VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL SUDIES
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
…………………
VŨ THỊ THANH HUYỀN
A VIETNAMESE– AMERICAN CROSS-CULTURAL
STUDY ON CULTURAL REFLECTION OF
TELEVISION ADVERTISEMENTS
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ART (TEFL)
Hanoi, May 2009

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL SUDIES
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
…………………
VŨ THỊ THANH HUYỀN
A VIETNAMESE– AMERICAN CROSS-CULTURAL
STUDY ON CULTURAL REFLECTION OF
TELEVISION ADVERTISEMENTS
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ART (TEFL)
SUPERVISOR: ĐÀO THU TRANG, MA

Hanoi, May 2009
ACCEPTANCE PAGE
I hereby state that I: Vũ Thị Thanh Huyền, group 39E8, being a
candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the
requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s
Graduation Paper deposited in the library
In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper
deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and
research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the
librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper
Signature
Date

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to take this chance to express the deepest
gratitude to Mrs. Dao Thu Trang MA., my supervisor for her great
encouragement, constructive guidance and precious comment, without
which, this study could hardly been accomplished
My gratitude also goes to all teachers of English Department who
have provided me with precious knowledge and experience to pursue this
scientific research
I am indebted to my friends, Nguyen Duc Cuong and Jacob Kohl,
who are now studying at Omaha University, Nebraska, USA for their
invaluable assistance in the data collection process and sharing materials
related to the subject under-research in this study
I also would like to give my special thanks to both Vietnamese and
international friends who gave me useful suggestions in the various ways of
collecting Vietnamese and American advertisements. Their support is
greatly appreciated
My final heart-felt thanks to my family, without whose moral
support, unfailing love and encouragement, I could not have got this far

ABSTRACT
Nowadays, under the influence of the explosive growth of means of
mass media, we are exposed to more and more different kinds of
advertising appeals which are aimed at influencing our attitudes towards a
wide range of consumer products and behaviors. It is also a fact that
advertisements have a powerful cultural function since they not only sell a
product, but promote “identities” and “life-styles” as well. Due to such
increasing importance of advertising in today’s world, it is absolutely
necessary to be aware of the reflection of culture and custom in
advertisements.
The study focuses on the reflection of the American and Vietnamese
cultures in their television advertisements. To investigate that cultural
reflection of Vietnamese and American commercial, 50 advertisements of
each cultural group were collected. The total number of 100 commercials
was then analyzed carefully in a systematic way with the application of
statistical and interpretive methods. The study shows remarkable insight
into the cultural reflection in television commercials of two cultural
groups’ as well as the marked similarities and differences between their
cultural values.
Finally, the research offers some suggestions for bridging the
cultural gap in perceiving American and Vietnamese advertisements, which

is expected to be useful for the study of advertising strategy for the markets
of America and Vietnam
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………..ii
Abstract……………………………………………………………………iii
Table of contents…………………………………………………………..iv
List of abbreviations, figures and tables…………………………………...ix
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.................................................................1
1.1. Rationale ..............................................................................................
..1
1.2. Aims of the
study ..................................................................................1
1.3. Significance of the
study........................................................................2
1.4. Method of the
study ...............................................................................2
1.5. Scope of the
study .................................................................................3
1.6. Organization ........................................................................................
..4
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW......................................................5
2.1. An overview of culture ..........................................................................5

2.1.1 Definitions of culture........................................................................5
2.1.2 Overview of American and Vietnamese cultural values ..................6
2.1.2.1 American cultural values..........................................................6
2.1.2.1.1. Individualism............................................................7
2.1.2.1.2. Self- reliance.............................................................7
2.1.2.1.3. Idealizing what is practical
......................................8
2.1.2.1.4. Competition...............................................................8
2.1.2.1.5. Progress and future orientation................................9
2.1.2.1.6. Directness.................................................................9
2.1.2.2 Vietnamese cultural values......................................................10
2.1.2.2.1 Strong sense of community .....................................10
2.1.2.2.2 Allegiance to the family...........................................11
2.1.2.2.3 Wishing to live in harmony with nature and
people ....................................................................................11
2.1.2.2.4. Adaptability.............................................................12
2.1.2.2.5. Indirectness.............................................................12
2.2. An overview of advertising, advertisement and television
Advertisement.............................................................................................13
2.2.1. An overview of Advertising..........................................................13
2.2.1.1 Definition of advertising ........................................................13
2.2.1.2 The impact of advertising ......................................................14
2.2.1.2.1. The economic impact..............................................15
2.2.1.2.2. The social impact ...................................................16
2.2.1.2.3 The political impact ................................................18
2.2.1.3. The classification of advertising..........................................18
2.2.1.3.1. Objective- based classification...............................19
2.2.1.3.2. Media-based classification.....................................20

2.2.2. An overview of advertisement ....................................................21
2.2.3 Television advertisements ............................................................22
2.2.3.1 The history of television advertisements.............................22
2.2.3.2. The elements of television advertisements ........................22
2.3. Culture and advertising .......................................................................23
2.3.1. The relationship between culture and advertising .......................23
2.3.1.1. Importance of culture to advertising.................................23
2.3.1.2. Importance of advertising to culture.................................24
2.3.1.3. Why can advertisements reflect cultural
characteristics?...............................................................................26
2.3.2. Cultural values and advertising appeals ......................................28
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .............................................................31
3.1. Introduction .........................................................................................31
3.2. Research method .................................................................................31
3.3. Selection of subjects.............................................................................32
3.4. Procedures of data collection...............................................................33
3.5. Procedures of data analysis..................................................................35
3.6. Conclusion ...........................................................................................36
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND CONCLUSION .......................................37
4.1 Introduction ..........................................................................................37
4.2. Findngs ................................................................................................37
4.2.1. The frequency of advertising appeals used in American
TV ads ...................................................................................................37
4.2.2. The frequency of advertising appeals used in Vietnamese

TV ads ...................................................................................................39
4.2.3. The comparison between the frequency of advertising appeals
used in American TV commercials and that in Vietnamese ones .........40
4.3. Implications .........................................................................................43
4.3.1. Realization of typical cultural values and characteristics
reflected in American TV advertisemnts ..............................................44
4.3.1.1. The individualism .............................................................44
4.3.1.2 The self- reliance................................................................45
4.3.1.3. The directness ...................................................................46
4.3.1.4. The competition ................................................................46
4.3.1.5. The attitude towards sex ...................................................48
4.3.1.6. The attitude towards nature...............................................48
4.3.2. Realization of typical cultural values and characteristics
reflected in Vietnamese TV
advertisements ..........................................49
4.3.2.1. The strong sense of community ........................................49
4.3.2.2. The alliance to the family and tradition-orientation.........50
4.3.2.3. The wishing to live in harmony with nature .....................52
4.3.2.4. The indirectness.................................................................53
4.3.2.5. The attitude towards sex....................................................53
4.3.2. Comparison of cultural values and characteristics
reflected in American and Vietnamese advertisements ........................54
4.3.2.1. The similarities .................................................................54
4.3.2.2. The differences ..................................................................55
4.4. Application ..........................................................................................57
4.4.1. Suggestions for bridging the cultural gap in perceiving
American and Vietnamese advertisements............................................57

4.4.2. The implication for the study of advertising strategy .................59
4.4.3. The use of television advertisements in ESL classes ..................60
4.5. Conclusion ...........................................................................................62
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION....................................................................63
5.1 Introduction...........................................................................................63
5.2. Summary .............................................................................................63
5.3. Contribution of the study.....................................................................64
5.3. Limitations of the study.......................................................................64
5.4. Suggestions for further study...............................................................65
REFERENCES ...........................................................................................66
APPENCDICES ............................................................................................i
Appendix 1........................................................................................i
Appendix 2.......................................................................................v

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS, FIGURES AND TABLES
List of abbreviations
Ad: Advertisement
Ads: Advertisements
TV: Television
List of figures
Figure 1: The proportion of advertising appeals utilized in American TV
Ads
Figure 2: The proportion of advertising appeals utilized in Vietnamese TV
Ads
Figure 3: The proportion of advertising appeals utilized in American and
Vietnamese TV Ads
List of tables
Table 1: The proportion of advertising appeals utilized in American TV ads

