Social and personal values in advertising: evidence from food advertising in South Korea

Abstract

Extant research has shown that advertising is more effective when the advertised message is congruent with the cultural values of the targeted population. However, this research has not explored which values are activated when consumers view the advertising and, in particular, if there is a match between values conveyed by advertising and values activated by consumers. Moreover, little research has examined the effects of culturally-relevant (e.g., socially-oriented values) versus globally-relevant (e.g., personally-oriented values) advertising messaging in emerging global markets with deeply-held cultural traditions (e.g., Confucian values in South Korea). Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches, this research compares advertising-conveyed values with consumer-activated values and explores the effects of socially-oriented and personally-oriented values on perceptions of advertising and product effectiveness. Results suggest that the often singular values conveyed in South Korean food advertisements do not precisely match the multiplicity of values that are activated by South Korean consumers. Furthermore, South Korean consumers are more responsive to advertisements that emphasize social values than they are to those that emphasize personal values. Results provide theoretical and managerial insights into the design of effective global and local advertisements.

Keywords:

• Advertising
• cultural values
• food
• Schwartz values
• South Korea
• value congruence

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the CFC in Seoul, which provided access to its community for data collection for the first study presented in this research, and to the university in South Korea, which facilitated the survey for the second study. The authors thank Minseong Lee for his valuable help with the data collection in Study 2. The authors are grateful to Professor Agnès Helme-Guizon for her comments and to Stacey Malek and Genevieve Shanahan for their copy-editing.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Caroline Gauthier

Caroline Gauthier, PhD, is Professor of Strategy. She regularly publishes academic papers (Journal of Business Ethics, Ecological Economics, Organization & Environment, etc.) and has international experience in diverse countries such as South Korea.

Marianela Fornerino

Marianela Fornerino, PhD is Professor of Marketing. She regularly publishes academic papers on consumer behavior, branding, services and innovation (Marketing Letters, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Product and Brand Management, etc.).

Carolina O. C. Werle

Carolina O.C. Werle, PhD, is Professor of Marketing. She regularly publishes academic papers on social marketing, exercise and food consumption, consumer self-control, regret, and prevention campaigns efficacy (Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Appetite, Marketing Letters, Food Quality & Preference, etc.).

Alain Jolibert

Alain Jolibert, PhD, is independent Researcher. He regularly publishes academic papers on consumer behavior, cultural values and consumption as well as brand management Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, etc.).

Min Seong Lee

Min Seong Lee was MSc student at Grenoble Ecole de Management. His master thesis is dedicated to impact of cultural values in marketing in South Korea. Minseong received his bachelor from International University of Monaco.

Trina Sego

Trina Sego, PhD, is Professor of Marketing. She regularly publishes academic papers on social marketing, international advertising, and consumer experiences related to parenting (Marketing Theory, Advances in International Marketing, and Journal of Consumer Behaviour, etc.).