Effects of Ethnic Identity on Perceived Advertisers’ Motives in Values Advocacy Advertising

The current study examined Asian American consumers’ responses to values advocacy advertising through the interaction of levels of ethnic identification (weak or strong Asian ethnic identification) and culturally embedded ads (low and high in Asian/White culturally embedded ads) in evaluating altruistic motives of advertisers and purchase intention through an experimental design. The findings suggest that low Asian ethnic identifiers may identify with the advertiser employing Asian spokespersons with Asian cultural cues and in turn, perceive that the advertisers advocate social causes with altruistic motives. However, they did not feel congruent with the advertisers utilizing values advocacy ads with low Asian cultural cues (only featuring Asian spokespersons) more than with low/high White cultural cues (featuring White spokespersons with and without White cultural cues).The findings were discussed based on ethnic schema and attribution theory. Further, the present study discusses how Asian American consumers view ads through their different lenses toward meanings of race and culture based on their different levels of ethnic identification.     

Selling through entertaining: The effect of humour in television advertising in Hong Kong

Considerable research evidence has indicated that humour has a positive impact on attention but no consensus is reached with regard to the persuasive effect of humour in advertising. Two hundred and fifty-four university students were recruited to watch five television commercials and respond to a structured questionnaire in this study. Results show that humour secures attention getting while disrupts message processing. Humour enhances message persuasiveness when the moderating variable need for cognition (NFC) is controlled. Participants with low NFC are easier to be persuaded by humorous commercials than participants with high NFC do. It is also found that repeated exposure to the same humorous commercial does not harm its persuasive effect. Male audiences regard humorous commercials as more persuasive while female audiences are the opposite. The study provides guidelines for advertisers/advertising practitioners who would like to employ humour in their communication at the same time it draws ethical concerns towards the increased application of entertainment-coated persuasion.     

The use of humour in television advertising: revisiting the US-UK comparison

This paper replicates a portion of the Weinberger and Spotts (1989) study, which compared the use of humour in television advertising in the US and the UK. A careful comparison of the results of the two studies suggests that the overall use of humour has become more similar in the two countries. Unlike the Weinberger and Spotts study, the current study found no difference in the proportion of ads that use humour, and little difference in the situational use of humour. However, differences in the way that humour is used and in the types of humour used remain. These differences are discussed in the context of Hofstede's (1991) cultural dimensions.     

Cultural Themes in Brazilian and U.S. Auto Ads: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

Abstract

Do Brazilian and U.S. advertisers employ different themes in print advertisements? If so, what can we conclude about cross-cultural differences in values? In our study of automobile ads that appeared in the business magazines of Brazil and of the U.S. during the 1970s, we found that (1) urban themes were used more frequently in Brazilian ads than in U.S. ads, (2) leisure themes were used more frequently in U.S. ads than in Brazilian ads, (3) work themes appeared as frequently in Brazilian ads as in U.S. ads, and (4) work themes appeared more frequently in U.S. ads as the 1970s progressed. Thus, our study suggests that values differ between the business subculture of Brazil and that of the United States. Importantly, our latter two findings disaffirm the theories of many historians and sociologists. Because the application of historical and sociological theories may produce erroneous advertising decisions, we advise advertisers to research carefully each national market before using a “standardized” advertising theme.     

Web banner ads in online newspapers: a cross-national comparison of India and Korea

A cross-national content analysis was performed on 449 web banner ads taken from the online editions of leading Indian and Korean daily newspapers. There are substantial differences between Indian and Korean ads in terms of the types of products advertised, the presence of price cues and the types of appeals used. Korean newspaper websites are starting to attract a diverse mix of advertisers, while Indian newspaper websites attract ads targeted mainly towards expatriate non-resident Indians. The observed differences between the two countries are probably attributable more to differences in internet diffusion rather than to cultural differences.     

Comedic violence in advertising: the role of normative beliefs and intensity of violence

Interest in the use of comedic violence in advertising has risen, but the research on this topic has been limited. Past studies have found positive effects of comedic violence in ads, with higher levels of violence increasing positive responses. However, given that the violence depicted in these ads is a violation of social norms, following the Social Norms Theory, it is proposed that individual norm beliefs about violence in advertising could be a significant factor in influencing ad outcome. Using an online panel of general consumers across two experiments, this study revealed that norm beliefs had a positive influence on comedic violence ad responses. In addition, when violence intensities of the ads were varied, individuals with lower norm beliefs responded more positively to low violence ads than high violence ads, whereas individuals with higher norm beliefs did not exhibit different responses to the two violence intensities. Mediation analyses were conducted to test for the underlying mechanisms. As comedic violence advertising may offend audiences, the findings provide targeting and design implications for advertisers interested in this strategy.     