Table 2: The proportion of advertising appeals utilized in Vietnamese TV
ads
Table 3: The Frequency of Advertising Appeals Utilized in Vietnamese and
American TV Ads
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale
Marshall Mcluhan (1911-1981) pointed out: “advertising is the
greatest art form of the 20th century”. Having a long history of
development, advertising, in fact, is considered not only one of the most
effective marketing means but also an important part of our social and
cultural life.
Along with the great advances in technological world, television
advertisement has been identified as the dominant among advertising types.
Also as the international advertising has considerably increased, it is
necessary to be properly aware of the relationship between commercials
and their cultures as well as how different cultures can be reflected in their
television advertisements.
All the aforementioned reasons have encouraged the researcher to
work on this study in the hope of gaining insights into the cultural

reflection in American and Vietnamese commercials through the
comparison between them.
1.2. Aims of the study
Firstly, the researcher would like to explore how the typical values and
characteristics of Vietnamese and American cultures are reflected in their
television advertisements.
Secondly, a comparison between American and Vietnamese cultures
will be drawn from the analysis of their commercial advertisements.
Finally, a cross cultural understanding between two countries is
attained on the ground of the above results.
 Research questions:
1.What are the typical values and characteristics of Vietnamese culture
and how they are reflected in Vietnamese television ads?
2.What are the typical values and characteristics of American culture
and how they are reflected in American television ads?
3. Are there any differences or similarities between the values and
characteristics of the American and Vietnamese culture reflected in
their television ads?
1.3. Significance of the study
Once having been completed, this study would give decent benefits.
On the first place, the research can draw out some similarities and
differences between American and Vietnamese cultures through their
commercial advertisements; consequently, it can helpfully contribute to
mutual understanding between the two cultures in general and their
television advertisements in particular. Moreover, the result of this study is

expected to serve as noteworthy reference for creating effective television
advertisements when it comes to the marketing strategies.
1.4. Method of the study
• Subject of the research
The subject of the study is 50 American television advertisements
and 50 Vietnamese ones.
• Data collection instruments
The type of my research is literature review, which is mainly based
on secondary sources, so it is expected that that most of the materials will
be collected from various sources, such as : the relevant previous studies,
books, articles; the opinions of advertising specialists, teachers , family,
friends and the researcher my self.
The following methods will be applied:
+ Consultation with the supervisor, specialists in relevant fields
+ Data collecting
+ Information synthesis
+ Data analysis
+ Personal observation
• Data analysis
The collected data will be processed with the application of both statistical
and interpretive methods. The statistical method is supposed to analyze,
synthesize and present the data in forms of graphs and tables while the
interpretive one will help to discuss the results.
Procedures:
The researcher intends to follow the steps below to collect and analyze the
data

 Step 1: select 50 popular American commercial advertisements and
50 Vietnamese ones
 Step 2: analyze these advertisements to find out the typical values
and characteristic of the two cultures
 Step 3: gather the analyzed information and present them in forms of
graphs and tables
 Step 4: draw out the conclusion
1.5. Scope of the study
The main focus of this study is on “the American and Vietnamese
cultural values and characteristics reflected in television advertisements”.
This means that the study covers only the television advertisements, not
any other types of advertisements
1.6. Organization
Chapter 1: Introduction- describes the research’s rationale, aims,
objectives, significance and the scope of the study
Chapter 2: Literature review- lays the theoretical foundation for the
research
Chapter 3: Methodology- details the methods that have been used and the
procedures that have been followed by the researcher
Chapter 4: Result and discussion
Chapter 5: Conclusion: ends the study by summarizing its main points as
well as finding out the limitation and suggestions for the further studies
The following parts are references and appendix

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. An overview of culture
2.1.1. Definitions of culture
There have been so far various definitions of culture by different
researchers. According to Encarta Dictionary (2004), culture is “the
customary beliefs, social forms and material traits of racial, religious or
social group”.
As Edward Burnett Tyler wrote from the perspective of social
anthropology in the UK in 1871, “culture or civilization, taken in its wide
sense, is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals,
law, custom and any other compatibilities and habits acquired by man as a
member of society”.

Meanwhile, Spencer-Oatey (2000) offered a simpler definition on the
concept of culture, that is, “ a fuzzy set of attitudes, beliefs, behavioral
norms and basic assumption and values that are shared by a group of
people, and that influence each member’s behaviors and his/ her
interpretations of other people’s behaviors” ( p. 18).
In Vietnam, Nguyen Quang, PhD also mentioned this issue. From his
point of view, “culture is something which was and has been created
through the history of human development. Culture is not static and is
always changing. The beliefs and values we hold now are not completely
the same as those held in the pre- historics of medieval times, or 100 year
ago”( Nguyen Quang, 2001). The definition that is the most suitable for
this scope of this study is cited by Dr Nguyen Quang (p. 3) “culture is
shared background ( for example, national, ethnic, religious) resulting
from a common language and communication style, customs, beliefs,
attitudes, and values”.
2.1.2. An overview of American and Vietnamese cultural values
It is said that most cultural values are presented in all communities.
However, their proportion and manifestation are the very bases to define
each community’s “identity”.
As the objects of the study are American and Vietnamese values
reflected in American and Vietnamese television advertisements, an insight
into general American and Vietnamese values is essential.
The literature in this area is rather immense; therefore, merely a brief
review of the most relevant items to the discussion part is mentioned in this
study.
2.1.2.1. American cultural values
Being the home to a variety of immigrants from different races all
over the world, America is well-known for its diverse culture. Immigrants

from each country have brought along with them the peculiarity of their
own culture, diversifying American native one. America, on one hand, is
said to be “a melting-pot” where a various racial and ethnic groups have
been combined together. “American is God’s crucible, the great melting-
pot where all races of Europe are melting and reforming Germans and
French , Irishmen and Englishmen, Jew and Russian into Crucible with you
all! God is making the American” (Crandall, Datesman, Kearny, 1997).
On the other hand, American is regarded as “a salad bowl” where the
various groups have remained somewhat distinct and different from one
another, making up a richly diverse American culture.
American values are considered “what among all of its cultural
diversity gives America its national character” (Cao, Hoang, M. Nguyen,
Phung, T. Nguyen, 2005, An Introduction to American Studies, p.64).
2.1.2.1.1. Individualism
There have been many definitions of individualism since its birth
“ Individualism is the right to pursue one’s own goal, interest, in a
society that encourages open competition, even conflict and that is largely
free from collective constraints on individual citizen” ( Lipset,1968,p.p
57-58).
As cited in dictionary.com “Individualism in the broad sense is a
cultural concept referring to culture that place high emphasis in the
individual’s goal in comparison to the goals of group and in the narrow
sense, is the belief in the primary importance of the individual and in the
virtues of self reliance, personal independence”
Studies made by a famous Dutch professor named Geert Hofstede
have shown that of all the cultures analyzed, American culture possesses
the highest level of individualism which permeates many aspects of

American society. It is obvious that individual goals are considered more
important than those of in-group, and as a result, in order to achieve the
personal goal, it is possible to break with the in-group.
“Americans are trained from very early in their life to consider
themselves as separate individuals who are responsible for their own
situation in life and their own destinies, they are not trained to see group,
tribe, nation or any other collectivity” ( Gary Althen, Amanda R. Doran,
Susan J. Samaria,2003, p.5)
2.1.2.1.2. Self- reliance
De Tocqueville observed the American’s belief in self-reliance nearly
200 years ago in the 1930s:
“They own nothing to any man, they expect nothing from any man;
they acquire the habit of always considering themselves as standing alone,
and they are apt to imagine that their whole destiny is in their own hands”
American believe they should take care of themselves, solve their own
problems and “stand on their own feet and one is never supposed to be
dependent on a group” (Hofstede, 1991, p.50).
Americans believe that if they rely too much on any support, they may
lose some of their freedom to do what they want. In other words,
individuals must learn to stand on their own two feet, otherwise, they risk
losing freedom
2.1.2.1.3. Idealizing what is practical
Within the context of frontier experience, survival experiences explain
the American tendency to idealize whatever is quick and practical. In
America, it is believed that what works is what counts. “This can-do spirit
is something Americans are proud of today. They like to think they are

natural-born do it yourselfers” (Cao, Hoang, M. Nguyen, Phung, T.
Nguyen, 2005, An Introduction to American Studies, p.66). Americans,
thus, tend to be optimistic to any problem with the thought that they can
find solution to any trouble
2.1.2.1.4. Competition
Competition in America is seen as a race in which a person must run
the race, competing with others in order to achieve success. At the same
time, it is Americans’ belief that everyone shares equal chance to succeed,
and then it is every person’s duty to try.
“Learning to compete successfully is part of growing up in the United
State” and “ The pressure of competition in the life of an American begins
in childhood and continues until retirement from work” (Hoang, Cao, M.
Nguyen, Phung, T. Nguyen, 2007, p.73). That is also the reason why there
are many strong programs of competition sports provided by the schools
and community groups.
“People who like to compete and are more successful than others are
honored by being called winners. On the other hand, those who do not like
to compete and are not successful when they try are often dishonored by
being called losers. This is especially true for American men and it is
becoming truer and truer for women.” (Hoang, Cao, M. Nguyen, Phung, T.
Nguyen, 2007, p73)
That pressure of competition always makes American energetic.
Anyone who does not succeed in competing- for any reason- do not seem
to fit into the American life line as well as those who compete successfully
2.1.2.1.5. Progress and Future – Orientation
The idea of progress is directly associated with the value of freedom.
The desire to progress by making use of opportunities is important to

