media Advertisements, SMILE: Studies in Media and
Information Literacy Education, Vol 3, No 4, Pages 1-12
Edward C. Miller, Thomas Griffin, Peter Di Paolo, Ed Sherbert (2009),

The Boundaries Of Business-The Impact Of Cultural Differences On The
Effectiveness Of Advertisements On The Internet: A Comparison Among
The United States, China, And Germany, 2009 ABR & TLC Conference
Proceedings, Oahu, Hawaii, USA
Keown, Charles F., Laurence W. Jacobs, Richard W. Schmidt, and KyungIl Ghymn, Information Content of Advertising in the United States, Japan,
South Korea, and the Peoples Republic of China, International Journal of
Advertising, 11, 257-267, 1992.
38
Singh Nitish, Analyzing Cultural Sensitivity of Websites: A Normative

Framework,
Jake Harwood & Abhik Roy (1999), The Portrayal of Older Adults in
Indian and U.S. Magazine Advertisements, The Howard Journal of
Communications, 10 :269280, 1999
http://www.winadvisorygroup.com/High-contextLow-context.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_context_culture
High-context and Low-context Culture Styles - RED
39

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A Cultural Analysis

of American & Indian Advertisements

Prof. (Dr) Sanjeev Bansal

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

Amity Business School, Amity University, Noida.

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

American & Indian Advertisements: A Cultural Analysis

From a more pragmatic standpoint, if specific cross-cultural differences or

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

aspects of advertising can be shared across several countries, and conversely,

From the standpoint of international marketing and advertising practitioners, such

Key Words: High-context cultures, Low-context cultures, Speech acts in

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

American & Indian Advertisements: A Cultural Analysis

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

As the integration of the world economy has increased significantly in recent

Cross-cultural analysis of advertising can identify specific differences and

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

means that people in these cultures emphasize interpersonal relationships.

Low-context cultures (including North America and much of Western Europe)

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

communicators in high-context cultures who depend less on language precision

c) Lack of Proper Communication and infrastructure facilities:

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

Studies that conducted

cross-cultural content analysis and provide background information for

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

is the process of absorbing ones culture. Acculturation is the process of learning a

Weinberger and Spotts (1989) conducted a comparative content analysis of the

Overall, the ads for high

involvement and rational products contained higher information content. The

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

advertisements of France and the United States in terms of information content,

The study revealed that French

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

Mueller (1987) examined magazine advertisements of Japan and the United

The researcher found that the same basic

advertising appeals were used in both U.S. and Japanese advertisements.

The author concluded that

appeals such as product merit and status appeal are universal.

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

are most often pricevalue, quality, performance, components or contents,

Nitish Singh of St. Louis University in his paper on Analyzing Cultural

He further goes on to talk about country-specific symbols that include anything

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

The advertising was analyzed and compared in terms of

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

Visual codification (iconic stance of characters, indexical value transfer,

iconic image of women)

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

Availability Info Cue

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

In both Indian and US ads, quality/performance information was the most

In US ads, the second most frequent used information cue was

components/ingredients, while in Indian ads, the second most common

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

Importance of elements in Ads

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

CHART 1: Relevance of Elements

A Cultural Analysis of American & Indian Advertisements

Minimalist communication is important in LC cultures. That because

according to most conservative estimates an American is exposed to 247

Speech Acts in advertising