Whiteness and Western Values in Global Advertisements: An ...

Journal of Marketing Communications
Vol. 13, No. 4, 291–309, December 2007
Whiteness and Western Values in Global
Advertisements: An Exploratory Study
MALENE GRAM
Aalborg University, Denmark
ABSTRACT Several advertisements are standardized worldwide. Which values are used when
reaching out to a global multicultural segment with one advertisement? What are –in the minds of
advertisers –meaningful and desirable values on a global level? Through a literature study it is
reviewed which values are used in eastern and western advertising along with consumers’
preferences for foreign/local advertisements. Through an empirical analysis values in global
advertisements are examined through a content analysis of standardized advertisements applied in
western and Asian countries in 2000–2003. The empirical analysis uncovers the values in the
global advertisements in the sample with a special emphasis on Europe versus Asia. Results show
that white faces and western values (hedonism, modernism, individualism) predominate which is
in opposition to traditional Asian values (tradition, family, collectivism, subordination to
authority) but not necessarily to the general advertising scene in Asia. The study shows that
global advertisements do not represent global culture or universal values but are just a
continuation of what is going on in the West. The findings underline the complexity of the global/
local nexus discussed in the globalization debate.
KEY WORDS: Global advertisements, standardization/localization, whiteness, globalization,
global/local nexus
Introduction
Some advertisements travel the world: exposed on billboards, buses, at bus stops, in
shops, airports, magazines, on TV: they meet the eye everywhere, and the exposure
of these images is enormous. This is one ingredient, which is perceived to be part of
globalization (Featherstone, 1990). The fact that people in various parts of the world
are exposed to the same commercial messages and the same products are by some
(Fatt, 1967; Levitt, 1983) seen to homogenize cultures whereas most others argue
that even though people are exposed to the same products and market
communication, they do not become homogenized – rather they use the input in
the reconstruction of their culture (cf. Hannerz, 1992; Howes, 1996) and global
inputs exist side by side with local traditions as indicated by the term ‘glocalization’
Correspondence Address: Malene Gram, PhD, Associate Prof., Aalborg University, Fibigerstraede 2, 9220
Aalborg East, Denmark. Email: gram@ihis.aau.dk
1352-7266 Print/1466-4445 Online/07/040291–19 # 2007 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/13527260701359272

292 M. Gram
(Robertson, 1995). Without doubt the latter understanding holds true, and as
Askegaard and Kjeldgaard (2002, p. 17) write global marketing is not always as
much an expression of global demand and consumer homogeneity as an expression
of powerful and persistent marketers, and standardized marketing is received
through local readings. Michael Silk and David L. Andrews (2001) even argue that
global advertising does not make sense. They write:
In the early stages of corporate globalization, companies operated ‘as if the
entire world (or major regions of it) were a single, largely identical entity’ and
subsequently attempted to sell the ‘same things in the same way everywhere’
(Levitt, 1983, p. 22). Although such global naïveté persists in some corporate
(and indeed academic) circles, most soon realized the impracticability of
treating the global market as a single, homogenous entity (Silk and Andrews,
2001, p. 157).
Products obtain meaning locally, and this meaning cannot be controlled from the
headquarters of multinational corporations, and in recognition of the impact of
cultural differences several multinational companies have stopped using one-sided
global campaigns within advertising years ago (Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Nike).
However, some brands are still marketed in a totally standardized way across the
globe in even very different cultural contexts.
This paper examines advertisements used identically from continent to continent –
and what Silk and Andrews call the ‘impracticability’ of treating the world as one
market. The values, which advertisers use to reach out to a global multicultural
segment with a single message, are investigated. Through an empirical study it is
examined what are –in the minds of advertisers –meaningful and desirable values on
a global level? Through a literature study it is investigated how the readers of the
advertisements perceive them. In the light of the globalization debate, where scholars
disagree about what is happening to cultural values, the contribution of this paper is
to take a closer look at this global imagery.
Global advertisements, advertisements used in an identical form in most of the
world, are particularly found within luxury products: cosmetics, perfume and
watches (Belch and Belch, 1998). Luxury products are primarily advertised in
upscale magazines, mostly oriented at segments with a considerable income and for
developing countries’ mostly urban western-oriented consumers. This kind of
advertising is targeting the rich, but also wannabes striving for better lives. The
exposure of these advertisements is not restricted to readers of magazines but also to
a broader audience since many of these advertisements are also exposed in shop
windows, outdoor advertising and to some extent television.
In this exploratory study sixty-two advertisements are examined through
content analysis to uncover which values are communicated. To classify the
values found in the advertisements, findings are compared with studies of values
in western and Asian advertisements. This is done through a literature review
of studies analysing values in Asian and western advertisements, stemming from
the marketing and management literature. Focus is on Asia and western
countries since these markets are traditionally perceived as very different
regarding cultural values (Triandis, 1995; Chiou, 2002). In the literature study

