Cultural Values Reflected in Theme and Execution: A Comparative Study of U.S. and Korean Television Commercials

Abstract

This study develops a cross-cultural content analysis framework to examine underlying cultural dimensions: individualism/collectivism, time orientation, relationship with nature, and contextuality. Most cross-cultural content analyses have inferred that differences in execution have been due to assumed cultural differences in the societies examined (often based on the work of Hofstede [1980]); the development of the structure proposed here will allow the direct investigation of those cultural issues. Television commercials from the U.S. and Korea were selected as being representative of North American and East Asian commercials. Both countries are present-time oriented, and while individualism and collectivism are prevalent in both cultures, individualism is more dominant in the U.S. Korean commercials stress oneness-with-nature slightly more than U.S. commercials, and U.S. commercials use more direct approaches. Directions for refinement and future research are identified.