Multinational corporation advertising and cultural imperialism: A content analysis of Indian television commercials

Abstract

This paper addresses the question as to what degree Western cultural imperialism can be considered to be propagated through TV advertising in India. It discusses dependency theory with respect to cultural imperialism, and presents a brief history of the entry and growth of multinational corporations in India.

Furthermore, the study examines the use of cultural values and the application of Western icons in advertisements of multinational corporations and solely Indian owned businesses. The results highlight specific differences and the varying degree of importance attached to different cultural values in India and the West. Finally, it argues that cultural imperialism is a dated concept for today's media, and calls for a re‐evaluation of dependency theory in the light of new technological advances.