Whiteness and Western Values in Global Advertisements 293
Asian readers’ preferences are examined with regard to local/western advertisements.
The findings from the literature study and the empirical study are discussed.
Expectations were that western values would be dominant but that hedonic and
liberal values would be down-played at the global advertising scene not to offend a
mixed global audience.
Literature Review
In this section a literature study is presented with an emphasis on the following
central questions: do universal values exist? Which values are found in eastern and
western advertising? And finally, what is the perception in eastern contexts of the use
of western values and white faces in eastern advertising?
Global Advertising 5 Universal Values?
Past research in international advertising has revealed significant differences in
advertising across cultures (e.g. Mueller, 1987; Tse et al., 1989; Zhang and Gelb,
1996). Consumers’ cultural values are regarded as governing ideas and principles for
thought and action in a given society (Srikandath, 1991; Chan, 1999) and a powerful
force shaping consumers’ motivations, lifestyles and product choices (Tse et al.,
1989).
Zhang and Gelb (1996) write that people raised in a particular culture become
accustomed to that culture’s value systems, beliefs and perception processes.
Consequently, according to Zhang and Gelb, people would respond to advertisements
congruent with their culture and culturally congruent appeals are generally
more effective in terms of attitude towards both advertisements and brands
(quoted in Hudson et al., 2002). In line with this view de Mooij (2003, p. 190)
writes: ‘Effectiveness in marketing means adapting to cultural values’. Incongruent
with this point of view, recent findings show that Chinese consumers actually
prefer foreign-sourced advertisements to local advertisements (Tai and Pae, 2002),
and also the fact that a number of advertisers actually continue to make
standardized advertisements indicates that adaptation of advertisements is not
always crucial on the advertising scene even if the perception of advertisements and
products is locally anchored rather than global or universal. Furthermore, it is well
known that the relationship between values and effectiveness in advertisements is not
a causal one.
De Pelsmacker et al. (2001, pp. 486–487) claim that some products can be sold to
similar target groups across countries (such as young people or people with a higher
education) and argue that these groups, in general, are more open-minded, less
culturally bound, more receptive to and make more use of international media, have
more international contacts and travel more.
Luxury products, high-tech products and new innovations without culturally
anchored traditions and expectations are seen as easier to market in a standardized
way than other products (Belch and Belch, 1998). These products seem to be
considered culture-free (Usunier, 1996), and therefore possible to sell through global
advertising –through visual communication avoiding language problems, different
understandings of copy and coping with illiterates. However, it is neither discussed

294 M. Gram
how a product can be given meaning and value if not through a cultural
understanding nor why or how non-verbal advertisements should be free of cultural
meaning.
Several authors assume that some human values are universal (e.g. Kanso, 1992;
Tai and Pae, 2002). In opposition to this, and in line with views held by modern
anthropologists, de Mooij strongly rejects this idea:
Global advertising, however, does not appeal to universal values because there
are no universal values. Since many global advertising campaigns are
developed in London or New York, they generally include Anglo-American
values … Just as consumer motives and needs are not the same across
countries, so the effect of global advertising is not the same in all countries (de
Mooij, 2003, pp. 196–197).
Regarding cultural values de Mooij concludes that even though at a macro
level for some durable products and new technologies, countries converge,
countries tend to diverge with respect to how consumers use these products (2003,
p. 198). Askegaard and Kjeldgaard (2002) write, in line with this view, that there is
no global consumer acting in accordance with universal values, only global
consumption.
Differences in local advertising styles have been documented through several
studies, whereas the existence of global values has never been documented. A
discussion of what is the most ‘effective’ advertising style (adapted or not to cultural
values) has been going on for a long time but it is indeed problematic to make a
direct link between advertisements and buying behaviour and to consider this a oneto-one
relationship. However, local preferences for advertisements differ, even
though the direct effect on sales is a much more problematic question to answer.
Still, as mentioned earlier, some target groups (youth, business people) and certain
product categories are considered more relevant in relation to global advertising
than others.
Eastern and Western Values in Advertising
No studies were found examining value content in advertisements applied
identically in several cultural spheres, but several studies were found examining
advertising content at cross-national, national and intra-national (comparing
minority and majority) levels. Eastern values are defined as ‘family-oriented’,
‘respect for the elderly’, ‘submission to authority’, ‘tradition’, ‘collectivist with
greater associative and nurturing needs’ and ‘Confucianist’ summing up a number of
the aforementioned values (Hui, 1988; Triandis, 1995; Chan, 1999; Chiou, 2002).
Western values are defined as ‘individualism’, ‘high need for autonomy’, ‘modernity’
and a more explicit use of ‘sexuality’ (Cheng and Schweitzer, 1996; Chiou, 2002).
This way of perceiving western and eastern values as dichotomies is disputed
for example by Edward Saïd (1978) and dismissed as a western way of perceiving
culture, but as studies of advertising are made in the context of dichotomies
these studies will be used as a point of departure for assessing the global
advertisements.

