Shaping Advertising Through Cultural Differences

This research aims to shed light on the relationship between cultural differences and advertising as well as the choices made by marketers in their effort of promoting products and services in different countries. Also, it aims for a better understanding of the consumer’s perceptions based on their country of origin and cultural background. The data was collected through in-depth interviews and it was directly analyzed. The data used is primary data. The respondents chosen were 8 Romanians and 10 foreign students with ages between 17 and 25. The sample was chosen based on judgmental sampling for ensuring the presence of different cultures in this study. The issues analyzed were the differences in perception on how the women are portrayed in Romanian commercials and their role in society, the degree in sexuality and nudity in Romanian commercials, the general attitude towards advertising and the depiction of alcohol consumption in commercials. The results showed that the perception of the image of women differs between people belonging to various countries, especially when age and role in society is concerned. When the degrees of sexuality and nudity in advertising are concerned, previous studies were confirmed, western counties tend to have higher acceptance levels, especially France, comparing to more eastern cultures. Regarding the general attitude towards advertising, Romanians tend to see advertising as informative while there is a decrease of time spent watching TV for people in this age interval. Also, most of the respondents agreed that they would buy a product if the commercial was according to their taste or if the product is useful to them. When alcohol consumption is concerned, regardless of the culture, the respondents agreed that drinking in a social situation is acceptable. However, there is a clear difference between western and eastern cultures, one of the reasons being religion.