The Role of Culture in Creative Execution in Celebrity Endorsement: The Cross-Cultural Study

ABSTRACT

In advertising literature, an area rarely explored is cross-cultural studies on celebrity endorsements. A good deal may be learned from understanding how a culture's communication style can shape the type of advertising most effective for that culture. This study examines the creative styles (creative executional factors) found in the advertising of Korea and America. The two countries represent two distinct cultures—Korea being a collectivistic culture and the United States being individualistic. Both cultures affect the norms and rules that guide their inhabitants’ behavior, directly affecting communication styles. The study finds that embedded in the use of celebrity endorsement are cross-cultural characteristics. The details of these findings will be useful to international advertisers executing celebrity endorsement campaigns in different cultural settings.     

The Effects of Comparative Advertising on Young Consumers’ Perceptions: Cross-Cultural Comparison Between the United States and Taiwan

This study aims to examine the effectiveness of comparative advertising of a high involvement product in two countries, the United States and Taiwan. The results show that different types of comparative advertising moderate the relationship in the proposed model and exert different levels of influences on consumers. The United States and Taiwanese consumers are significantly different in attitudes toward the ad, attitudes toward the sponsored brand, and purchase intention. The results show that direct comparative advertising might be suitable for promoting a new brand in countries with individualistic cultures. However, global marketers should be cautious when employing comparative advertising formats in collectivist cultures.     

Empathy with influencers? The impact of the sensory advertising experience on user behavioral responses

Short-form video influencer advertising offers new opportunities for user sensory experience to promote advertising effectiveness and induce positive user responses. This unique means of influencer-generated advertising via short-form videos has not yet been investigated. This study builds on the reciprocity norm of social exchange theory to investigate relationships among ad sensory stimuli (i.e., the sensory advertising experience), the efficacy of influencer advertising (i.e., empathy and altruistic motive), and user behavioral responses (i.e., ad avoidance intention, ad engagement, and purchase intention). It also seeks to shed light on the critical role of perceived influencer effort in these relationships. An empirical study using data from TikTok (Douyin) users and results indicate that sensory advertising experience positively affects user behavioral responses through the serial mediation of empathy and altruistic motive. Additionally, perceived influencer effort is found to be a crucial moderator of the effect of sensory advertising experience on user empathy, which further influences user behavioral responses. The findings provide insight into the persuasion effect and mechanism of short-form video influencer advertising and offer suggestions for advertising campaign designers.     

The impact of cultural differences on technology adoption

This study examines the impact of Type I and Type II cultural differences on mobile phone adoption patterns. We use Hofstede's cultural dimensions to examine cultural differences of two countries (Type I: the U.S.; Type II: S. Korea) and employ the Bass diffusion model to delineate innovation and imitation effects on mobile phone adoption. The results show that in Type I culture innovation factor has a significantly higher level of effect on adoption than it does in Type II culture; and in Type II culture imitation factor has a higher degree of effect on adoption than it does in Type I culture. These findings imply that in individualistic cultures, people tend to seek information on their own from direct and formal sources, whereas in collectivistic cultures, people rely more on subjective evaluation of an innovation, conveyed from other-like-minded individuals who already have adopted the innovation.     

Hedonic shopping motivations in collectivistic and individualistic consumer cultures

We reinvestigate what constitutes hedonic customer experiences in collectivistic versus individualistic cultures using four country samples (N=2,336) in Germany and the U.S. as well as Oman and India. Across country samples, intrinsically enjoyable customer experiences are associated with the same underlying hedonic shopping motivations as shown in the original U.S. context. In comparison with individualistic cultures, we find that a hedonic shopping experience in collectivistic cultures is less strongly associated with selforiented gratification shopping, yet more strongly associated with others-oriented role shopping.     

Maximizing User Interactivity through Banner Ad Design

This research developed criteria for an online banner ad design to maximize user interactivity. The ad's design criteria were based on studies on interactivity, animation, persuasiveness of emotional and rational appeals in ads, animation, ad placement, size, and metrics. The ad was deployed and measured for effectiveness by using behavioral response metrics: click-through rates and mouse rollovers. Findings show that the ad designed according to the criteria garnered more user interaction than the other ads deployed during the same time. This has value for advertisers that need to evaluate online banner advertising design and need to make informed decisions on advertising strategy and campaigns.     