Westernized Values in Eastern Advertising
Whiteness and Western Values in Global Advertisements 295
In eastern advertisements a mixed picture is found between what the marketing and
management literature considers western and eastern values (Belk and Pollay, 1985;
Belk and Bryce, 1986; Cheng and Schweitzer, 1996). Belk and Pollay (1985) found
that Americanization prevails in Japanese advertisements, but traditional values still
persist. In 1987 in an analysis of Japanese and American advertisement appeals,
Mueller found that the strongly held traditional value of the group and consensus is
little reflected in Japanese advertisements. Instead, increasingly the westernized
appeal of individuality and independence is applied (Mueller, 1987, p. 57). She found
that the cultural appeals used in Japanese and American magazine advertisements
tend to differ in degree rather than in kind. In 1992 she made a follow-up study to
her 1987-study and found that Japanese advertising is still far from being
westernized, and that there are even indicators that it may be becoming increasingly
Japanese.
Cheng and Schweitzer (1996) found that current Chinese advertising contains both
eastern and western values, but the western values found (‘modernity’, ‘individualism’
and ‘sex’) were present most frequently for imported products and second, for
joint-venture products and less for domestic products (Cheng and Schweitzer, 1996,
p. 40). The authors call what happens in China ‘a melting pot’. This would indicate
that values melt together and become alike, which not coherent with their conclusion
that domestic and to some extent joint-venture products only apply ‘modernity’ and
‘youth’: not ‘sex’, ‘enjoyment’ and ‘individualism’ to the same extent as imported
products. The authors find that the latter values are inappropriate from the Chinese
perspective. Chinese advertisers thus adopt the modern values selectively –and not
blindly.
Cheng (1994) analysed 572 magazine advertisements in China for the years 1982
and 1992. Results indicated that ‘modernity’, ‘technology’ and ‘quality’ were three
dominant cultural values present in Chinese advertising over this ten-year period. He
also found that there was a growth in the appeal of symbolic values rather than
functional values, and that these symbolic values consisted of both eastern and
western values. In 1997, he content analysed 483 television commercials for the years
1990 and 1995 and found that ‘modernity’, ‘technology’ and ‘youth’ dominated
Chinese advertising in 1990, and also that the importance of ‘quality’ in 1990 was
superseded by ‘tradition’ in 1995: ‘Results indicate that some of the most dominant
values such as ‘modernity’ and ‘technology’ manifest in Chinese advertisements are
from the West. Nevertheless, it is still inappropriate to jump to a conclusion now
that Chinese advertising has been westernised’ (Cheng, 1997). In local advertisements
trends of westernization appear but still strong signs of local values are
present.
Chan (1999) found that advertising in Hong Kong consisted of mainly western
values, and few typical eastern values were found. The importance of popularity and
social status values is seen in connection with the importance of ‘face’ in Chinese
society. Even as a place where there is close interaction of eastern and western values,
Hong Kong’s advertising is basically international. Still Chan maintains that the
ethnic Hong Kong Chinese have maintained a strong cultural identity (Bond, 1991;
Chan, 1999). Chiou (2002) also notes this regarding the Taiwanese and other

296 M. Gram
emerging markets of the East: ‘Basically these societies are still under the strong
influences of collectivist cultural values that are different from the individualistic
cultural values of the West’ (see also Triandis, 1995).
It thus appears from a number of studies that the link between traditional cultural
values and advertising content is becoming less obvious in eastern societies
experiencing a rapid economic development, despite the fact that these values still
seem to play a strong role in Asia (Shrikandath, 1991; Chiou, 2002).
Easternized Trends in Western Advertising
Not much has been written about eastern traits in western advertisements, not
surprisingly, as little evidence of these is found. Manabe et al. (1992) content
analysed ‘Japan-related advertisements’ in newspapers and magazines in the USA
and Germany, and found that Japanese companies adopted a ‘Japan disguising’ style
of advertising in the USA and Germany. The authors argue that Japanese
advertisers chose to adapt because Japanese-style advertisements cannot be
understood except by Japanese people, and they refrain from laying emphasis on
being an advertisement by a Japanese company in order to promote sales while
avoiding Japan bashing (Manabe et al., 1992, p. 71). This is significantly different
from much westernized advertising in the East, where the western roots of the
advertisements are not disguised. Manabe et al., note that Japanese advertisements
do not cover up their origin in China, Korea or other Asian countries.
Consumer Preferences in Eastern Markets
Regarding consumer preferences of western and eastern values in advertising, a
mixed picture appears. Through a reception analysis Tai and Pae (2002) found that
Chinese consumers generally prefer foreign-sourced, standardized commercials to
their localized counterparts. This was particularly found in the case of durable
products and when great brand familiarity and transformational execution style was
involved: ‘everything foreign is good’ (p. 60).
Wang (2000) found that 58% of Chinese consumers held a positive view of foreign
advertising, and that only 3% actively disliked foreign advertising. Also Pollay et al.
(1990) found that foreign advertising was perceived as ‘more honest, more artistically
designed and a more pleasant experience’, and ‘more memorable and more convincing’
(quoted in Tai and Pae, 2002). Wang (2000) writes that this is particularly true for
people with higher income and education, especially the younger generation, who tend
to like foreign commercials more than people with less income and education,
especially the older generations. These foreign commercials are perceived to be more
entertaining and creative (Wang, 2000) and innovative (Jeong et al., 2002). Kaynak
and Kucukemiroglu (2001) also found a significantly stronger country-of-origin
preference for western rather than Chinese products in Hong Kong.
Belk and Pollay (1985) found that some traditional cultural values still had a
profound influence on consumer behaviour regardless of economic achievement (see
also Han and Shavitt, 1994; Chiou 2002). Ewing et al. (2002) examined the increasing
success by domestic brands in China and found that a lack of understanding of
Chinese consumers’ cultural idiosyncrasies by western multinationals turns out to be

