Abstract

This paper includes Denmark as a primary focus of cross-cultural advertising research. A sample of 90 Danish and 99 U.S. television commercials were content analyzed. Value appeals were found to be relatively similar, while executional styles differed between Danish and U.S. commercials. However, advertising practices appeared sufficiently similar that it should be possible to standardize campaigns for the two markets.

Introduction

As the world of goods becomes increasingly global, the issue of standardization or adaptation of marketing is of utmost importance to international companies (Douglas and Wind, 1987; Onkvisit and Shaw, 1987; Jain, 1989, Papavassiliou and Stathakopoulos, 1997). Advertising may be one of the most difficult aspects of the marketing mix to standardize, because advertising is strongly culture-bound, dependent on cultural factors such as language, values, lifestyle, communication style, and media habits (Harris, 1984; Sandler and Shani, 1992; De Mooij, 1998). Even in cultures that are perceived as relatively close, such as the United States and Great Britain, significant differences in advertising have been demonstrated (Weinberger and Spotts, 1989a; Weinberger and Spotts, 1989b; Katz and Lee, 1992; Bradley et al., 1994; Caillat and Mueller, 1996). As a major advertising nation, the United States is included in most cross-cultural advertising studies; thus it becomes a benchmark for analysis. Denmark, on the other hand, is very rarely studied in this context. While other Nordic countries, particularly Sweden, are represented in international advertising studies (Martenson, 1987; Wiles et al., 1996), Denmark has only been included in a few studies of multiple countries, mostly in the form of secondary data (Synodinos et al., 1989; Zandpour et al., 1994; De Mooij, 1998). The objective of the present study is to contribute to the body of cross-cultural advertising research by including Denmark as a primary focus of analysis, and by providing a comparison of television commercials in the United States and Denmark.

Denmark and the United States: Cultural Comparison

Denmark and the United States are alike in that both are Western, industrialized nations with a high standard of living, and both cultures are highly individualistic (Hofstede, 1984; Triandis, 1998). However, there are also considerable differences between the two nations. In addition to differences such as history, political system, and sheer size and influence of each nation, there are cultural differences which may affect consumer behavior and advertising. For example, Americans are often characterized by placing a high value on status, success, achievement, and competition. American children are encouraged to be number one, students usually know their class rank, and awards for various accomplishments are common. There is a general emphasis on winning, having a career, making money and displaying status through possessions. This is captured in the American dream of the individual who raises from poverty by using skills and hard work to become wealthy and influential (e.g., Stewart, 1972; Boorstin, 1973; Hall and Hall, 1990). A very different attitude is prevalent in Denmark. People skills, cooperation and equality are valued higher than success and status. In schools, the ideal is a mid-level of performance, where most students can participate. Competition and achievement are not encouraged, and the process is considered more important than the results. It is bad taste to flaunt success, or attempt to be better than others. There is a tendency to favor the the average, the middle-of-the road, rather than the special or the great (Himmelstrup, 1992; Østergård, 1992; Hastrup, 1995; Strange, 1996). Politically, this is reflected in a welfare society based on a notion of solidarity and equality, in contrast to the political system in the US, which tends to favor personal initiative and provide only minimal help for the less fortunate (Triandis, 1995).

Such cultural differences also affect consumer behavior and advertising. For example, U.S. consumers may show more interest in displaying wealth and succes, and advertising appeals to status and achievement, as well as celebrity endorsements, may be used frequently. Danish ads, on the other hand, may be expected to reflect softer values such as relationships and enjoyment, and to feature "ordinary people" rather than celebrities. Furthermore, it may be expected that Danish advertisements display a soft, indirect selling approach while aggressive, direct approaches are more common in the U.S. (Hofstede et al., 1998).

This leads to the following hypotheses:

H1: U.S. commercials will appeal to values of status, success, and achievement more frequently than Danish commercials

H2: Danish commercials will appeal to values of relationship and enjoyment more often than U.S. commercials

H3: U.S. commercials will use celebrity endorsement more often than Danish commercials

H4: U.S. commercials will use direct approaches such as straight announcer, direct response, and product information more often than Danish commercials

H5: Danish commercials will use approaches featuring "ordinary people" (e.g., slice-of-life, testimonial) more often than U.S. commercials

H6: Danish commercials will use indirect, symbolic approaches (e.g., visual/image, dramatization) more often than U.S. commercials.

