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Prior to 1979, China was relatively isolated from the world. Since then, political and economic developments in China have been profound. Limited experiments in free market reforms catapulted China from the position as one of the world's poorest nations in 1978 to the world's 10th largest economy today. Advertising, which was practically nonexistent in China prior to 1979, has become a multibillion‐dollar annual industry.
Advertising in the West is viewed as a cultural artifact reflecting social values and cultural beliefs. Therefore, advertising in China may be characterized as a new window on Chinese society. This study, a longitudinal analysis of ads over a 17‐year period, attempts to identify these changes. A total of 1154 Chinese advertisements from 1979 to 1995 were content analyzed. ‘Information’ was found to be the predominant cultural value at the early stage of its return, but decreased significantly in frequency over time. Other utilitarian ads reflecting the values of ‘convenience’, ‘economy’, ‘quality’, or ‘effectiveness’ also decreased in frequency. Meanwhile, ads with Western values such as ‘competition’, ‘individualism’, ‘modernity’ or ‘sex’ increased in frequency. Finally, executional strategies employed in Chinese ads show increasing diversity over time.