an advantage for local brands along with a certain level of consumer loyalty with
local brands.
Through a study of 116 televised commercials in Taiwan, Chiou (2002) found that
although westernized appeals were becoming popular, transformational (feel rather
than think, known to be typical of eastern advertising) and traditional appeals were
still favoured more in the market. Furthermore the results showed that the
information/effective factor was not as effective as the warmth factor in
advertisement liking in Taiwan.
Shoham (1996) found that the advertisement, which was fully adapted, was
recognized and recalled more than both the semi-adapted and the standardized
commercials, and the fully adapted advertisement was believed more than other
kinds of advertisements, even though it did not increase purchase levels (quoted in
Hudson et al., 2002, p. 350).
White or Asian Faces?
Tai and Pae (2002) found that using Chinese faces when promoting international
brands is vital ‘in winning consumers’ hearts’ (p. 65), especially for the new brands
(p. 65) and the Chinese consumers, in their study, perceived their favourable brands
as ‘international’ rather than ‘western’. About 49% of them preferred global brands,
35% voted for Chinese brands and only 3% for western brands (p. 65):
Despite growing exposure to western culture and technology, they [Chinese
consumers] still remain faithful to traditional, core Chinese values, while
occasionally practising with western values (Media, January 21, 2000).
Consumers in China are also wary of being ‘westernised’ even as they embrace
‘modernisation’ (Tai and Pae, 2002, p. 66).
The significance of using ethnic models is also found by Kwai-Choi Lee et al.
(2002). In a study from New Zealand of ethnic minority models in advertising, the
authors found that particularly Asians showed more positive attitudes and purchase
intentions towards advertisements that feature Asian models, whereas the white
majority’s attitudes and purchase intentions were not significantly influenced by the
ethnicity of the advertising model.
A recent comment from a Malaysian deputy information minister supports the
significance of advertisement models’ ethnic origin: ‘Why do we need to use their
faces in our advertisements? Are our own people not handsome?’ he said (Asian
Market Research News, January 2003) after a Toyota advertisement featuring Brad
Pitt was banned in Malaysia. ‘Western faces in advertisements could create an
inferiority complex among Asians’, he continued. The minister’s comments address a
Malaysian advertising scene, where –as in several other Asian countries –western
advertisements using white faces are very visible.
Summing Up
Whiteness and Western Values in Global Advertisements 297
Products recommended for promotion by means of global advertising are primarily
luxury products, high-tech products and other innovative products, and this

298 M. Gram
promotion is recommended to happen in a visual rather than verbal way, assuming
that a visual approach is neutral or universal as opposed to a verbal approach in a
given language. No one disagrees that a global consumption is taking place, but less
agreement is found regarding the existence of a global consumer with universal
homogenized values.
Studies on advertising in eastern and western countries find that advertising
appeals are dominated more by western than by eastern values. In the eastern
advertising scene, fragments of both eastern and western values co-exist, with a
tendency of western domination, but possibly with tendencies of growth in eastern
values, and at least a selective use of western values by eastern marketers.
In the studies referred to above it is, however, not always clear to what extent
samples of commercials and advertisements analysed consist of commercials and
advertisements for imported or local products, something which obviously makes a
significant difference as advertising for imported products tend to be more
influenced by western values (Cheng and Schweitzer, 1996).
Regarding the use of western values in advertisements in Asia there is no
consensus about what is the most preferred by the eastern audience. Some empirical
studies show that local advertisements are preferred (e.g. Chiou, 2002; Ewing et al.,
2002), others that western advertisements are preferred (Chan, 1999; Wang, 2000;
Tai and Pae, 2002). The fact that products are foreign is by a number of eastern
consumers perceived as positive. This is in contrast both to the idea that advertising
has to be adapted to be preferred locally, but also to the idea that universal values
exist, as these consumers do not identify with certain values but with the fact that
these advertisements are ‘foreign’.
These finding are coherent with the ‘glocalization’-approach in the globalization
debate: fragments of both value sets are found in eastern advertising. It seems that
western advertising gets a predominantly positive evaluation but signs also indicate
that at least Chinese consumers identify more with seeing themselves as international
and global, than being western. Signs of frustration over the one-sided use of white
faces and identification with Asian models in advertising appear.
Method
As the research question is to assess how creators of global advertisements approach
the world as one market, values utilized in global advertisements are examined.
Global advertising is defined as ‘the use of the same advertising appeals, messages,
art, copy, photographs, stories, and video segments in multiple country markets’
(Keegan and Green, 2000, p. 497) and ‘a global advertisement’ is in this study
defined as an advertisement applied identically in western and non-western
countries. Direct translations are allowed for.
The Sample
The sample is a convenience sample, due to the difficulties found in getting popular
magazines from eastern countries. Through contacts and visits in Singapore and
Malaysia magazines were collected from 2000 to 2003. The Malaysian and
Singaporean contexts were deemed relevant as they represent fast-developing