Methodology

Selection and Coding of Commercials

The commercials in the sample were randomly selected from videotapes of primetime television in Denmark and the United States during two weeks of April and May, 1998. Danish commercials were taped from the TV2, the only commercial channel in Denmark that are available to all television households, and is broadcast form Denmark. U.S. commercials were taped from the four major American networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. After repeats were deleted from the sample, a total of 99 U.S. commercials and 90 Danish commercials were included in the analysis. Commercials were coded by native coders in each country. The coding included country, length (in seconds), language, product category, value, and executional strategy. Coders were instructed to identify one main value and one main strategy for each commercial. All variables except length were dummy coded (Zandpour et al, 1992), and chi square analyses were performed. The X² values indicate differences in the frequencies of each variable in relation to country.

Description of Values and Executional Strategy

The main units of analysis in this study are values and executional strategy. Values are manifestations of the content, theme, or appeal, the "what is said" of the ad. The study of values in advertising was pioneered by Pollay, who has identified a comprehensive list of values manifest in US advertising during the 20th century (Pollay, 1983; Pollay, 1984, Belk and Pollay, 1985). Pollay's list of values was modified and shortened by Cheng and Schweitzer (1996) for the purpose of comparing values in U.S. and Chinese TV commercials. The list used in this study contains 23 values and is based on Cheng and Schweitzer (see Appendix, Table A).

Executional strategy describes the communication style or approach, the "how it is said" of the ad. An exhaustive list of possible strategies does not exist, and deciding which strategies to include is largely a matter of the desired level of detail, analytical goals, and specific characteristics of the actual sample. This study uses a list of 16 strategies, which is compiled from several advertising textbooks and academic papers (Laskey et al., 1989; Burton, 1990; Nelson, 1994), and modified to fit the present data set and goals (see Appendix, Table B).

Results

Length of commercial

The majority of U.S. commercials in the sample were 30 seconds (78.8%), while the rest were 15 seconds (21.2%). The Danish commercials were of much more varying length, ranging from 10 seconds to 60 seconds (Table 1). While 100 % of the U.S. commercials were either 15 or 30 seconds long, only slightly over half (56.6% ) of Danish commercials adhered to these standards, while 43.3% had a different length. Thus, the length of American commercials was significantly more standardized than the length of Danish commercials (X²= 54.054, df = 1, p < .001). Overall, American commercial were longer than Danish commercials, as 78.8% of U.S. commercials were 30 seconds, while only 53.2% of Danish commercials were 30 seconds or more (X² = 26.589, df = 1, p < .001).

Language

All commercials in the U.S. sample were in English. In Denmark, 82% of ads were in Danish, 10% were in English, and the rest were in another language, or a mix of languages (Table 2).

TABLE 1

Length of Danish and U.S. Commercials

	Denmark (n = 90)		U.S. (n = 99)
Length (seconds)	frequency	%	frequency	%
10	6	6.7
15	13	14.4	21	21.2
20	15	16.7
25	8	8.9
30	38	42.2	78	78.8
35	4	4.4
40	2	2.2
45	2	2.2
50	1	1.1
60	1	1.1

TABLE 2

Language of Danish and U.S. Commercials

	Denmark (n = 90)		U.S. (n = 99)
Language	Frequency	%	Frequency	%	X2 values^a (df = 1)
English	9	10	99	100	155.935***
Danish	74	82.2	0	0	133.779***
Other	7	7.8	0	0	7.996**

^aX²values indicate the frequency of each language by country

** = p < .01, *** = p < .001

Product Category

The most common category in both countries was food and beverages, covering 23.3% of the Danish commercials and 26.3% of the US commercials (Table 3). In Denmark, this was followed by entertainment and tourism (20%), while the rest of the categories were distributed fairly evenly around 8-10%, except autos which only represented 3% of the Danish commercials. Two categories were more common in Denmark than in the U.S., namely furnishings/home decoration (p < .01) and department/grocery stores (p < .05). In the U.S., personal care & clothes (21%), and autos (19%) were the most frequent categories after food and beverages, and both were significantly more common than in Denmark (p < .05; p < .01).

Values

Just a few values were common in each country, and there was considerable overlap in the most popular values between countries (Table 4). In Denmark, the most common values were enjoyment (16.7%), quality (14.4%) and economy (13.3%), followed by family and friends (6.7%), and convenience (6.7%). In the US, the most common value was also enjoyment (25.3%), followed by beauty (13.1%), quality (11.1%), adventure (7.1%)

TABLE 3

Frequencies of Product Categories in Danish and U.S. Television Commercials

	Denmark (n = 90)		U.S. (n = 99)
Product categories	Frequency	%	Frequencies	%	X² values^a (df = 1)
Food & beverages	21	23.3	26	26.3	.217
Personal care & clothes	9	10	21	21.2	4.438*
Phones, PCs	8	8.9	7	7.1	.213
Furnishings & home decoration	7	7.8	0	0	7.996**
Entertainment & travel	18	20	12	12.1	2.191
Auto	3	3.3	19	19.2	11.527**
Services	9	10	4	4	2.614
Department or grocery stores	8	8.9	2	2	4.438*
Miscellaneous	7	7.8	8	8.1	.006

^aX² values indicate the differences in the frequencies of each product category by country.

