Informational Content of American and Japanese Television Commercials

Abstract

This study compares the information content of American and Japanese television commercials, particularly by strategy, within the context of the standardization debate. Most American and Japanese commercials used information cues, emphasizing similar kinds of information. But they differed in the average number of cues employed in some product and strategy categories. If standardization implies universality in advertising strategy and tactics, findings of this study suggest caution in trying to use the same advertising approaches in both the United States and Japan.