Whiteness and Western Values in Global Advertisements 299
consumer markets (often compared with Taiwan, Hong Kong and others) (e.g.
Chiou, 2002) having large Chinese and Indian populations besides the Malays in
Malaysia (Deng et al., 1994). The Malaysian market is a multi-cultural and a multireligious
state, with a dominant Muslim regime. This means that particularly with
regard to television commercials a strict code of conduct exists with bans on
advertising pork and alcohol, and the exposure of body parts, considered indecent
(Asia Market Research News, May 2003). Singapore is known to be more liberal and
international but still influenced by eastern values (e.g. cf. http://www.sg/flavour/
value_five.asp, 18 November 2003). Also for convenience reasons print advertisements
were chosen as they are easier to access, but they are also considered a very
important advertising media in Asia (Asian Adspend, 1998).
The magazines are women’s interest magazines (Female, Her World, Marie
Claire (Malaysian edition), The Malaysian Women’s Weekly, Harper’s Bazaar, Cleo,
Elle Singapore and the Malaysian and Singaporean Chinese language
magazines Citta Bella and Nüyou). All advertisements from these magazines were
included in the sample if they could be found in a similar western magazine from the
same period. The western magazines were also from 2000–2003 and included Elle
(UK), Glamour (UK), Good Housekeeping (UK), Essentials (UK), Woman and Home
(UK), Vogue (US), Marie Claire (Australia), Cosmopolitan (Australia) Elegance
(NL) and Alt for Damerne (DK). Global advertisements appear particularly in
women’s interest magazines, as women are the largest group of consumers of global
products, but global advertisements are also found in general interest magazines.
However, in the initial phases of this study, it was found that many of the global
advertisements present in general interest magazines also appear in women’s interest
magazines. As this is an exploratory study, focus was limited to one kind of
magazine, and women’s interest magazines were found to be the richest source of
global advertisements.
Sixty-two advertisements were found in an identical version in eastern and
western magazines, except for direct translations and – in some cases –indications
about where to find the product, e.g. in specific department stores or national
homepages; however some indicate global homepages such as www.lancôme.com or
www.rado.com. Doublets were removed from the sample, but different advertisements
from the same brand were included. All the advertisements in the sample are
full page or double paged. The advertisements promote luxury goods: primarily
perfume, watches and cosmetics. If more magazines had been available more
advertisements could have been found, but mostly within the same product
categories. Despite the relatively small sample an insight is given into the universe of
global advertisements.
Content Analysis
The sample was content analysed (Kassarjian, 1977; Pollay and Gallagher, 1990)
with multiple coders. The content analysis approach is said to assure objectivity as,
for example, Kassarjian (1977) claims. However, if communication and the
perception of meaning in advertisements are considered as dependent on the reader
of the advertisement and his or her cultural context and experiences, it does not
make sense to consider judgements demanding interpretation as objective. Still the

300 M. Gram
approach can be seen as a quality control assuring that findings are more than just
one researcher’s interpretation of the advertisements.
An Asian (Thai) and a European (French) student participated as coders.
The coders were given coding sheets and coding guide (Appendix 1). The coders
were asked to identify product, signs of nations or cultures, ethnic origin of models,
age of models and composition of models along with implied values. A list of
values was adapted from Pollay and Gallagher (1990) and Cheng and
Schweitzer (1996), including both western and eastern values. Coders were asked,
individually, to judge, which of the values in the list were present based on both
copy and image. They could choose several values and did not have to prioritize the
values present. A pilot test was carried out before the actual coding, where ten
advertisements were coded, and the coding and findings were discussed by coders
and author. These ten advertisements were not part of the sample. During the pilot
study it appeared that (as also found by Kassarjian, 1977) more or less objective
matters such as the number of people in the advertisements and age of models were
coded almost identically, but as soon as more interpretation is demanded views
differed. The pilot session was an opportunity to discuss the use of the coding sheet,
and the coders had the opportunity to discuss their understandings of the coding
task.
Differences appeared in the final coding, and as found in the pilot coding session,
differences stemmed from different backgrounds and experiences, and differing
judgements of what was perceived as European or not European or a sexual or
innocent appeal. The author chose not to force a shared interpretation through,
recognizing the validity of the different interpretations. The divergence in the two
coders’ perceptions accentuates that interpretations of advertisements are dependent
of the eyes that see, particularly when they, as in this case, have grown up in different
cultural spheres (even though both of them have an advanced level of English,
minimum 6.5 in an IELTS-test, which is the demand for English skills in their study
programme).
The common denominators in the two coders’ findings were used as results in
this study. The common denominators still show a clear image of what kinds
of values are present in the advertisements. In addition to the coders’ findings
a word count was carried out to examine which words appeared the most frequently.
It seems interesting, though, to take a closer look at where the two coders had
different interpretations of the advertisements. With regard to signs of nations or
cultures, in the coding of several advertisements, the coders did not agree on whether
or not there were signs of nations or cultures. The two coders agreed in most cases
but it is interesting that the meaning of origin is not constant, and whereas some
signs and symbols are obvious to the one they are not to the other. The European
coder recognized French names or French language, which appear often in global
advertisements (‘Paris’ or French language, for example). The Asian coder was blind
to the ‘Frenchness’ of these signifiers. Differences in perceptions of what is modern
and what is traditional appeared. An advertisement for a Chanel watch (from the
pilot test) was by the European coder perceived as a traditional/old-fashioned design,
the Asian coder perceived it as modern. In the presentation of the results below,
comments will be made on different codings where relevant.