Effects of functional green advertising on self and others

This study examines the effects of a functional green advertising promoting the environmental advantages of a product. It presents the results of three experiments designed to (a) explore consumers’ perceptions of a functional green ad's effects on themselves and others, (b) determine how those perceptions are influenced by consumer environmental concern, and (c) examine how individualism–collectivism relates to self–other effect perceptions. Findings indicate that (a) consumers believe that functional green advertising exerts a stronger influence on others’ purchase decisions than on their own purchase decisions; (b) the self–other difference is more salient among consumers with high environmental concern; (c) in the individualistic culture, the perceived effectiveness on self, not on others, predicts consumers’ support for the regulation of functional green ads, while this effect is reversed when consumers are in collectivistic cultures. The study's findings extend several lines of research, including the literature on green advertising and the third‐person effect.     

Mobile Advertising: An Empirical Study of Temporal and Spatial Differences in Search Behavior and Advertising Response

Using clickstream panel data from an automobile ad campaign conducted on a mobile platform, we investigate the relevance of mobile advertising, the interrelationships between ad content, information search behavior, and advertising response. Temporally, we compare mobile users' search behavior and advertising response before and during a focal campaign event of an automobile show. Spatially, we examine their search behavior and advertising response in relation to their proximity to the show's location. Estimation results from individual-user random effects binary Logit and Poisson count models show that users' responses to mobile advertising are related to the depth and breadth of search and the ad content. While informative and persuasive ad content exhibits differential non-linear effects on the depth and breadth of search, they have similar effects on advertising response. Interestingly, spatial and temporal proximity of mobile ad campaigns may not lead to increased relevance of mobile campaigns; it depends on the type of ad content and the type of measure used to assess relevance.     

To seek variety or uniformity: The role of culture in consumers’ choice in a group setting

One stream of research suggests that individuals in a collectivistic culture tend to follow the others’ choices in a group choice setting (e.g., Markus and Kitayama 1991). Other research, however, suggests that the choices others make have little impact on the individuals’ choices in this cultural context (e.g., Kim and Drolet 2003). The current research attempts to test these competing hypotheses by examining individuals’ choices in group choice contexts (Ariely and Levav 2000). First, comparisons of 517 meal order slips from two local restaurants in Korea with simulated outcomes indicate a profound group-level uniformity seeking in dish selections. Second, our field experiment reveals that members of a collectivist culture tend to follow group members’ choices when group influence is evident. Unlike the previous findings of studies conducted on individuals from Western cultures, selections made in accordance with the cultural norm do not result in the reduction of emotional well-being for the collectivist cultural individuals. Finally, we provide more direct evidence for the hypothesized role of culture by showing that the choices of individuals with collectivistic cultural backgrounds are associated with higher uniformity-seeking tendency compared to those of individualistic cultural backgrounds.     

How augmented reality affects advertising effectiveness: The mediating effects of curiosity and attention toward the ad

Many major consumer-driven companies have started to use augmented-reality (AR) technology and AR apps to enrich their customers' shopping experiences and engagement with their brands, and to ultimately increase sales. However, there is scant research discussing the application of AR in an advertising context. Thus, the major goal of this study is to explore how, why, and when augmented reality influences advertising effectiveness. A field experiment and two laboratory experiments demonstrate that an AR advertisement increases consumers’ attitude toward the ad through an increase in their curiosity toward the ad and attention toward the ad (i.e., measured by a physiological measure using eye-tracking). However, the effects only hold when consumers are unfamiliar with the AR ad technology. Overall, this study provides practical implications to advertisers who are considering integrating augmented reality technology in their advertising efforts.     

Moderating Role of Consumer Self-Concept on the Effectiveness of Two Nostalgia Appeals

Existing empirical studies suggest that evoked nostalgia about a brand is positively related to attitude toward the brand. However, it is unlikely that nostalgia appeals are universally effective. Therefore, this research investigates two types of consumer nostalgias—individualistic nostalgia and collectivistic nostalgia— and examines how the relative effectiveness of these two nostalgia appeals is moderated by consumer self-concept (independent versus interdependent). Based on a two-phase study with time-honored Chinese brands, we reveal that, for consumers with an independent self-concept, an individualistic nostalgia appeal is more effective than a collectivistic nostalgia appeal, whereas for consumers with an interdependent self-concept, a collectivistic nostalgia appeal is more effective than an individualistic nostalgia appeal.     

Sex Appeal in Advertising: What Consumers Think

This study examined consumers’ attitude toward the use of sexual content in advertisements among there different cultural groups; i.e., individualistic sample (White American), collectivistic sample (US temporal visitors from Asia), and acculturation sample (Asian immigrants). Sixty participants were asked about cultural acceptability of sexual content ads and the favorable attitude toward those ads by using Q-methodology. Asian participants reported less cultural acceptability for sexuality, than either Asian American or North American participants. The findings also revealed that North Americans are more likely to prefer the use of sexual content in advertisement than Asians. Asian-American participants agreed with North American participants in regard to sexually explicit advertising. Implications and limitations were discussed.     