Americans, who tend to look forward to the future but not to the past. As a
matter of fact, their children are often asked what they are going to do
when they grow up and adult are asked about their future plans
2.1.2.1.6. Directness
It is widely believed that in the United State, the individuals should speak
their mind and express themselves openly to pursue the goal of
communication. Direct style is, hence, prevailing, which means that
“Americans choose to speak directly their opinion” (Huu Ngoc, 2006,
p.156). The language is often used in straightforward and precise ways and
emphasizes speaker’s ability to express his intention. Due to directness,
Americans seem to have little stress on face-saving; therefore, they are not
afraid of criticizing others
As stated by Gary Althen, Amanda R. Doran and Susan J. Szmanzia,
American usually assume that conflicts and disagreements are best settled
by means of forthright discussion among the people involve. Also, this
feature in communication helps explain why there are many American
expressions exemplify this tendency, say: “don’t beat around the bush”,
“get to the point”, “let’s get down to business”, etc.
2.1.2.2. Vietnamese cultural values
Being deeply rooted in Confucianism, the Vietnamese culture is
solidly founded on the structure of family where the Filial Piety is
respected and followed by members of the family over generations.
Historically, the culture of Vietnam has been influenced by different
cultures: first by the Chinese culture during the one-thousand year Chinese
Empire; then by French Colony of one hundred years. Nevertheless, the
typical values and characteristics of Vietnamese culture have not faded
away but have been preserved and enriched in our societies of all periods.

It is hardly possible to give a thorough description of Vietnam’s four-
thousand-year-old culture; correspondingly, only the most outstanding
features which have been acknowledged in earlier studies will be briefly
examined in the following sections
2.1.2.2.1. Strong sense of community
Vietnamese live closely to community and have the group-oriented
spirit, which leads the fact that we live in tightly tied relationship with
family, neighbors and society.
“Strong sense of community is felt by all Vietnamese” (Ellis, 1995,
p.85). In practice, there are always homogeneous residential areas offering
support to newly arrived immigrants as well as any member when they
need help and then close connection is established among them as a result
It is the agricultural activities that attributed this attachment to
Vietnamese. The water-rice culture made people cooperate and work
together to bring in a good harvest. Consequently, the collectivism
prioritizes the community rather than individual.
2.1.2.2.2. Allegiance to the family and tradition-orientation
It is undeniable that one of the most important factors in the value
system of the Vietnamese is the family. Each family is regarded as one
cell-body of the whole society as well as the center of the Vietnamese’s
lives. With reference to Ellis (1995, p.85) “As in many parts of Asia,
Vietnamese life revolves around the families”. Under the effects of the
principles of collective and mutual responsibilities, every individual is
expected to make all of their efforts to be the pride of his family.
The Vietnamese child is taught from early childhood to do things not
only for his own sake but for his family’ honor, harmony and welfare as
well. The child is supposed to be grateful to his parents for the debt of

birth, rearing and education. For this reason, he is supposed to think of his
ancestor and parents first so as to make sacrifices for their sake, and to love
and care for them, especially in their old age. Any Vietnamese man who
lacks such filial piety is looked down upon not only by his own family but
also by the community (Mac Giao, 2002).
Vietnamese also live according to tradition and obey customs and
habits strictly. Added to this, Vietnamese often look back to their
ancestors’ achievements and consider them as the motivation and example
to follow
2.1.2.2.3. Wishing to live in harmony with nature and people
With the origin as an agricultural country whose production method
used to be underdeveloped, Vietnamese used to depend much on the nature
to survive, hence, their wish to live in harmony with the nature is easy to
understand.
As recommended by Ellis (1995, p.59), “social harmony is always
preferred”. In other words, one must avoid extremes in communication,
daily life activities and social interaction to ensure physical safety and
adhere to the moral imperative of keeping one’s dignity unimpaired. It is
also a fact that Vietnamese always try to get on well with each other and
put great importance on face-saving and on what others may think of them.
2.1.2.2.4. Adaptability
Adaptability enables Vietnamese to turn their action into the reality
like one saying “Honor when honor is due” (đi với bụt mặc áo cà sa, đi với
ma mặc áo giấy). This characteristic is considered as one of the strong
points of Vietnamese as they can accept the current situation and try to
adapt themselves to it rather than day-dreaming (Mac Giao, 2002, section
8, para.4)

2.1.2.2.5. Indirectness
Rooted in the high context culture where people have close
connections over a long period of time, many aspects of Vietnamese
cultural behavior are not made explicit. Therefore, Vietnamese people seem
to talk around a subject and never get to the point (Tran Ngoc Them, 1997,
p.158)
Also, Vietnamese believes that people should consider one another’s
feelings when deciding what to say. In other words, how to convey
information is more important than the information itself.
By and large, Vietnam and the United States have their own cultural
values which hardly remain unchanged in our contemporary society where
every value system is open to influences from and spreads its own
influences to other value systems (Gudykunst, TingToomey, and Nishida
1996). This phenomenon occurs because of modern communication
technologies and increasingly interconnected global economic systems.
The practice of global advertising, for example, in conjunction with
Western (and especially U.S.) media and entertainment content, influences
other cultures (e.g., Al-Olayan and Karande 2000; Donthu 1998). As a
result, the debates over the standardization or specification of international
advertising messages in different countries around the world have added
great momentum to research in cultural values and advertising. On the
same theme but more specifically, this study is aimed to explore the
cultural values conveyed in television commercials in U.S. and Vietnamese
television advertising.

2.2. An overview of advertising, advertisement and television
advertisement
2.2.1. An overview of Advertising
2.2.1.1 Definition of advertising
Terminologically, “advertising” has been defined in different ways. In
the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, advertising is defined as “the act of
describing a product or service publicly in order to persuade people to buy
or use it”. Longman Dictionary (1999) provides a simpler definition on the
concept of advertising that is “the activity or business of advertising things
on television, in newspaper, etc.”
According to Bill Max (1908-1994), a prominent figure in advertising
industry “Advertising is the techniques and practices used to bring
products, services, opinions or causes to public notice for the purpose of
persuading the public to respond in a certain way towards what is
advertised” (Encyclopedia Britannica Inc, 1996)
From the concepts of advertising above, it may be seen that there are
two tendencies in defining advertising. One refers advertising to a means of
marketing solely for the commercial purpose which is selling products. The
other appears more general to indicate advertising as a form of informative
persuasion in which the advertisers try to influence the audience’s opinion
and even lead them to act as they wish
On the whole, although advertising may be looked at from different
aspects, it is widely known as “a form of communication that typically
attempts to persuade potential or current customers to purchase or to
consume more of a particular brand of product or service” (Advertising,
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved February, 2009 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising#External_links )

2.2.1.2 The impact of advertising
Nowadays, advertising has adapted to a large number of media forms.
We see them as we watch television, glance through newspapers or
magazines, or when we go along roads or highway. It is estimated that
advertisements take up more half of the space in most daily newspapers
and magazines. Also they clutter websites on the Internet and even
routinely interrupt our favorite T.V and cable programs. With such an
intense bombardment, advertising undoubtedly makes a tremendous impact
on every country’s economy, society, culture and political system.
2.2.1.2.1. Economic impact
As a matter of fact, serving economic purposes is one of the first and
foremost reasons for advertising coming into existence. In other word, it
refers to the advertising’s effective contribution to the market economy by
representing a wide range of consumer goods to the public. Also it is
undeniable that advertising obviously has positive effect on the economy
since it strengthens the economy by promoting the sales of goods and
services. Added to this, advertising can create growing demand for new
products; as a result, more profits are made and more employment
opportunities are given to the labor market. Moreover, by stimulating the
improvement of new products, advertising also helps increase competition,
which is believed to lead to lower prices, consequently, benefiting
consumers and the economy as a whole. By inducing consumers to
purchase goods and services, advertising enables manufacturers to sell their
products in larger quantity. The increased volume of sales brings
companies chances to produce and sell at lower prices. Accordingly,