Results
Whiteness and Western Values in Global Advertisements 301
In this section the results of the coding are presented. The advertisements in the
sample are visually oriented with very little copy in general. Products advertised in
the sample are dispersed as follows: perfume (thirty); watches (sixteen); cosmetics
(eleven); clothes (two); hair product (one); pen (one); and cell phone (one).
Concordant with what was found in the literature study, products advertised
globally are primarily perfume, watches and cosmetics.
Of the sixty-two advertisements fourteen advertisements only show the product,
forty-eight feature model/s. Out of the forty-eight advertisements with models
fourteen were considered a conventional ‘pose for the camera’ meaning that the
model poses as for a portrait photo, whereas thirty were considered as telling a story
or as a situation that could be a scene from a movie. The coders disagreed on four
advertisements (whether it was a pose or a story). The majority of the advertisements
tell stories, and this emphasizes the symbolic lifestyle character of these advertisements.
They are symbolic in their expression, going beyond the simple product
presentation or the traditional ‘beautiful model + product’ type of advertisement.
Coders were asked to note if they noticed ‘signs of nations or cultures’ in the
advertisements (mention of places ‘Swiss made’ or ‘Giorgio Beverly Hills’, or other
local associations). The coders agreed that seventeen advertisements connoted
Europe to them, two connoted USA and twenty were considered as having no signs
of nations or culture. No advertisements were agreed upon as being Asian, African
or ‘other culture’. Interestingly enough the Thai coder considered the cell phone
advertisement ‘Asian’, but this was coded as carrying ‘no signs’ by the French coder.
The French coder considered an Elisabeth Arden ‘Green Tea’ advertisement ‘Asian’
probably because of a white model with an Asian-looking sunshade, this was
considered as having ‘no signs’ by the Asian coder. This reflects different realities
and different stereotypes among cultures. None the less the shared result shows a
western (primarily European and secondly American) or ‘no sign’ image.
The dominant composition of actors in the advertisements is one female model.
The products are predominantly products for women, but it is interesting that the
woman alone is so dominant (thirty-three advertisements). The second most
frequently shown scenario is the couple (eleven advertisements), third, a man alone
(for male cologne or a male watch, two advertisements) and one advertisement
features three friends and one advertisement a couple and a child. Apart from this
one advertisement no woman appears in a mother role or as a part of a family. The
ethnic origin is clearly dominated by white models –only three were coded as of
different ethnic origin than European. Every single model in the sample is considered
as being younger than forty years of age.
The values identified by the coders are illustrated in Figure 1. ‘Modernity’ is the
most frequently coded value if technological is considered as representing modernity
as well. ‘New’ is a part of the definition of modernity (by, for example, Pollay and
Gallagher, 1990 and Cheng and Schweitzer, 1996). It appears as a very frequently
used word in the word count (see Figure 2). ‘Beauty’ and ‘enjoyment’ are considered
as hedonism and are also a very dominant value in the advertisements. Particularly
‘beauty’ is coded as present in many advertisements. This is of course due to the fact
that many of these products are beauty products and it is explicitly mentioned that

302 M. Gram
Figure 1. Values in the advertisements (total number of advertisements 562), several values
could be coded from each advertisement
these brands and products are ‘defining beauty’ (Estée Lauder), ‘open for beauty’
(Elisabeth Arden) and encourage the reader of the advertisement to ‘believe in
beauty’ (Lancôme). Enjoyment appears in products names as the Longines watch
‘Dolce-vita’ or the Estée Lauder perfume ‘Pleasures’.
‘Romance and sexuality’ are considered present by both of the coders in twelve
advertisements. Whereas some of the advertisements representing these values are
innocent and virtuous romantic photos, the sexual explicitness of several other
photos is surprising, when considering the broad audience of these advertisements –
not least in the predominantly Muslim context of Malaysia. ‘Dear’ and ‘distinctive’
are coded frequently. These values are bound to the product category of luxury
goods, which are by definition special and not for all to buy. The value ‘cheap’ was
not applied at all, which is in line with this. ‘Youthfulness’ appears several times.
This value is supported by the choice of young models.
‘Independence’ is present in the codings, albeit not very strongly. ‘Independence’ is
related to individualism and implicitly this is present through the dominant use of
Figure 2. The six most used words (total number of advertisements 562)

