Interactive Effects of Appeals, Arguments, and Competition across North American and Chinese Cultures

Abstract

Using data from actual consumers in North America and China, this research analyzes the interactive effects of appeals and arguments in a competitive environment. The theoretical basis for this study is that contrast effects are most likely to occur when consumers experience advertisements with distinct culture-laden advertising appeals and comparable arguments. The findings indicate that a culturally congruent appeal and a strong argument embedded in an advertisement may create more favorable responses when competing advertisements contain culturally incongruent appeals and neutral arguments than when competing advertisements contain culturally congruent appeals and neutral arguments.