advertising, at the same time, provides customers with more benefits by
offering goods at lower prices.
Last but not least, advertising is regarded as the communicative bridge
between the sellers and buyers. Thanks to advertising, consumers are
informed of the functional capabilities of the brands as well as the values
and benefits they can gain from the purchase of their goods and services. It
is a fact that in an increasingly competitive marketplace, greater emphasis
is placed on brand image development. For that reason, advertising plays a
crucial part in developing brand image, whether at the corporate, retail or
product level.
In the bottom line, with an enormous contribution to the economic
development, advertising is certainly viewed as an integral component of
the modern economy nowadays.
2.2.1.2.2. Social impact
“In a mobile society, commercial products with familiar brand names
provide people with some sense of identity and continuity in their live”
- Michael Schudson (1984:165)
Obviously, advertising can have wide-ranging repercussions on a society.
Some critics suggest that advertising can create a consumer culture in
which buying exciting new products becomes the foundation of the
society's values, pleasures, and goals. As advertising gets more and more
pervasive, its social influences have become dramatic and intensive. Cohen
(2005) has shown that in the United State, by the time a person reaches the
age of twenty –one, he or she has been exposed to from one million to two
million advertising messages (p. 12). Naturally, these advertisements are
expected to reflect as well as shape new trends in societies of any ages. It is
undeniable that advertising has certain role to play in determining our
social identity, defining our gender role and shaping our attitude on health,
success, lifestyle, etc. For example, watching commercial advertisements

on TV, we can be greatly influenced when it comes to making choice of
what to buy or how much to spend. You may wonder whether you should
give your husband a pair of Nike or Adidas running shoes, buy your baby
Enfagrow A+ or Milmax Mama while they all are advertised as the high
quality products. It is also true that the young generations tend to be easily
affected by advertisements as they see television advertising as just another
form of programming and react uncritically to its messages. For instance,
they may imitate the actions or even consider them new and modern
lifestyle, fashion or viewpoints to follow. There has also been concern
about the way in which adolescent girls respond to advertising that features
beautiful, thin models. And in fact, many adolescent girls are unduly
influenced by this standard of beauty, hence, become dissatisfied with their
own bodies, and may develop eating disorders in pursuit of a thin figure.
Not only are social trends under the great influence of advertising but
social messages are also conveyed to some extents by the advertising.
Advertisements with beautiful images and healthy content often embody a
nice dream about a better life with better citizens. The advertisement for
Omo showing the image of children’s willingness to help and support
others without being afraid of dirt and dust is a typical example. In
conclusion, advertising is seen with both negative and positive influences
upon society, depending on the functions and implementations of numerous
advertising.
Beside such functions mentioned above, advertising nowadays has
gone far beyond a means of conveying information about product to
consumers as it also plays an important role as an influential form of social
communication in our society. Through advertisements, marketers and
advertisers generate system of meaning, prestige and identity by
associating their products with certain lifestyle, symbolic values and

pleasure. In other words, the category of information within advertising has
been expanded to including not just functional product information, but
social symbolic information as well. It is in this sense that advertisements
function as “communicators” and “satisfiers”- they inform and mediate
social relation, telling individuals what they must buy to become
fashionable, popular and successful while inducing them to buy particular
products to reach these goals.
On the whole, advertising has made an extensive impact on our
society in many aspects. Coming from our normal life, advertising links
closely to the real life and its social influences always exist as the basic for
its reflection of cultural values.
2.2.1.2.3. Political impact
Not only are the economic and social fields unavoidably under the
great impact of advertising but the politics is also influenced. For example,
in the United State, advertising has been now a major component of
political campaign and therefore has big influence on the democratic
process itself. It is estimated that more than $467 million was spent on
election campaigns and that amount of spending placed political
advertising in the ranks of the country’s thirty leading advertisers that year.
(Cohen, 2005).
Undeniably, advertising is an effective means enabling candidates to
convey their positions on important issues and to acquaint voters with their
accomplishments and personalities. Especially, television advertising is
considered to be inevitable for candidates running for national or state
office on the basis that it can reach so many people at once. Candidates can
also use advertising to respond effectively to the charges of their

opponents. Conversely, political advertising gives voters better chances to
identify their would-be leaders, which leads to their wiser and more precise
decisions.
In conclusion, advertising plays a very important role in our life. It
touches multifarious aspects of life. Thus, it is quite reasonable to
understand why advertisements can reflect cultural values and this will be
discussed further in the following part of the paper.
2.2.1.3. The classification of advertising
There have been so far numerous ways to have advertising
categorized, but in the most common sense, advertising can be classified
according to the objective- based classification and the media- based
classification.
2.2.1.3.1. Objective- based classification
Depending on this criterion, advertising can be subdivided into three
categories: commercial advertising, non- commercial advertising, and
institutional advertising.
Commercial advertising
This kind of advertising is aimed at selling products which may come
in the form of goods or services to get profits.
Non-commercial advertising
Advertising is also used by institutions and organizations that are non-
profit in nature. As a matter of fact, this form of advertising is made not to
search for profits, but to build the aware or seek for responses and sound
behaviors of the community about social problems, such as AIDS,
environmental protection, social evils, etc.
Institutional advertising

The advertising campaign of this type seeks to create a favorable
impression of a business or institution without trying to sell a specific
product. A for-profit business has other reasons for improving its reputation
rather than trying to sell a particular product as in some cases, a large
company may sell a diversity of products. As a result, there is more value
and greater efficiency in building a brand image for the company itself. If
consumers learn to have a high regard for the company, then they are more
likely to have a favorable opinion of all of the company’s diverse products.
That is the reason why the basic objective of this advertising form is to
develop goodwill or improve an organization’s relations with groups, not
only customers but also current and prospective channel members’
suppliers, shareholders, employees and the general public as well.
2.2.1.3.2. Media- based classification
Print Advertising – Newspapers, Magazines, Brochures, Fliers
The print media have always been a popular advertising medium.
Advertising products via newspapers or magazines is a common practice.
In addition to this, the print media also offers options like promotional
brochures and fliers for advertising purposes.
Outdoor Advertising – Billboards, Kiosks, Tradeshows and Events
Outdoor advertising which makes use of several tools and techniques
to attract the customers outdoors is also a very popular form of advertising.
The most common examples of outdoor advertising are billboards, kiosks,
and also several events and tradeshows organized by the company. For
example, organizing several sports tournaments or sponsoring those is
considered an excellent advertising opportunity for the company that
manufactures sports utilities.
Broadcast advertising – Television, Radio and Online advertising

It is said that broadcast advertising is regarded as the most popular
advertising medium that constitutes of several branches like television,
radio or the Internet. Television advertisements have been very popular
ever since they have been introduced. The cost of television advertising
often depends on the duration of the advertisement, the time of broadcast
(prime time/peak time), and of course the popularity of the television
channel on which the advertisement is going to be broadcasted. The radio
might have lost its charm owing to the new age media however the radio
remains to be the choice of small-scale advertisers. The last form of
broadcast advertising is online advertising which is a form of promotion
using the Internet and World Wide Web for the expressed purpose of
delivering marketing messages to attract customers. Examples of online
advertising include contextual ads on search engine results pages, banner
ads, e-mail marketing, etc.
Covert Advertising – Advertising in Movies
Covert advertising is seen as the unique kind of advertising in which a
product or a particular brand is incorporated in some entertainment and
media channels like movies, television shows or even sports. There is no
commercial in the entertainment but the brand or the product is subtly (or
sometimes evidently) showcased in the entertainment show. Some of the
famous examples for this sort of advertising are the appearance of brand
Nokia which is displayed on Tom Cruise’s phone in the movie Minority
Report, or the use of Cadillac cars in the movie Matrix Reloaded.
2.2.2. An overview of advertisements
In order to know how advertisements reflect cultural characteristic, it
is essential to have an understanding of the typical features of
advertisements as well as the persuasive techniques which are employed to
dictate cultural values

When any advertisements are designed, advertisers must always keep
in their mind the following structure, known as the AIDA Theory
(Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action)
Firstly, an advertisement must be attractive and eye-catching so as to catch
the public’s ATTENTION.
Secondly, advertisements must maintain the public’s INTEREST by
appealing to the public in some ways bringing them feelings that what are
being said seems relevant to their lives.
Added to this, a successful advertisement must stimulate the public’s
DESIRE
Finally, an advertisement must be designed to call for ACTION. In this
sense, that advertisement should be influential enough to get the public to
take specific action which might be a product to buy, a phone number to
ring, a behavior they can change, or a group to join.
(What is an advertisement? Retrieved January, 2009 from
www.wettropics.gov.au/st/rainforest_explorer/Resources/Documents/8to9/
HowTo/Advertisement.pdf )
2.2.3. Television advertisements
The TV commercial is generally considered the most effective mass-
market advertising format, as is reflected by the high prices TV networks
charge for commercial airtime during popular TV events.
2.2.3.1. The history of television advertisements
As cited from the Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, the world's first
television advertisement was broadcast on July 1st , 1941. The watchmaker
Bulova paid $4 for a placement on New York station WNBT before a
baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies.
The 10-second spot displayed a picture of a clock superimposed on a map

of the United States, accompanied by the voice-over \"America runs on
Bulova time.\" (History of television advertisement. Television
Advertisements. Retrieved February 22nd from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Television_commercial#History ) show model used in the early days of
television advertising.
2.2.3.2. Elements of a television advertisement
Apart from the typical characteristics of an advertisement as
mentioned above, a television advertisement certainly owns its specific
features as follows:
Elements of television advertisement
Video Audio
Dominating message perception. Music
Using visuals and motion to convey Voices
message. Sound Effects
(Creating Broadcast Advertising, Chapter 13. Retrieved February 12th from
www.westga.edu/~mrickard/Web
%20Stuff/Advertising/PDF/Advts2003CH13.pdf
In an advertisement, the images are supposed to be fused with words
in order to present not only a creative concept, but also a story. Besides,
many television advertisements feature catchy jingles (songs or melodies)
or catch-phrases (slogan) that generate sustained appeal, which may remain
in the minds of television viewers long after the span of the advertising
campaign.