* p < .05, ** p. < 01

and convenience (6.1%). Among the most dominant values, only one was significantly different between countries. This value was "beauty," which was used more often (p < .01) in the U.S. than in Denmark. The value of beauty is also related to the product category of personal care and clothes (correlation coefficient = .688, p < .001), which is more common (p < .05) in the U.S. than in Denmark. The only other significant difference between the values manifest in the two countries was in the case of "status," which appeared more often in Danish (p < .05) than in U.S. commercials.

Executional Strategy

Drama and product information were the most common strategies both in Denmark and the U.S. (Table 5). Drama was the executional style in 20% of the U.S. commercials and 22% of the Danish commercials, and product information was used by 18.9% of commercials in Denmark and 17.2% in the U.S. In Denmark, this was followed by slice of life (15.6%) and visual/image (13.3%). Both slice of life (p < .001) and visual/image (p < .05) were used significantly more often in Denmark. A company spokesperson-approach was also used significantly more often in Denmark ( p < .05). In the US, the most popular strategies after drama and product information were straight announcer (17.2%), and celebrity endorsement (16.2%). Both straight announcer (p < .05) and celebrity endorsement (p < .01).were used significantly more often in the U.S. than in Denmark.

Discussion

The results of this study indicate that there are some differences between advertising in Denmark and the United States, though not always in the expected direction. The differences appear to exist mainly in format and executional style rather than content.

Length

U.S. commercials in this sample adhered to a much more standardized format than did Danish commercials. All the U.S. commercials in the sample were either 15 or 30 seconds long, while the Danish commercials varied from 10 to 60 seconds, with every 5-second interval in-between represented. This does not pose a problem for U.S. advertisers operating in Denmark, but Danish advertisers attempting to standardize advertising for the U.S. market should be aware of this formal constraint.

Language

While English was the only language that appeared in U.S. commercials, languages other than Danish were represented in 17.8% of the Danish commercials, with English being the most common. This finding indicate that it is possible, at least in some cases, to use English-language commercials as a standardized approach in both countries.

Product Category

While food and beverages was the most common product category in both countries, there was considerable variation across other categories. Advertisers should be aware of this difference in competitive clutter, as it might affect creative decisions. For example, U.S. automobile advertisers, who are used to a very competitive advertising environment in the U.S., would meet very few competitors should they choose to advertise in Danish television. Commercials that are particularly designed to break through the competitive clutter may thus not be necessary, or desirable, in the Danish market.

TABLE 4

Frequencies of Values in Danish and U.S. Television Commercials

	Denmark (n = 90)		U.S. (n = 99)
Value	Frequencies	%	Frequencies	%	X² values^a (df = 1)
Adventure	5	5.6	7	7.1	.182
Beauty	2	2.2	13	13.1	7.678**
Conformity	0	0	1	1	.914
Convenience	6	6.7	6	6.1	.029
Curiosity	0	0	2	2	1.838
Cutting edge	0	0	1	1	.914
Economy	12	13.3	10	10.1	.479
Efficiency	5	5.6	3	3	.742
Enjoyment	15	16.7	25	25.3	2.083
Family & friends	6	6.7	2	2	2.511
Health	4	4.4	5	5.1	.038
Individualism	1	1.1	1	1	.005
Love and sex	4	4.4	1	1	2.159
Modernity	4	4.4	4	4	.019
Nationalism	1	1.1	0	0	1.106
Naturalness	2	2.2	0	0	2.224
Neatness	1	1.1	0	0	1.106
Quality	13	14.4	11	11.1	.472
Safety	1	1.1	3	3	.838
Social validation	2	2.2	1	1	.443
Status/achievement	5	5.6	0	0	5.649*
Tradition/nostalgia	1	1.1	2	2	.249
Uniqueness	0	0	1	1	.914

^aX² values indicate the differences in the frequencies of each value by country.