Understanding Why Consumers Don't Skip Pre-Roll Video Ads

Pre-roll advertising is a novel form of online video advertising that provides consumers with an option to skip after viewing a brief forced segment. Pre-roll ads are unique from other forms of online advertising because pre-roll ads play in exactly the space in which consumers are expecting to view their intended content. Such interruption and obstruction not only heightens consumer irritation but also causes attention-getting tactics, which are redundant in a highly attentive state, to backfire. For these reasons, existing ad avoidance literature may not adequately address this unique format. Employing a large industry data set of pre-roll ads representing multiple countries and product categories, we empirically examine skipping behavior using a broader range of ad characteristics than previous research. We propose that less complex affective ad characteristics increase skipping by failing to engage cognitive resources and therefore leaving cognitive resources available to experience irritation. We further posit that, in a pre-roll context, attention-getting ad characteristics are not only superfluous but actually increase the likelihood consumers recognize pre-roll content as advertising and skip. Our empirical findings support these assertions, identifying new factors driving ad avoidance, and calling into question the applicability of attention-getting advertising approaches in the novel pre-roll environment.     

Materialism,fashion consumers and gender: a cross‐cultural study

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among materialism, gender and fashion consumer groups from two countries – one representative of an individualistic culture (US) and one representative of a collectivistic culture (Korea). Participants were 397 students from a university in Korea (n = 221) and a university in the US (n = 176) who completed the questionnaire. The materialism construct showed adequate reliability for participants in both cultures. Fashion change agents scored higher on materialism (centrality and success) than fashion followers. Females scored higher on materialism than males which seemed to be based on higher scores on the centrality subscale. Participants from the US and Korea differed on all three subscales of materialism with US participants scoring higher on centrality but lower on success and happiness than Korean participants. The findings of this study provide valuable implications for fashion marketers and retailers in Korea and US. The findings are limited to Korean and US consumers and cannot be generalized to other cultures. This paper fills a gap in the literature by comparing materialistic values between genders and fashion consumer groups in an individualistic culture (US) and a collectivistic culture (Korea).     

An Algorithm for Allocating Sponsored Recommendations and Content: Unifying Programmatic Advertising and Recommender Systems

Retailing and media platforms recommend two types of items to their users: sponsored items that generate ad revenue and nonsponsored ones that do not. The platform selects sponsored items to maximize ad revenue, often through programmatic auctions, and nonsponsored items to maximize user utility with a recommender system (RS). We develop a binary integer programming model to allocate sponsored recommendations considering dual objectives of maximizing ad revenue and user utility. We propose an algorithm to solve it in a computationally efficient way. Our method is a form of postfiltering to a traditional RS, making it widely applicable in two-sided markets. We apply the algorithm to data from an online grocery retailer and show that user utility for the recommended items can be improved while reducing ad revenue by a small amount. This multiobjective approach unifies programmatic advertising and RS and opens a new frontier for advertising and RS research. We provide an extended discussion of future research topics.     

Cultural differences affect interactive television advertising

Comparing results from the UK and the USA, this study shows that even subtle cultural differences between two very similar countries can affect new forms of advertising such as interactive television (iTV) commercials. The UK pioneered the mainstream use of iTV advertising, and now it is a mainstream advertising option in the USA on cable networks and online TV networks like Hulu. This study tests whether effective iTV-ad execution factors identified by a previous study of 500 UK iTV campaigns are similarly effective in the USA based on data from 257 iTV campaigns run on the experimental Wink platform between 1998 and 2004. It finds that specific cultural differences make iTV advertising in the USA unique, but also identifies potential globally effective universals for iTV ads. The results of this study allow advertisers to predict the most effective alternative ideas for iTV advertising campaigns run in the USA and potentially in other countries around the world.     

The effect of traditionally marginalized groups in advertising on consumer response

Increasingly, national brands have cast people from marginalized groups in advertising. It is important to understand the elements that influence consumers’ responses to advertisements featuring groups who have been traditionally excluded from advertising campaigns. Although consumers may wish to buy brands that support their own views on human rights and equality, we propose that consumers in the target market may be uncomfortable if the group portrayal contradicts their beliefs about the topic, concept, or social groups in the ad. Across two studies, we show that when an ad creates this type of internal contradiction within consumers, it may elicit a more negative response than an ad portraying a more traditional model. However, we also find preliminary evidence that using models from marginalized groups can be more effective than using more traditional models—as long as such portrayals do not violate certain target consumers’ schemas. The implications of these results will be discussed.