2.3. Culture and advertising
2.3.1. The relationship between culture and advertising
2.3.1.1. Importance of culture to advertising
As mentioned, culture, a complex and elusive concept, can be
described as “both the lens through which we view our world as well as the
blueprint for how we function in that world” (McCracken, 1986). As
communication and culture are inextricably linked (Prosser, 1976), it is
undeniable that people of different cultural origins assign different
meanings to the same events. Based on this principle, integrated marketing
expert, Schultz (2001) claims that successful communication results from
“overlapping fields of experience – common languages, concepts or ideas,
backgrounds or histories. One must know the reference points of the other,
some basis for sharing ideas” (p. 8). From these perspectives, it is obvious
that mass media and culture are closely related and are not easily separated:
culture provides mass media with sources for content. All content must be
derived from culture, including entertainment, news and advertisements;
otherwise it could not be understood. Goff man (1979) argues that
successful advertisements are expected to originate from real life since
people are interested in dynamic descriptive poses that express ideals of
themselves to show how things really are, or how they would like them to
believe they are. Culture, therefore is the basis for images, and through the
images, we create identities. For those reasons, in constructing advertising
messages, businesses must understand how people in a group communicate
and make purchase decisions. Advertisers research and consider people,
their lifestyles, attitudes, perceptions, habits, behaviors, wants and needs –
basic elements of culture – to develop effective communications. Then, the
multicolor of a culture also brings the multifarious beauty in

advertisements. For example, in an advertisement, we can encounter a
combination of heroism in the image, directness in the body copy (i.e. the
main text) and simplicity in the slogan.
2.3.1.2. Importance of advertising to culture
Advertising is apparently influenced by various elements of the
originating culture, at the same time, it is also believed to “shape or affect
the cultural values of its consumers over time” (Pollay, 1987). According
to Campbell ( 2000: 352 ), “…advertising is not just a business
expenditure undertaken in the hope of moving some merchandise off the
store shelves, but is rather an integral part of modern culture”.
Advertising is an important element of our culture because of the following
reasons:
On the first place, it is documented that “advertising can reinforce and
strengthen many of social values, norms and stereotype of its audiences”
(Mcquail, 1994). Two well- known researches, Fiske and Harthey (1970,
1980) noted that : advertising does not represent the “the manifest
actuality” of the society but rather symbolically reflects the social values.
In order to attract and hold the attention of the customers as well as to
create their favorable attitude toward products, it is essential for any
advertisement to include the popular cultural values of its customer’s
community. The advertisement of Omo in Vietnam is such a typical
example of reflecting Vietnamese culture when it appreciates the help
among community members as well as emphasizes on the collectivism in
stead of individualism which is regarded as the outstanding characteristic
of American, on the other hand.
Secondly, advertising plays a key role in constructing a new image
culture. Through their cultural symbols and images, advertisements come
to shape our consciousness and behaviors subtly by sanctioning some

forms of thought and behavior while eclipsing others. For instance,
advertisements convey through their images positive presentations of
assertive “masculine” behavior and images of well- groomed men. Then,
masculinity and fashionableness may become new aesthetic standards in
the society.
What is more, advertising helps to promote a culture by dictating its
cultural values. In the advertising industry, an enormous amount of money
is spent on studying and designing advertisements suitable with a particular
culture, which means advertisements have to be close to life and have to
reflect the cultural characteristics of the people from that culture. For
instance, in the USA, advertisements that encourage or aim at individual
will be widely accepted. That is because the advertisements praising
individualism are of American’s taste and as a result, the products
advertised will have a greater chance to be in the purchase list of American
and production American consumers.
Lastly, in broader sense, with the globalization of the world economy,
multinational corporations, in fact, often use the same advertising to sell to
consumers around the world. Some critics argue that advertising messages
are thus helping to break down distinct cultural differences and traditional
values, causing the world to become increasingly homogeneous.
2.3.1.3. Why can advertisements reflect cultural characteristics?
Culture is the general understanding engendered among groups of
individuals about the nature of huinan relationships. “Each nation's culture
expresses itself in a way which asserts normativeness and permits action
(Edelstein, Ito, & Kepplinger, 1989)”.
Advertising, as one form of communication, must convey cultural
meanings pertaining to the society in which it is produced. As Stern once

said “Embedded in advertising's messages about goods and services are
the cultural roles and cultural values that define our everyday life” (1992)
What is more, “reality may be in the eye of the beholder, but the eye
has had a cultural training, and is located in a social setting and history”
(Kress & Van Leeway, 1996). In other words, an advertisement will hardly
be accepted by its consumers unless it is true to the social context its
consumers are rooted in. It can be affirmed that even the most laconic
advertisement that only lists the qualities of a product it not “culture free”
because these qualities operate in a specific cultural context and may
become ineffective out of this context. Another example is that whereas in
the past it was realistic to show women purely as housewives and
subordinates to their husbands and children as well behaved and respectful
of their elders, this is a far cry from the family of the twenty-first century
today. Although advertisers may wish to show us a slightly stereotypical
view of society – it has to hold some truth with the viewer or it will be
simply dismissed.
In addition, it is the fact that cultures vary from different societies, so
before a company introduces their new products into a particular market,
they have to do a research into the market as well as the culture of
consumers in that nation on order to design suitable advertisements.
Otherwise, an advertisement unsuitable with a society’s culture would be
soon rejected. For example, the visual signs of the winking face and the
handshake in any advertisement may be highly appreciated in this cultural
group but may have no meaning to another who does not appreciate these
nonverbal behaviors in their communication system. That is why, not
surprisingly, advertisers utilize different codes and strategies to appeal to
different audiences in different cultures. Most advertising agencies have

employed the Values and Lifestyles strategy (VALS) to decide this. This is
a reliable method not only classifying people by values and lifestyles but
also considering the ways consumers achieve (or do not achieve) the
lifestyle to which they aspire. When advertising agencies employ this
research method basing on cultural values, it is quite reasonable to
conclude that advertisements can reflect cultural values. (Campbell, 2000:
355-357)
“You can tell the IDEALS of a nation by its advertisements”
– Schudson (1983: 96)-
As a concluding remark, advertisements are sending us complex,
unspoken, intuitive messages about the values embedded in one culture.
They are claimed to reflect culture, and how advertisements reflect cultural
values will be on closer look in the following chapter with advertisements
samples collected from American and Vietnamese televisions.
2.3.2. Cultural values and Advertising
As reported by Jones (2000), consumers of different cultures may
share similar needs and wants; however, they differ in their ways of
characterizing the products which can satisfy those needs. There have been
so far quite a few studies examining the association between cultural values
and international advertising. Up to the late 1980s, only a limited series of
cross-cultural studies specifically focused on the comparison of Eastern and
Western cultures. Mueller (1987) explores that the cultural appeals used in
Japanese and U.S. magazine advertisement tend to differ in degree rather
than in kind. Cheng and Schweitzer (1996) content analyzed 1,105 Chinese
and U.S. television commercials from 1993 and identified eight cultural
values that dominated either Chinese or U.S. television advertising:

\"family,\" \"technology,\" \"tradition,\" \"enjoyment,\" \"individualism,\"
\"economy,\" \"modernity,\" and \"youth.\"
Above all, it is believed that cultural values, norms and characteristics
are embedded in advertising appeals which are defined as any messages
designed to motivate the customers to purchase. According to Mueller
(1987), each type of appeal chosen is supposed to reveal certain cultural
values. He also pointed out some typical advertising appeal categories that
are reflective of distinct Eastern and Western cultural values as follows:
1. Group/consensus appeal: The emphasis is on the individual in relation
to others, typically the reference group. The individual is depicted as an
integral part of the whole. References may be made to significant others.
Pressure is on consensus and conformity to the will of the group.
2. Individual/independence appeals: The emphasis is on the individual as
distinct and unlike others. Individuals are depicted as standing out in a
crowd or having the ability to be self-sufficient. Nonconformity,
originality, and uniqueness are key terms. Dependency is downplayed.
3. Soft-sell appeal: Mood and atmosphere are conveyed through a
beautiful scene or the development of an emotional story or verse. Human
emotional sentiments are emphasized over clear-cut product-related
appeals.
4. Hard-sell appeal: Sales orientation is emphasized, stressing brand name
and product recommendation. Explicit mention may be made of
competitive products, sometimes by name, and the product advantage
depends on performance. This appeal includes statements such as \"number
one\" and \"leader.\"
5. Veneration of elderly/traditional appeals: Wisdom and the elderly, as
well as the veneration of that which is traditional, is stressed. Older group

members are depicted being asked for advice, opinions, and
recommendations. Models in such advertisements tend to be older.
6. Modernity/youth appeals: The emphasis is on modernity and
identification of the younger generation, often through the depiction of
younger models; stress is on contemporariness and youthful benefits of the
products.
7. Status appeals: Advertisements suggest that the use of a particular
product will improve some inherent quality of the user in the eyes of
others. Position and rank within the context of the group are stressed. This
category also includes foreign status appeals, that is, the use of foreign
words, phrases, models, and foreign celebrity endorsements.
8. Sex appeal: Based on the premise that people are curious about
sexuality, sex appeal is effectively exploited more and more in advertising
to grab attention from their potential customers. As both males and females
are attracted to this type of advertising, sex appeal in advertising is used to
stimulate emotions and sell consumers products to both sexes.
9. Oneness with nature appeals: The goodness and beauty of nature are
emphasized in relationship to people. Interaction and affinity of people and
nature are stressed. The focus is on back-to-nature themes.
10. Manipulation of Nature Appeals: The theme here is man triumphing
over the elements of nature. Man’s superiority over nature is reflected, as
well as an emphasis on technological achievement.
Although every nation has its own cultural characteristic, the two
countries Vietnam and the United States are said to represent distinctive
Eastern and Western cultures; therefore, their advertisements are expected
to be involved in the above advertising appeals.

CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY
3.1. Introduction
In the preceding chapter, the literature on the research topic was
briefly reviewed for the theoretical basis of the whole study. Turning to the
practical side, this research was carried out with strict adherence to justified
methods of data collection and analysis in order to maximize its validity
and reliability on which the succeeding chapter would shed more lights by
discussing in detail the participant, the instrument as well as the procedure
of data collection. Justification for each step in the whole procedure would
be also given herein.
3.2. The research method
The main approach to be applied in this study was content analysis –
a research tool focused on the actual content and internal features of media.

According to Walizer & Winenir (1978: 23), content analysis is “any
systematic procedure devised to examine the content of recorded
information”. In more detail, Bernard Berelson defined content analysis as
\"a research technique for the objective, systematic, and quantitative
description of manifest content of communications\" (Berelson, 74).
The main uses of content analysis:
1. Describing communication content
2. Testing hypotheses of message characteristics
3. Comparing media content to the “real world”
4.Assessing the image of particular groups in society
5. Establishing a starting point for studies of media effects
The research method used in this research was content analysis since
the study laid the main focus on assessing how American and Vietnamese
cultural values and characteristics were reflected in their television
advertisements.
In accordance with the above method, the following ones were also
employed:
- Consultation with supervisor.
- Reference to relevant publications.
- Discussion with friends majored in marketing and advertising.
3.3. Selection of subject
Since the cultural reflection in Vietnamese and American television
advertisements was clearly identified as the subject of the whole study, it
was the television advertisements from these two countries’ TV channels
that were used as the subjects for data collection and analysis.

In order to have a comparative analysis and thorough insight into how
American and Vietnamese cultural values and characteristics were reflected
in their TV advertisements, the advertisements chosen were to satisfy the
following criteria:
+ The time range of broadcasting was the last 3 years from 2007-2009 in
order to guarantee that the advertisements were recently shown.
+ Only truly official television Vietnamese and American ads were used
because only such samples could reflect faithfully their nation’s cultural
values and characteristics.
+ Any duplicate commercials for the same brand and promotional ads for
the station or programs were excluded from the sample to eliminate
redundancies that may have skewed the results.
3.4. Procedures of data collection
In an attempt to gather the original ads fully meeting the above
requirements, apart from the way of capturing ads from official television
channels with the help of the device named the EasyCAP USB 2.0 and
downloading ads available on the Internet, asking friends living in the U.S.
for help in collecting American commercials was also taken into
consideration.
While Vietnamese ads could be viewed and captured from a large
number of Vietnamese TV channels, there were some difficulties in
collecting American commercials due to the fact that although some
American programs could be broadcast in Vietnamese cable channels, most
of them were not the original ones accompanied with television
commercials. Consequently, only a tiny number of American ads available
on the American channels were captured direct from the Vietnamese cable

TV. In this case, the alternative way of downloading American from
certain Internet websites was employed as an effective tool.
Broadly speaking, the process of data collection could be put into the
major phases as follows:
Phase 1
The first phase was the preparation for the data collection which
included the gathering the information relating to the Vietnamese and
American TV channels broadcasting commercials, the website of TV ads
available on the Internet, the effective tools to download them as well as
the search for the brands of goods and services advertised on the American
and Vietnamese TV channels.
In terms of TV channel selection, among a great number of
Vietnamese TV channels which often offered commercials of all kinds,
VTV1, VTV3, VTC1, VTC2, HTV7, HTV9, HANOI TV1 were chosen
since they have been regarded as the most popular channels broadcast
mostly nationwide with the various contents covering news, sports, culture,
education and entertainment. Although HTV7, HTV9 and HANOI TV1 are
local stations, they were selected since they have been proved to reach a
large number of audiences all over the country (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh
city are both the biggest economic and cultural centers of Vietnam). To
address the major genres comparable to those of Vietnamese TV channels,
The American TV channels available on Vietnamese cable TV including
CNN, ESPN, HBO, STARMOVIES, DISNEY CHANNEL, STAR
SPORT, were selected on the basis that they are not only the popular
channels in America but also among the available U.S channels providing
the American television commercials on Vietnamese cable TV.
In the other place, some websites, such as http://clip.vn,
http://youtube ,on which a great number of various ads uploaded were also

used to search for Vietnamese and American television ads as they offered
easy and fast access to viewing and downloading ads.
Added to the efforts above of the researcher to record American TV
commercials from Vietnamese cable TV, another solution applied was to
ask the researcher’s friends in the U.S. for assistance in gathering the
samples by capturing TV America commercials currently broadcast in the
native country as well as searching for the other American TV ads shown
between 2007 and 2009 and uploaded on the internet websites. Afterwards,
these friends would gather all of these commercials and send back to the
researcher.
Phase 2
Having started at the beginning of December, this second phase
lasted till the end of March. During this period, 15 Vietnamese and 5
American TV commercials were captured from Vietnamese cable TV, 35
Vietnamese and 23 American TV ads were downloaded from the Internet;
and 25 American ads sent to the researcher from the United State. In order
to confirm the validity and reliability of the American samples collected in
Vietnam by the researcher, all of these ads was sent to the two friends
living in the U.S so that they could check whether these advertisements
were exactly American or not. 20 out of 23 ads delivered were proved to
meet all the necessary requirements mentioned above.
In total, the number of ads collected was 100, 50 American advertisements
and 50 Vietnamese ones.
3.5. Procedures of data analysis

After the data had been collected, they were analyzed carefully in a
systematical way with the application of both statistical and interpretive
methods, which ensured the validity and reliability of the study.
The cultural values analyzed were adopted from Mueller's (1987)
coding scheme as it provided a good contrast between Western culture and
the Eastern culture which was strongly influenced by Confucianism. The
advertising appeal categories namely group/consensus appeals, individual
appeals, soft-sell appeals, hard-sell appeals, veneration of
elderly/traditional appeals, modernity/youth appeals, status appeals , sex
appeals , oneness with nature appeals, and manipulation of nature appeals
were coded 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 respectively as follows:
Advertising Appeals Coding number
Group / Consensus appeal 1
Individual/ Independence appeal 2
Soft-sell appeal 3
Hard-sell appeal 4
Veneration of elderly/ traditional appeal 5
Modernity/ youth appeal 6
Status appeals 7
Sex appeals 8
Oneness appeals 9
Manipulation of Nature Appeals 10
The data was then organized into tables and charts to facilitate the
synthesis and comparison. Pie charts were used to analyze and compare the
figures in a general sense while tables were preferably applied when further
details were required.
3.6. Summary
All in all, the chapter has justified the methodology used in this chapter by
clarifying the following aspects:

(1) The two groups of subjects involved in the process of data collection,
namely the Vietnamese and American television ads
(2) The process of data collection depicted in 2 major phases
(3)The process of data analysis
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND CONCLUSION
4.1. Introduction
This chapter aims to present the study’s findings. The statistics listed
in the data analysis were calculated to figure out the percentage (in total of
100%) and sometimes more than one option was chosen so some of the
numbers could not be added to 100%.
Besides, the researcher would like to make a further discussion on
those findings with regard to those of the previous studies, which have been
reviewed in chapter two.
4.2. Findings
The result of the statistical process offered interesting findings in the
frequency of advertising appeals occurred in American and Vietnamese
television advertisements.