* p < .05, ** p. < 01

TABLE 5

Frequencies of Executional Strategy in Danish and U.S. Television Commercials

	Denmark (n = 90)		U.S. (n = 99)
Executional strategy	Frequencies	%	Frequencies	%	X² values^a (df = 1)
Animation	3	3.3	4	4	.006
Straight announcer	6	6.7	17	17.2	4.867*
Celebrity endorsement	3	3.3	16	16.2	8.580**
Company spokesperson	4	4.4	0	0	4.495*
Comparative	0	0	1	1	.914
Direct response	0	0	2	2	1.838
Drama	18	20	22	22.2	.140
Institutional	0	0	1	1	.914
Musical	1	1.1	3	3	.838
Product information	17	18.9	17	17.2	.094
Slice-of-life	14	15.6	1	1	13.651***
Special effects	4	4.4	0	0	4.495*
Testimonial, real	0	0	1	1	.914
Testimonial, quasi	4	4.4	7	7.1	.593
Testimonial, expert	4	4.4	2	2	.901
Visual/image	12	13.3	5	5.1	3.951*

^aX² values indicate the differences in the frequencies of each executional strategy by country.

* p <.05, ** p. < .01, *** p < .001

U.S. commercials were also more likely than Danish commercials to use the direct selling approach of a straight announcer, thus partially supporting H4. Danish commercials, on the other hand, were more likely to feature ordinary people in a slice-of-life approach, and to use the soft-sell, emotional approach of visual/image. Thus H5 and H6 were both partially supported.

These findings are consistent with other cross-cultural studies involving the U.S. and European countries. For example, Martenson (1987) showed that a hard sell approach with frequent calls to action was more common for U.S. than for Swedish commercials. U.S. commercials were also more likely to use product facts and "reason why" arguments, as well as celebrity endorsements, in comparison with French commercials (Zandpour et al., 1992).

Consequently, not all approaches appear equally useful in both the U.S. and Denmark. Some of the approaches that are most popular in one country are rare in the other. However, the executional approaches of drama and product information are frequent in both Denmark and the United States, and may thus be worth considering for marketers operating in both countries. This is not to say that any drama or any product information commercial is transferrable. However, if a marketer desires to create a standardized campaign for the two countries, it might be desirable to consider one of those two strategies.

Implications

The findings of this study indicate that there are various important differences between advertising practices in the United States and Denmark, but that there are also considerable similarities. While not all approaches and appeals work in both Denmark and the U.S. there is enough overlap that it appears possible to design campaigns that are standardized for both cultures

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TABLE A

Values Manifest in Danish and U.S. Television Commercials

Value

Description

Adventure

Desire to experience boldness, daring, courage, thrill

Beauty

Desire to be beautiful, attractive, lovely

Conformity

Desire to fit in, be part of a crowd

Convenience/

comfort

Desire to eliminate work, do things more easily, rest, relaxation

Curiosity

Desire for mental stimulation, broadening horizons, acquiring knowledge

Cutting edge

Desire to be trendy, in fashion

Economy

Desire to save money, be thrifty

Efficiency

Desire to accomplish things effortlessly

Enjoyment

Desire for pleasure, fun, sensory stimulation

Family/friends

Desire for togetherness, affection, closeness

Health

Desire for good health, longevity, youthful vigor

Individualism

Desire to be self-sufficient and self-reliant

Love and sex

Desire for romantic love, a good sex life

Modernity/

newness

Desire to be contemporary, up-to-date, technologically advanced

Naturalness

Desire for harmony between human and nature, ”back-to-nature”

Neatness

Desire to be clean and tidy

Quality

Desire for products of good quality/good taste

Safety

Desire to feel safe and secure

Status/success/

achievement

Desire for money, power, prestige, material possesions

Tradition/

nostalgia

Desire to be connected to history, customs, the past

Uniqueness

Desire to be distinct from others

Table B

Executional Strategies Used to Categorize Danish and U.S. Television Commercials

Executional strategy	Description
Animation	Animated characters play a major role in the commercial
Straight announcer	An anonymous announcer, usually off-screen, delivers the main message of the commercial
Celebrity endorsement	A celebrity is talking about the product or plays a major role in the commercial
Company spokesperson	Someone representing the company talks about the product.
Comparative	The brand is compared to one or more products in the same category
Direct response	The product is sold on-screen, through a tollfree phone number
Drama/ narrative	Fictional characters in a fictional setting. May or may not have a plot/story line.
Institutional	Reinforces company image, without attempting to sell a particular product
Musical	The focus of the commercial is song/dance/music
Product information	Information about product features such as price, value, or performance
Slice-of-life	Ordinary people (usually models) shown in some everyday situation
Special effects	The major part of the commercial features some kind of special effects
Testimonial, real	An actual person talking directly to the audience about the merits of a product.
Testimonial, quasi	A model pretending to be an ordinary person talking about the merits of a product
Testimonial, expert	Someone possessing expert knowledge about the product talks about its merits
Visual/image	The primary focus is on building an image/emotional appeal around the product