Whiteness and Western Values in Global Advertisements 303
the female model alone. ‘Independence’ was applied in fourteen more cases by the
Thai coder than the French coder, which emphasizes that these advertisements for
the Thai coder are strongly connoted with freedom, which is probably more taken
for granted by the French coder. ‘Independence’ connotes individualism and is in
opposition to the word ‘tamed’, meaning docile and obedient, a word, which is not
used once by the coders. Also supporting the presence of individualism is the
frequent appearance of the word ‘you/r’ in the advertisements (see Figure 2).
Examples of the use of ‘you/r’ are: ‘Who are you?’, ‘What are you made of?’, ‘Who
will you be?’, ‘Is that you?’, ‘Your fragrance your rules’, ‘Elevate your expectations’,
‘Create your dream’ and ‘So you so why not?’. There thus seems to be a strong focus
on individuality even though this is not very outspoken in the codings. Other values
in the list that were not applied by the coders are: ‘group consensus’ and ‘maturity’
that are traditional eastern values.
Summing up, the global advertisements in the sample reflect whiteness and
western values (‘modernity’, ‘hedonism’, ‘individualism’, ‘sex and romance’ and
‘youth’).
Discussion
Silk and Andrews talk about the ‘impracticability’ of treating the world as one
market and de Mooij claims that advertising does not work if the approach is not
adapted (even though whether advertising ‘works’ or not is – as discussed – a
problematic issue). None the less in this sample of global advertisements the world is
treated as one – western – market. The content of the global advertisements is
primarily a white and western content: European faces, values such as ‘hedonism’,
‘individualism’, ‘youthfulness’ and contrary to the expectations ‘romance and
sexuality’, which traditionally and in the literature have been considered as western
values. In several advertisements the use of country-of-origin is with clear references
to the West; particularly France, Switzerland but also the USA.
For several brands standardized advertising is applied in the eastern markets in an
advertising scene where fragments of both eastern and western traditions and
cultural spheres co-exist in line with the glocalization view. De Mooij claims that
advertisements only interest the local audience when they are adapted, but these
standardized advertisements for the well-established well-reputed brands do seem to
interest the local audiences, but apparently not for the same reasons in the East and
in the West. In an Estée Lauder advertisement promoting skin lotion a white woman
is shown and below it says ‘Estée Lauder. Defining Beauty’. The readings of these
advertisements in non-white contexts must differ from readings in the West since
white skin colour must be an extra signifier – less likely to be noticed in a white-skin
context. Readings of ‘whiteness’ –or maybe just ‘exotism’ –must become part of the
‘definition of beauty’, more than in the western reading where the product (skin
lotion) and other features of the woman become more central. The whiteness, images
and values of the western world, positive and negative, would most probably be part
of some local readings of these advertisements. One message is communicated, but
cannot be perceived identically.
Some authors claim that a global approach needs to use universal values. But the
values in these global advertisements are not universal values, but western values.

304 M. Gram
That global advertisements contain western values is interesting when considering
studies showing local evaluations pointing to the fact that ‘Everything foreign is
good’ when ‘foreign’ is from the western world. It must, however, be seen in context
with the study that shows that Chinese consumers identify with being international/
global not westernized, whatever the difference is defined to be.
In this sample only totally identical advertisements were used, allowing only for
direct translations. Several other advertisements appear to be similar to these global
advertisements, but they do not appear in a completely identical way. A difference
was found in an Estée Lauder advertisement used in Singapore and Malaysia for eye
shadow. The Singaporean advertisement (identical with the European version)
features a blonde model with a challenging look and an extremely low-cut cleavage
revealing part of the model’s breast. The Malaysian version of the advertisement is
almost identical, only in the Malaysian version the cleavage in the model’s blouse has
been slightly modified, so that no part of the breast is visible. In the Malaysian
version, the most obvious sexual sign, the model’s breast, is thus covered by a more
decent cleavage, but apart from the cleavage the signalling of the advertisement
appears to be unchanged: the women is still challenging. Thus, if a broader definition
were chosen of what standardized advertisements are, numerous advertisements
would support the findings of this study.
Conclusion
The global advertisements portray almost exclusively western-looking white models
and carry primarily what in the marketing and management literature has been
perceived as western values (‘modernity’, ‘hedonism’, ‘sexuality’, ‘romance’ and
‘individuality’). A number of the values identified appear to be in contrast with
Asian realities and traditional Asian cultural values identified in the literature study:
skin colour white–other colour than white, ‘individualism’– ‘collectivism’, ‘hedonism’–‘Confucianism’,
and ‘respect for the young’–‘respect for the old’.
Particularly in the Malaysian context sexual explicitness and exposure of body
parts considered indecent (not only breasts but also, for example, armpits) are
directly forbidden in television commercials (not in print advertisements), and a
number of the global print advertisements seem to violate several paragraphs in the
Malaysian TV code (Asian Market Research News, May 2003). As the literature
study shows the global advertisements are, however, not necessarily in contrast with
the general advertising scene in Asia. Still the sexual explicitness of advertisements
used globally was not expected.
From the literature study it appears that at least for the narrow product group of
luxury products standardized advertising is not an impracticability: the advertisements
seem to interest readers because they are foreign, and because the basis of their
appeal is that they are tapping into eastern desires for western lifestyles. In this sense
the advertisements do not have to be culturally adapted to interest local readers –
actually quite on the contrary. But the reason for the apparent success of the
advertisements is not that their content is universal, either. It is because they are
western. These findings underline the complexity of the global/local nexus, the
dominance of media messages from the western world on the one hand and the local
interpretations of what is exposed on the other.