4.2.1. The frequency of advertising appeals used in American TV ads
The Proportion of Advertising Appeals Utilized in
American TV Ads
80 74
70 64 64
60
Percentage (%)
50
40 American
30
22 20
20 18
12
10 6
2 2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Advertising Appeals
Figure 1
The single bar chart above provides the overall picture of the
proportion of advertising appeals used in U.S television advertisements. As
can be seen from the chart, up to 74% of the advertisements collected
employs the hard -sell appeal as a persuasive technique in creating effective
commercials. On the other hand, it is revealed that only 1 out of 50 TV
American ads makes use of the oneness with nature as well as the
manipulation of nature appeals. With the big proportion of 64%, the
individual and modernity appeals were seen among the most popular ones
in American ads while the group/consensus appeals and traditional appeals
are employed in merely 12% and 6% of the samples. It is also noted that
the appearance of the appeals namely soft-sell, status, and sex appeals were
put in quite a few commercials, counting for 22%, 20 % and 18%
respectively.

Advertising Appeals American TV Ads
No (total 50) Percentage
1.Group/consensus appeals 6 12%
2.Individual/independence appeals 32 64%
3. Soft-sell appeals 11 22%
4. Hard-sell appeals 37 74%
5. Veneration of elderly/traditional appeals 3 6%
6. Modernity/youth appeals 32 64%
7. Status appeals 10 20%
8.Sex appeals 9 18%
9. Oneness with nature appeals 1 2%
10. Manipulation of Nature appeals 1 2%
Table 1. The proportion of advertising appeals utilized in American TV
ads
4.2.2. The frequency of advertising appeals used in Vietnamese TV ads
The Proportion of Advertising Appeals Utilized in
Vietnamese TV Ads
70
62
58
60
Percentages (%)
50
40 40
40 34
Vietnamese
30 24
18
20
10 10
10
0
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Advertising Appeals
Figure 2
The chart shows the frequency of the advertising appeals’ occurrence
in Vietnamese television advertisements. The most preferred appeals in

Vietnamese commercials are the modernity/youth at 62% and the
group/consensus at 58%. Having been employed in 20 ads, both the
individual appeals and hard-sell appeals rank the same third position with
the large percentage of 40. The same situation is true to the sex and the
oneness with nature appeals, each of which, however, accounts for only
10% of the total number. This percentage is far smaller compared with
those in the categories of soft sell; veneration of elderly/tradition and status
appeals whose proportions of occurrence in 50 TV ads are 34%, 24% and
18% respectively. Finally, it is noteworthy that there is no application of
the manipulation of nature appeals in any Vietnamese television
commercial collected.
Advertising Appeals Vietnamese TV Ads
No (total 50) Percentage
1.Group/consensus appeals 29 58%
2.Individual/independence appeals 20 40%
3. Soft-sell appeals 17 34%
4. Hard-sell appeals 20 40%
5.Veneration of elderly/traditional appeals 12 24%
6. Modernity/youth appeals 31 62%
7. Status appeals 9 18%
8.Sex appeals 5 10%
9. Oneness with nature appeals 5 10%
10. Manipulation of Nature appeals 0 0%
Table 2. The proportion of advertising appeals utilized in Vietnamese TV
ads
4.2.3. The comparison between the frequency of advertising appeals
used in American TV commercials and that in Vietnamese ones

Having been analyzed according to the same categories of
advertising appeals, the statistics mentioned above showed both the
similarities as well as differences in the proportions of advertising appeals
utilized in each country’s television advertisements as demonstrated in the
chart below:

The Proportion of Advertising Appeals Utilized in
Vietnamese and American TV Ads
2
10 0
2
9 10
18
8 10
20
7 18
Advertising Appeals
64
6 62
American
Vietnamese
6
5 24
74
4 40
22
3 34
64
2 40
12
1 58
0 20 40 60 80
Percentages (%)
It can be seen from the bar chart that the American and Vietnamese
television advertisement have certain similarities and differences in their
uses of advertising appeals. In the first place, the two groups of American

and Vietnamese advertisements certainly have common preference towards
the appearance of the modernity/ youth appeals which are used most
frequently in both groups. With regard to the frequency of the status
appeals’ occurrence in American and Vietnamese TV ads, it accounts for
almost the same percentage, which is 20% and 18% respectively.
Noticeably, there is not a significant distinction between Vietnamese and
the U.S commercials since only one American ad displayed this appeal
while none of Vietnamese group do. However, there are a large number of
the outstanding differences between two groups in certain advertising
appeal categories. As obviously seen from the chart, the American ads
containing group/consensus appeals are outnumbered almost five to one by
the Vietnamese commercials at the rate of 12% and 52%. The same
situation arises in the category of the veneration of elderly/traditional
appeals where the percentage of Vietnamese ads calculated is 24% while
the American ones merely account for 6%. There are also more of the soft
sell and oneness with nature appeals employed in Vietnamese commercial
than in the American ones. On the contrary, the U.S advertisements display
greater use of the hard-sell appeals than do the Vietnamese ones. With the
proportion of 74%, this advertising appeal is proved to be the most
dominant in American TV commercials while it is utilized in only 40% of
Vietnamese ads. Similarly, the individual and sex appeals are seen
remarkably more frequently in American TV ads compared to those in the
Vietnamese ones.
In general, it is demonstrated that Vietnamese and the U.S TV
commercials share some similarities in considering the use of certain
advertising appeals, still does each cultural group hold its own certain
preferences for the others.

Vietnamese TV Ads American TV Ads
Number Percentage Number Percentage
Advertising Appeals
(total:50) (total:50)
1.Group/consensus 29 58% 6 12%
appeals
2.Individual/independence 20 40% 32 64%
appeals
3. Soft-sell appeals 17 34% 11 22%
4. Hard-sell appeals 20 40% 37 74%
5. Veneration of elderly/ 12 24% 3 6%
traditional appeals
6.Modernity/youth appeals 31 62% 32 64%
7. Status appeals 9 18% 10 20%
8.Sex appeals 5 10% 9 18%
9. Oneness with nature 5 10% 1 2%
appeals
10.Manipulation of Nature 0 0% 1 2%
Appeals
Table 3. The Frequency of Advertising Appeals Utilized in Vietnamese
and American TV Ads
4.3. Implications
On the basis of preceding literature review, it is indicated that there are
certain American and Vietnamese cultural values and characteristics
represented by the frequency of the occurrence of the certain advertising
appeals as given above.
A closer look on how these values and characteristic were reflected in the
television commercials of each cultural group is presented as follow:
4.3.1. Realization of typical cultural values and characteristics
reflected in American TV advertisements

After the analysis process of the previous given findings, the
following cultural values were proved to the most clearly – reflected values
of American culture through their collected advertisements
4.3.1.1. The individualism
It is the frequency of individual/ independence appeals utilized in
American ads that indicate the reflection of the two cultural values of
individualism and self-reliance in the U.S commercials. Residing at the
core of American culture, individualism is believed to be the essential
aspect in this culture; thus there would be no surprise to the findings that
individual appeals are employed in 64% of 50 samples collected. In such
advertisements, the main emphasis is placed first and foremost on the
identification of each person as a distinct individual from the others. In
other words, this approach is based on people’s desire to get
nonconformity; originality and unique style. Intentionally, it attempts to
persuade them that using the product would definitely help to make their
individual personality and characteristic special and outstanding.
Take the advertisement introducing Saturn Astra car as an example. In this
commercial, people are encouraged just to be the way they are themselves
in stead of “trying to be cool” as the others normally do at the present. By
valuing the uniqueness of each individual’s personalities, this
advertisement, at the same time, sends an intended message to its potential
customers that the car they are introducing is the unique one which can
offer them all the things they need for a car.
4.3.1.2. The self- reliance