Humor and ad liking: Evidence that sensation seeking moderates the effects of incongruity‐resolution humor

It is widely reported that humorous ads are better liked and therefore more effective than are non‐humorous ones. This study examines whether the liking advantage associated with ads containing incongruity‐resolution humor depends on sensation seeking. Higher sensation seekers are assumed to enjoy arousal induction because they are lower in base arousal level. From this it can be predicted that ads containing incongruity‐resolution humor will not be liked better by such people than will equivalently arousing non‐humorous ads. However, the higher base arousal assumed to characterize lower sensation seekers is claimed to be associated with a preference for reduction of induced arousal. Incongruity‐resolution humor provides a mechanism for reduction of the arousal occasioned by the incongruity. As a result, it is expected that lower sensation seekers will like ads containing such humor more than non‐humorous ads matched in arousal to the humorous ones. The results support those suggestions. The relevance of the findings for advertising is discussed, and requirements for further research are indicated. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Cultural Meaning,Advertising, and National Culture: A Four-Country Study

Cultural meaning transfer theory and GLOBE dimensions were employed in this comparative study to examine the extent to which cultural meaning presented in advertisements reflected national cultures of the target countries. Content analysis was applied to advertisements from four countries to investigate whether the use of advertising appeals presented in these advertisements mirrored variations in cultures as described by GLOBE Society Values. Results revealed that, in line with the hypotheses, there were similarities and differences in the use of appeals, and only some of them mirrored the cultural variations. GLOBE Society Values were more likely to predict the use of appeals than GLOBE Society Practices, but not for all appeals. Advertisers can draw on national cultures for cultural meanings to be used in advertisements only to a limited extent. It may be that advertisements mold rather than mirror societal values, or that only certain cultural traits are important for advertisers.     

Super Bowl ad likeability: Enduring and emerging predictors

US advertisers love the Super Bowl because it reaches a huge and highly receptive audience. One metric that Super Bowl advertisers watch closely is ad likeability as this is correlated with sales success. Tomkovick, Yelkur, and Christians (2001, Journal of Marketing Communications 7: 89–108) studied ad likeability for Super Bowl ads in the 1990s. In this paper, we replicate and extend their research using USA Today's measurement of Super Bowl ad likeability in the decade of the 2000s as our dependent variable of interest. Our findings on 438 Super Bowl ads show that humor, animals, and product category were enduring predictors of ad likeability. Product information and the presence of children in Super Bowl ads were found to be emerging predictors of ad likeability. Most notably, the amount of product information provided in Super Bowl commercials was inversely related to ad likeability. Implications for advertisers are presented, as are conclusions, study limitations and directions for future research.     

The Moderating Role of Gender Identity in Responses to Comedic Violence Advertising

Comedic violence advertising has been increasing in the United States, but many studies thus far have been content analytic in nature. To gain a better understanding of who will find comedic violence ads humorous and thus have favorable brand perceptions, two experimental studies were conducted with gender identity as an influential factor. In Study 1, masculine individuals responded more favorably to highly violent and humorous ads than feminine individuals did. Study 2 varied the violence level in the comedic violence ads and found that when violence was low both masculine and feminine individuals responded similarly to the comedic violence ad, but when violence was high masculine individuals responded more favorably than did feminine individuals. Perceived humor was found to be an important mediator of comedic violence ad processing. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are provided.     

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.     

Culture-Based Values and Management Style of Marketing Decision Makers in Six Western Pacific Rim Countries

ABSTRACT

Given increasing advertisement clutter, advertisers are increasingly trying unconventional means to attract consumers' attention. One such method involves the use of incongruent ads, which are believed to attract viewers' attention. This research was conducted to ascertain the impact of audiovisual congruency in ads and the moderating role of product involvement on three facets of consumer response: attention to the ad, attention to the brand, and purchase intentions. Participants were shown one of eight TV ads for 30 seconds, following which they were asked to rate the ad on several dimensions. Results indicated, as expected, that congruent product and music type elicited favorable consumer responses. However, contrary to earlier findings that congruency in ads affects consumers in both high- and low-involvement conditions, we find that that the level of involvement moderated this effect on some consumer persuasion measures. In particular, participants under high-involvement conditions were found to be less influenced by congruent product–music situations. Implications for advertisers are discussed.     

A Cross-Country Investigation of Recall of and Attitude toward Comparative Advertising

Abstract

The author reports the results of an exploratory study of cross-country differences in recall of and attitude toward comparative advertising. As American companies are increasingly advertising their products in other countries, the issue of cross-country differences in comparative advertising effectiveness is very important. The study found that although recall of comparative ads was high, consumer attitudes toward comparative ads was not very positive, especially in countries where comparative ads are not widely used or are used rarely. Therefore, comparative ads should be targeted at other countries with caution.     

When you are what you own

This study examines the effects humour complexity and humour relatedness in humorous television commercials have on brand linkage. The research design combined a content analysis of humour characteristics in commercials and a field study among consumers. In the field study, participants were exposed to existing commercials with obscured brand names and asked to reproduce the brand names. Results showed an interaction effect between the two humour characteristics: brand-related humour led to stronger brand linkage than unrelated humour, but this effect was found only for complex humour. The implications of these findings for the practice of advertising are discussed.     