This paper has presented an exploratory study of the content of global
advertisements. The sample is relatively small, but from flipping through several
Asian magazines it seems that conclusions are valid not only for the relatively limited
group of completely standardized advertisements but also more broadly in
advertisements promoting western brands and to some extent by local brands that
tend to copy the style of western advertising. In a more comprehensive study few
advertisements would probably be found in other product categories, since few
product categories are suitable for global communication.
It will be interesting to see how these global advertisements will develop in the next
ten or twenty years and to follow how consumer preferences will develop in the
mixed advertising picture in Asia. The latest move from Estée Lauder is a move away
from white-only models. In their recent advertisements for make-up two white
models are exposed with a black girl. However, it is interesting to note that the
models wear the same dresses and the same hair-do. It is not the cultural origin of the
black girl that is emphasized.
More coders, preferably several Asian and several European coders, could have
validated the results, and allowed for getting more knowledge about Asian and
European interpretations of these global advertisements. An interesting finding of
this study was that –even though they agreed on most issues –there tended to be
conflicting interpretations of signs of nations and culture, and different interpretations
of values. This supports the ‘no global consumer, only global consumption’
idea found in the literature.
How these advertisements are ‘consumed’ across the globe would be relevant for
marketers and academics to know more about. A cross-cultural reception analysis of
global advertisements is an interesting next step to take. Particularly interesting
would be to examine perceptions of being global as compared to western.
Also alternative interpretations of eastern culture represented by Edward Saïd
(1978) will be an interesting other frame of analysis for these global advertisements,
where eastern and western values are not considered as well-defined wholes as in the
functionalist approach on which most of the studies in this literature study are built.
The individual is influenced by several identities and sources as discussed by, for
example, Sonja Sackman (1997), and other approaches than East/West dichotomies
might open up for more rewarding explanations of what is going on between the
consumer and the world of advertising.
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Notes on Contributor
Malene Gram, PhD, is associate professor at Aalborg University in Denmark. She
works at the Department of History, International and Social Studies. She teaches
intercultural communication, non-profit marketing and methodology classes. Her
research interests are consumption and market communication in a cross-cultural
perspective, with a particular interest in global advertising and cultural views on
childhood and consumption.
Appendix 1
Name of coder:_______________
Ad number:________________
Product:____________________
Brand:____________________
1. page ____
2. pages____
Signs of nation/culture
Europe_____
US_____
Asia_____
Africa_____
Other_____
No signs______
Whiteness and Western Values in Global Advertisements 307

308 M. Gram
Type of ad
Product only_____
Story (Scene from ‘movie’)_____
Pose for the camera_____
Models (if several models, code for each)
Children: under 15 without an adult_____
Couple: male and female (15+)_____
Family: at least one adult and one child____
Female alone: lone female aged 15+__
Male alone: lone male aged 15+__
Older model: aged 50+___
Friends: aged 15+, two males or two females, or larger single or mixed sex/mixed-age
group___
Ethnicity: (if several models, code for each)
European_______other___
No models___
Model: younger than 40__ older than 40__
Implied values (Use the whole advertisement, words and/or pictures, you may code
several values)
N Modernity_____
N Tradition____
N Youthfulness____
N Maturity____
N Enjoyment_____
N Beauty_____
N Sex and romance____
N Tamed_____
N Independence_____
N Group/Consensus____
N Dear_____
N Cheap_____
N Effectiveness_____
N Distinctive_____
N Technological_____
N Natural______

Coding guide
Whiteness and Western Values in Global Advertisements 309
N Modernity: contemporary, new, modern, improved, progressive, advanced,
introducing, announcing, ahead of its time, future-oriented
N Tradition: classic, historical, antique, old, time-honoured, longstanding, venerable,
nostalgic –bringing to you for the past 50 years, since 1812
N Youthfulness: being young or rejuvenated, youth, children, immature, ‘feel young
again’
N Maturity: the ad displays a respect for older people by using a model of old age or
asking for the opinions, recommendations and advice of the elders
N Enjoyment: hedonism, enjoy consuming the product, to have fun, laugh, be
happy, celebrate, to enjoy parties, to participate
N Beauty: having a socially desirable appearance, being beautiful, pretty, handsome,
being fashionable, well groomed, tailored, graceful, glamorous, the use of the
product will enhance loveliness, style, elegance, vain
N Sex and/or romance: erotic relations, holding hands, kissing, embracing between
lovers, dating, romance, intense sensuality, feeling sexual, erotic behaviour, lust,
earthiness, indecency. Also sexy clothes, body language, words (satisfy your
desire)
N Tamed: docile, civilized, restrained, obedient, compliant, faithful, reliable,
responsible, domesticated, sacrificing, self-denying
N Independence: self-sufficiency, self-reliance, autonomy, unattached, to-do-it
yourself, to do your own thing, original, unconventional, singular, nonconformist,
choice, expectations
N Group/consensus: focus on the individual in relation to others –the reference
group e.g. the individual is depicted as an integrated part of a whole
N Dear: expensive, rich, valuable, highly regarded, costly, extravagant, exorbitant,
luxurious, priceless, exclusive, upper-class context, diamonds
N Cheap: economical, inexpensive, bargain, cut-rate, penny pinching, discounted, a
good value
N Effectiveness: functional, consistent, efficient, comfortable (clothes), longevity of
effect, convenient
N Distinctive: uniqueness, rare, unusual, tasteful, elegant
N Technological: engineered, fabricated, formulated, manufactured, constructed,
processed, resulting from science, invention, discovery, research, containing secret
ingredients
N Natural: nature scenes, animals, ‘natural’