Appeals and Cultural Values in Chinese Television Commercials

Feng Shen

doi:10.5539/ibr.v6n4p25

Abstract

China is the world’s fastest growing advertising market, and better understanding of the Chinese market is therefore crucial for both domestic and international advertisers. The objective of this study is to investigate two aspects of Chinese advertising that are under-explored in the literature. One is the use of appeals and cultural values in television commercials for indigenous Chinese brands. The other is the difference in the use of appeals and cultural valuesacross product categories. A content analysis is conducted to examine the use of appeals and cultural values in 428 prime-time Chinese television commercials for indigenous brands. While overall there is more use of rational appeals and less use of emotional appeals in goods advertising than in service advertising, the use of appeals and cultural values varies within goods categories. There is in fact more use of emotional appeals than rational appeals in the beauty and personal care category and the clothing category, and there is no difference in appeals in the food and drink category. These results are likely due to product characteristics, that is, rational appeals are associated with utilitarian products and emotional appeals are associated with hedonic products. The findings reported in this study have important managerial implications, particularly for international advertisers, to choose the right appeal and cultural values for their products.

Highlights

Interest in appeals and cultural values is prevalent in the literature of international advertising, and there are a growing number of studies that analyze advertising appeals and values in China, the world’s fastest growing advertising market (Weber, 2000), in the current Western-culture centered globalization
One was the use of rational/emotional appeals and cultural values for Chinese indigenous brands, and the other was the difference in the useacross product categories
While overall there was more use of rational appeals and less use of emotional appeals in goods advertising than in service advertising, the use of appeals and cultural values varied within goods categories

Summary

Introduction

Interest in appeals and cultural values is prevalent in the literature of international advertising, and there are a growing number of studies that analyze advertising appeals and values in China, the world’s fastest growing advertising market (Weber, 2000), in the current Western-culture centered globalization. This line of research helps identify the interplay of appeals and values as reflected in Chinese advertising and makes substantial contribution to the knowledge base of international advertising, which is crucial for both domestic and international advertisers. I discuss the implications of this study as well as limitations and directions for future research

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Conclusion