Individualism in Western advertising: A comparative study of Spanish and US newspaper advertisements

Abstract

Following an extended tradition in cross-cultural research about individualism and collectivism as defining features of national cultures, this article aims to go in depth by taking into account the implications of these complex concepts. Under the premise that advertising is a product that reflects cultural values, this article focuses on a comparative content analysis of newspaper advertisements from the United States and Spain, two presumably different Western countries as far as the individualism–collectivism continuum is concerned. The conclusions obtained challenge some theoretical assumptions regarding this topic. The evolution of Spanish society as mirrored by advertising is discussed as well.

Keywords

Advertising collectivism content analysis cross-cultural studies individualism

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