On the monetization of mobile apps

Though the mobile app market is substantial and growing fast, most app providers struggle to monetize apps profitably. Monetizing apps is done in two ways: a) selling advertising space within a free version of the app, and b) selling a paid version, termed freemium or in-app purchase strategy. In this paper, we present a framework for monetization of mobile apps, using two central empirical regularities concerning the relationship between users and their mobile apps: a) Sampling: While consumers have some prior knowledge of their fit with the app, they remain uncertain regarding their exact utility until they are using it; and b) Satiation: The utility of using the app may decrease with time. While work on the monetization of digital goods has largely overlooked the role of satiation and the consequent retention issues, we show that in combination with uncertainty, it elucidates the role of the segments of consumers that download the free vs. paid version of the app, and how to balance these two segments so as to monetize mobile apps. We encounter two distinct scenarios: In the first, advertising drives most of the revenues; while in the second, revenues are driven by the paid version of the app. We explain how uncertainty and satiation affect the prevalence of the respective scenarios and impact the share of revenues from the paid vs free version of the app. We also demonstrate that an app provider can profit from offering a free version with ads even if advertisers are not paying for these ads. In other words, the app provider benefits from offering a “damaged good” version of the app that includes ads, even if this version is free to consumers, and the advertisers are not paying for the ads.     

The advertising effectiveness of different levels of intensity of humour and warmth and the moderating role of top of mind awareness and degree of product use

Responses to three different intensity levels of warmth (none, moderate and high) and three different levels of humour were investigated as well as the moderating role of top of mind awareness and degree of product use. Affective responses, attitude towards the advertisement (Aad) and the brand (Ab) and the favourableness of advertisement-related cognitions were enhanced by the use of warmth although the intensity level (moderate versus high intensity) did not seem to matter. As far as humour was concerned, a high-intensity humorous appeal induced most favourable affective responses, Aad and advertisement-related cognitions, while a moderate level of humour was most conducive for a favourable Ab and brand-related cognitions. Significant interaction effects suggested that the most positive advertisement effects can be obtained by combining high levels of warmth with high levels of humour, while the most positive brand effects can be obtained by combining high levels of warmth and moderate levels of humour. Emotional executions of high intensity led to the most positive affective and cognitive reactions in the case of brands that are not top of mind and to the most positive cognitive reactions in the case where the respondent was a heavy user of the product category. In particular the intensity level of humour led to significant communication effects.     

Advertising standardisation in culturally similar markets

A framework for standardisation of ad content based on cultural and socio-economic similarity among countries is proposed. Advertising standardisation is investigated in the Arab world, a culturally similar setting with socio-economic differences among nations, by carrying out a content analysis of 949 ads from Egypt, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. Extant research suggests that, when advertising in culturally similar markets, advertisers use standardised advertising. We investigate two types of ad content – culturally normative and product-related – and show that culturally normative ad content, such as the depiction of women consistent with societal norms, is predominantly culture driven, and standardisation is appropriate, regardless of socio-economic differences. On the other hand, product-related content such as information content, the use of hedonic vs utilitarian appeals, and the provision of price information are influenced by both cultural and socio-economic factors. Hence, standardisation is not appropriate for productrelated ad content when socio-economic differences exist among culturally similar markets. Thus, conditions under which standardisation of the two types of ad content is appropriate are identified. Implications and suggestions for future research are also offered.     

The Prevalence of Sexual Imagery in Ads Targeted to Young Adults

To determine if advertisers use sexual imagery to appeal to youth, 2,863 ads in magazines read by young and mature adults were compared. Results indicate that ads targeted to young adults were 65% more likely to contain provocatively dressed models and 128% more likely to contain sexual behavior than those for mature adults. In the ads for young adults, female models were 3.7 times more likely to be portrayed sexually than were male models. The findings suggest that advertisers use sexual imagery, primarily by means of female models, to appeal to young audiences. Education and consumer action implications are discussed.     

The Impact of Program Environment on Recall of Humorous Television Commercials

This study investigated the possible effect of television program types on the recall performance of humorous television commercials. An experimental design was developed to test the relative performance of the same humorous and non-humorous ads in three different contextual environments—situation comedy, action/adventure, and documentary. The findings indicate that the recall performance of commercials and of the product or service promoted are both affected by the program environment within which the ads appear.     

Nudity of female and male models in primetime TV advertising across seven countries

This study partially replicates and extends previous research on nudity by examining TV advertising across multiple countries (Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, South Korea, Thailand and the United States) and by incorporating multiple factors (cultural values, advertising regulation and product type). Results show that female (but not male) nudity differed substantially across countries, and females were portrayed in greater states of undress than males. US and Chinese commercials showed the lowest level of nudity, whereas German and Thai ads showed the highest level. Cultural values (masculinity/ femininity) and advertising regulation (pre-clearance policy) explain only minimally the degree of model nudity in ads across the countries. Although each of the three factors offers some value for predicting degrees of male and female nudity, congruent product category appears to be the most significant predictor, supporting a match-up hypothesis and congruency theory. Results are discussed in terms of global advertising strategy.