Transcript CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN ADVERTISING CREATIVE

CROSS-CULTURAL
DIFFERENCES IN
ADVERTISING CREATIVE
STRATEGY: A LACUNIAN
ANALYSIS OF AUTO
COMMERCIALS IN
AMERICA AND GERMANY
ABSTRACT
 This study addresses the standardization and adaptation of
advertising campaigns in the context of the auto industry and their
televised campaigns in America and Germany. It sets out to
investigate how lacuna theory can be used to show that
advertisements reflect a specific cultural communication and they
are interpreted by a specific cultural understanding. Lacuna theory
will be used to see the perceptions of auto commercials by
Germans and Americans to see if differences in cultural
communication and cultural understanding exist in advertising
creative strategies. The study will find out how these differences, if
present, can be identified and understood so that advertising
creatives can begin to either implement standardized commercials
that are functional for the auto industry in Germany and America or
else adapt their campaigns to better target consumers in each
country.
Language and Culture
 My paper deals with language (verbal and non-verbal) and culture (German
and American). According to Samovar, Porter, and Stefani (1998) our
language serves as a guide to how we perceive reality, ”Word usage and
meaning are learned, and all cultures and co-cultures have special
experiences that frame usage and meaning.” (146) We cannot be
separated our language from our culture. It is a shared set of symbols that
are understood by a large group of people. Symbols and sound vary from
culture to culture, as well as the rules for using the symbols (phonology,
grammar, syntax, and intonation). Samovar, Porter, and Stefani (1998)
believe that as the global village evolves there will be a greater emphasis
put on the importance of international communication and language
translation.
The Question of
Standardization
 Since the 1960s when advertising standardization was first being discussed
(Elinder, 1961; Fatt, 1964), the question of whether companies would or
would not be able to promote products in other lands using the same
advertising message strategy has not been fully answered. Many scholars
tend to forward the opinion that standardization can work to a certain
extent. These individuals suggest that some aspects of the advertising
campaign can be standardized yet other aspects should be adapted to
meet the given market conditions (Light, 1990; Peebles et al., 1977; Quelch
and Hoff, 1986). Opponents to standardization state that advertising
strategies should be adapted to other markets because the cultural
differences as well as the economical and legal conditions are too large to
conquer with a single advertising campaign (Kotleer, 1986).
The Continuum Concept
 Nikolasos Papavassilious and Vlasis Stathakopoulos (1997) take what they
call the ”continuum concept” into consideration, meaning that international
advertising decisions concerning the creative advertising strategy and
tactics can be viewed as a continuum which stretches between two polar
ends, one being that of standardization the other of adaptation. The
researchers explain their understanding of the concept, ” The continuum
concept suggests that international advertising decisions must be either
standardized or not standardized. If they are not standardized, then they
must be adapted, and hence one needs to determine which adaptations
are most appropriate in different situations.
Standardization vs.
Adaptation
 Papavassilious and Stathakopoulos identify three sets of variables which are
directly related to international advertising strategy.
Local
Intrinsic
Firm
Local Variables
 The cultural environment to which one belongs becomes
a centering point for the development of the individual.
He or she evaluates, comprehends, behaves, and
perceives the world according to sets of beliefs, values,
and attitudes, which arose, and perhaps were even
encouraged, by way of the interaction of the individual
in the given social environment over time.
Advertising Studies
 Graham et. al. (1993) while studying how the host culture influences a
firm’s marketing strategies, found that German and Japanese companies
adapt their advertising strategies, to different degrees, in order to meet the
cultural requirements of their foreign markets.
 Mueller (1987) found out just how important cultural values can be as they
relate to advertising message appeals. The researcher found that Japanese
magazines often forward more ”soft-sell” appeals and status appeals, and
less rational appeals. They also show more respect for elders in their
magazines.
 Hong et al. (1987) also found that status appeals are stressed in Japanese
advertisements while the emphasis of individual determinism plays a major
role in American advertisements.
Cultural Similarities
 Boote (1982) completed an empirical comparative study of the
value structures in the UK, Germany, and France.
 Mueller (1991) found that a standardized approach was more
common between America and Germany than America and Japan.
This was due to the fact that a concentration on individual
gratification exists in the USA which a contrary emphasis on group
norms exists in Japan.
 The French, for instance, rely on far less television and print
advertising for information in regard to new products than
Americans (Green & Langeard, 1975). The French also subscribe to
less magazines, thus special advertising strategies, ones that differ
greatly from American advertising strategies, must be taken in
France, simply because media habits differ.
Lacuna Theory
 Lacuna theory will provide the theoretical foundation for
the study. The lacuna model was originally discovered
by J.A. Sorokin and used within the framework of
Russian ethnopsycholinguistics. The lacuna concept was
referred to in the 19th century by Russian linguistics but
lacuna theory did not become a central concept for
Russian intercultural communication studies until the
1970s and 1980s (Schroeder, 1995).
Types of Lacunae
Cultural Lacunae
Subjective Lacunae
Lacunae of Communicative Activity
Lacunae Related to Cultural Space
Pragmatic Lacunae
Textual Lacunae
An Overview of the Study
 Sixty-five American college students from a small liberal arts
institution, Muskingum College (New Concord, Ohio), were asked to
imagine that they were working for an advertising research firm
that was working upon a campaign where they would have to either
standardize their advertisements or adapt them. The students were
taking classes in either public speaking or mass communication.
Their ages ranged from 18 to 22.
Question #1
Briefly compare the
German car commercials
with American car
commercials. What do you
notice as being ”different”
or ”strange” about the
German car commercials?
Question #2
Notice carefully the production
techniques (music, lighting,
sound, camera angles, and
shots, editing) used in the
creation of the American car
commercials. Do you find these
techniques to be somewhat
unusual? (i.e., does the pacing
seem too fast or too slow?)
Question #3
Do you recognize any of the
characters in any of the
commercials? Do you find the
gestures, facial expressions, makeup, or body language of the
characters to be different from that
of the facial expressions, make-up,
or body language of the characters
to be different from that of the
characters seen on American
commercials? If yes, please explain
your answer.
Question #4:
Do the values that are being associated
with the product in the German car
commercials differ from the values that are
being associated with the product in the
German car commercials differ from the
values that are associated with the product
in America? Give an example of how the
association is the same or different.
Question #5
Which commercials seem to be
more entertaining, the German
car commercials or the
American car commercials, or
do they seem pretty much the
same?
Question #6
Is there a difference in the type
of language used in the
commercials (i.e., the way the
car is described, formal, slang
– this is relying heavily on the
translation)
Question #7
Do the German commercials
contain more emotional appeals
or more rational appeals? Is this
situation the same in regard to
the American commercials
Question #8
Would most of the German car
commercials function properly in
America if they were correctly
translated and dubbed? Please
explain your answer.
Thank you for your time and
cooperation.