Cross Cultural Advertising in India

ACS Project

Presented By TYBMM

SUMAIYA SHAIKH - 13

HINA KHATRI – 15

ARWA DARUGAR -17

SUSHANT GUPTA – 18

MAJEED KHAN - 40

Introduction

Cross cultural advertising affects everything we do. This applies to all areas of human life from personal relationships to conducting business abroad.

When interacting within our native culture, culture acts as a framework of understanding. However, when interacting with different cultures this framework no longer applies due to cross cultural differences.

The essence of advertising is convincing people that the product is meant for them. By purchasing it, they will receive some benefit.

Language in Cross cultural advertising.

It may seem somewhat obvious to state that language is the key to effective cross cultural advertising.

Therefore it is important to examine language in any cross cultural advertising campaign.

Colours , Numbers, Images in Cross Cultural Advertising

The simplest aspects of advertising need to be inspected under cross culture microscope because colours , numbers, images and symbols do not all translate well across cultures.

In some cultures there are lucky colours such as ‘Red’ in China and unlucky colour such as ‘Black’ in Japan.

Some cultures have unlucky numbers such as 13.

Cultural Values in Cross Cultural Advertising

When advertising abroad their culture should be analysed carefully and some questions should be kept in mind such as

Is it family oriented?

Is it hierarchial?

Is there a dominant political or economical ideology?

Is it the religion practiced by majority of people?

Adapt your Product

Even the slightest change to adapt your product can make a world of difference.

When Kelloggs started producing cornflakes in India they failed to realise that indians start their day with something warm and according to Homi Bhabha, an indian cultural critic, if you pour warm milk on kelloggs they instantly turn into wet paper.

Stay Neutral

When marketing to general public, try to stay neutral. Have your marketing and advertising material reviewed by cross cultural specialists.

This will ensure your advertisement does not offend a specific culture.

Translate Correctly

If your entire advertisement lies on language, make sure the translation is correct.

KFC’s famous ‘finger licking good’ slogan in chinese apparently came off as ‘eat your fingers off’.

Therefore it is necessary to pay attention on translation.

To Avoid Translation Blunders :

Hire a translator who wont translate your campaign literally and spot any obvious pitfalls for you.

Do your market research on brand and product names to catch any unintended double meanings.

Keep an open mind about changing your core product\brand benefits for a particular audience.

Do a ‘soft launch’ to test different alternative executions before investing heavily in one.

Humorous Cross-Cultural Advertising Gaffes!

Things were not much easier for Coke's arch-rival Pepsi.When they entered the Chinese market a few years ago, the translation of their slogan "Pepsi Brings you Back to Life" was a little more literal than intended.In Chinese,the slogan meant, "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Grave".

When Kentucky Fried Chicken entered the Chinese market,to their horror they discovered that their slogan "finger lickin' good" came out as "eat your fingers off"

The American slogan for Salem cigarettes,"Salem - Feeling Free," got translated in the Japanese market into "When smoking Salem,you feel so refreshed that your mind seems to be free and empty.“

The Dairy Association's huge success with the campaign "Got Milk?" prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico.It was soon brought to their attention the Spanish translation read "Are you lactating?"