The controversy of standardized versus specialized international advertising has fueled an increasing demand for more cross-cultural research on advertising content. To comply with this demand, this study investigated the similarities and differences of the manifestation of cultural values in Taiwanese and U.S. magazine advertisements. This study also examined whether advertising appeals and expressions accord with the conceptual cultural value orientations of each country. Moreover, this study examined the relationships among manifested cultural values, advertising appeals, and advertising expressions in both countries.; The research method of content analysis was utilized to analyze research data. Sample advertisements were chosen from eight magazines in each country. The advertising content of 176 Taiwanese and 199 U.S. magazine advertisements was analyzed in this study.; Research results showed that some values related to product merits were frequently utilized in both countries. These values were quality, effectiveness, and convenience. However, this study found Taiwanese magazine advertisements significantly utilized more cultural values of family integrity, harmony with others, interdependence, nature, popularity, and tradition, whereas U.S. advertisements more significantly emphasized cultural values of adventure, enjoyment, independence, quality, safety, sex, technology, uniqueness, and wealth.; This study also found that advertising appeals and expressions were highly consistent with the conceptual cultural value orientations of each country. The advertising appeals and expressions in Taiwanese advertisements tended to be more collectivistic, in harmony with nature, and high-context, whereas U.S. advertisements utilized more individualistic, emphasizing mastery over nature, and low-context advertising appeals and expressions. However, inconsistent with the conceptual time orientation of each country, the advertising appeals and expressions in both countries were observed to be predominately present-time-oriented.; Moreover, research results revealed that a linear relationship existed between manifest cultural values, advertising appeals, and advertising expressions in Taiwanese and U.S. magazine advertisements. The research findings also supported that advertising practice tended to associate with certain corresponding cultural values and advertising expression strongly accorded with advertising appeal in both countries. Therefore, on the basis of these research results, this study concluded that Taiwanese and U.S. magazine advertisements basically tended to reflect conceptual cultural differences in the advertising contents.
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