It is widely believed that American culture values the self-reliance
as one of the most significant characteristics of its people who always wish
to “stand on their own two feet” in stead of relying much on the others. An
American advertisement, accordingly, will undoubtedly capture its
viewers’ attention if it can highlight the value of the product in connection
with this cultural value of the self-reliance. That is also the reason for
which many independence appeals are used of in a large number of
advertisements collected.
One typical example is the commercial of Heineken beer shown in
2009, in which John Turturro, an American celebrity gives some advice on
how to obtain a good name for a man himself. Apart from the belief that
everyman should be the champion of his own legacy as well as the creator
of his own fortune, what this male model emphasizes is that:
“what a man chooses to believe is his reality, but what a man chooses to
drink is his ondestiny”.
As a result, Heineken here is offered as an inevitable drink for any man
who wants to give himself a good name. Apparently, the advertiser made
the wise choice to take advantage of the common wishes of American,
particular men to build their own high-classed identities by using Heineken
beer. In a large number of American advertisements, this value is
considerably attached with such impressive slogans as mentioned below:
Follow your heart
(CareerBuilde-2008 Super Bowl Ads)
Think outside the bun
(Taco Bell - The Speed of Love-Super Bowl 2009)
Fiesta platter is truly a meal for men to enjoy
(Fiesta Platters-Super Bowl Commercial 2008)

4.3.1.3. The directness
As a matter of fact, American cultures belongs to the low context
culture in which people particularly value direct interaction, explicit verbal
statement and tend to use “logic” and “fact” to present ideas.
Correspondingly, it comes as no surprise that this cultural characteristic is
expressed in many American commercials. Commonly, the U.S consumers
tend to be much concerned with information on the product’s characteristic,
thus, they tend to be more convinced by the ads showing direct the logical
comparison, the factual number and figures about the products themselves
in stead of the product’s implicit messages hidden in an emotional story or
beautiful scenes. That is a reasonable explanation to the question why soft
sell appeals occur in only a limited number of the American advertisements
(22%). For example, in Prudential commercial, it is the impressive factual
figures illustrated right at the beginning of the ad that makes a huge
contribution to the effectiveness of this commercial: “Millions of workers,
more than 4,500 organizations across America walk on the path…” , says
the ad
4.3.1.4. The competition
The competition is widely believed as among the most typical
American cultural values. In advertising, this value is commonly
represented by the extensive use of hard-sell appeal which highlights the
product’s benefits by stressing its competitiveness in comparison with the
others. Not surprisingly, a high percentage of 74% of the American
collected is truly reflective of this value. The advertisement for Pizza Hut is
such a representative example for that. Not only does it declare itself the
America’s favorite pizza but it also firmly assures that “no pizza is more
irresistible”, says the slogan of the ad. Besides, the competitiveness is also

reflected when the brand’s superiority over other products is demonstrated
in the commercial’s content as such resounding slogans do in the
following:
It’s the Bridge Stone or nothing
(Bridgestone Super Bowl Ad 2009)
More spacious than a BMW 7
(Hyundai Super Bowl commercial 2008)
Ex tra Gum- Last longer than that
(Extra Gum Commercial 2008)
Budlight-Always worths it
(Bud Light 2008 Superbowl Commercial)
Degree- from the world’s deodorant manufacturer
(Degree Commercial 2007)
What is more, most advertisements of this type introduce their
products as effective tools to helpfully support people to gain achievements
in this fiercely competitive world. In common sense, Americans suppose
life is a race, and then people should run the race successfully. And in order
to succeed, a person must compete with others. Therefore, the image of a
man in some competitive contest matching his energy and intelligence
against that of others for success becomes familiar in American
advertisements. For instance, the advertiser for Vitaminwater commercial
deliberately designs the ad as a live show of a breathtaking – ever horse
race, in which the male model makes an unbelievably good performance to
try his utmost to overcome other competitors, one by one on the way to the
championship. That strong man, of course, spectacularly wins the
competition finally and the very first drink he chooses is none but the
Vitaminwater. The advertisement, therefore, can absolutely convey the
message on the great-ever influence of its drink on people’s physical and

spiritual strengths considered necessary for their competitiveness. This idea
originates from the typical viewpoint of Americans on the ideal of
competition. Under the pressure of competitions, they are always energetic
since anyone who does not succeed in competing -for any reason – does not
seem to fit the American life lines as well as those who complete
successfully.
4.3.1.5. The attitude towards sex
The definition of the term “sex” here should be understood as
referring to body exposure and bodily contact. The percentage of sex
appeals utilized in American ads was 18 %, among which 12% and 6%
involved body exposure and bodily contact, respectively. Regarding to the
common knowledge that American tend to hold open views towards sex,
sex appeal is effectively exploited in many American advertisements in
order to grab attention from their potential customers. That can be seen in
the advertisements for Gillette and Calvin Klein with vivid illustration for
bodily contact imageries.
4.3.1.6. The attitude towards nature
That oneness and manipulation of nature appeals rarely occurred in
the American commercials collected somehow implies the American
attitude towards nature is the wish for the “active-mastery” in the person-
nature relationship. While there is no use of oneness with nature appeal in
any American ads, the manipulation of nature appeal is still presented in
one commercial for GE Company. The impressive thing is the image of a
little boy succeeding in capturing the wind into a bottle and giving to his
grandpa as a surprising present on his birthday. This ad indicates the
relationship between people and nature in U.S culture, that is, nature is to

be conquered and controlled for human convenience and economic
progress (Belk and Bryce, 1986).
4.3.2. Realization of typical cultural values and characteristics
reflected in Vietnamese TV advertisements
According to the statistical results, the most typical values of
Vietnamese culture revealed in the advertisements are the following ones:
4.3.2.1. The strong sense of community
This cultural value is faithfully reflected by the great use of
group/consensus appeals in Vietnamese television advertisements. 58% of
products advertised build their brand images with the material of group
appeals, that is, the images of groups are utilized more than those of
individuals. The ads for Doctor Thanh tea, P/S toothpaste or Nescafe are
such vivid examples for the regular appearance of group images in
Vietnamese TV commercial
Moreover, the strong sense of community, to certain extents, also
means the tendency of the heavy dependence on the others or the majority
instead of the self-reliance. That is to say, from Vietnamese’s point of
view, the quality of a product will be seemingly more guaranteed and
reliable if it is widely used and accepted by as many people as possible. In
the ads for Coca-Cola 2009, there are a variety of different groups of
people from the little children, teenagers, couples to the old, and the
common thing they share is their varied interesting experiences gained
from drinking Coca-cola. Also, the plural first pronoun “WE” is usually
used when it comes to judging the product’s quality. For instance, the ads
for Anuta green tea and Kotex sound convincing to the customer as all the
models say:
Chúng tôi chọn trà xanh Anuta

-We all choose Anuta green tea- ( Anuta Green Tea commercial )
Chúng tôi tin
-We all believe- (Kotex commercial)
Therefore, it is the popular image in Vietnamese advertisement that a
product tends to be enjoyed and shared among a group of people or in
public in stead of individually
Last but not least, by depicting the individual as an integral part of the
whole group, a large number of Vietnamese ads lay the considerable
emphasis on the benefits given to the community, not for an individual
only. In other words, the values of product are associated with the common
objectives of the whole community. Particularly, in these advertisements,
the image of people enthusiastically helping each other in public has the
frequent occurrences. The striking illustration of that can be seen in the ads
for Nuti Full Cream, in which three members of the family forget their own
sakes to help others. Regardless of the championship waiting for him, the
little boy stopped during the race only to raise up his competitor who has
just fallen down. They all drink Nuti and that is the way they do to have
such good health as well as warm hearts and beautiful minds
4.3.2.2. The alliance to the family and tradition-orientation
Based on the analysis of the Vietnamese samples demonstrating that
the veneration of elderly/traditional appeals appeared in 24% from 50 ads,
it is proved that there is a true reflection of the alliance to the family and
tradition- orientation in Vietnamese television advertisements.
In practice, with regard to the belief that Vietnamese are closely tied
to family, the family setting is commonly portrayed in a big number of
Vietnamese ads, especially in the ads of domestic products, such as
Colgate, Café Viet, Milmax , Ajinomoto Prudential Insurance, etc.

Added to this, that Vietnamese people often attach crucial
importance to the family’s happiness is the reasonable explanation for the
question why the advertisers often design the ads in which the consumption
of their products will bring happiness to the whole family. Take an example
of the ad for Vinamilk yoghurt, in which its tastes are shared and enjoyed
by all the members of the family.
In addition to the dream about a happy family, it is also traditional
for Vietnamese children to show their respect and gratitude to the older in
the family, especially their grandparents and parents who are usually
regarded as the symbol of love, care and wisdom. Bearing this cultural
characteristic in mind, many advertisers promote their product’s values in
connection with the familiar images of family. For instance, it is said in the
ad for Enplus that:
“Đối với mẹ, Enplus là tất cả những gì bạn cần”
- As for Mum, Enplus is all that you need”
Another example to illustrate this cultural value of Vietnamese is
seen in the ad for Orion Choco-pie, which recalls a little girl to the familiar
memory of her pass-away grandfather when she receives the choco-pie
from her Mom and places it onto the altar in order to show her respect and
love for her grand father. The effect here is that Vietnamese viewers , who
have the tradition of being grateful and dutiful to their ancestors , are
inspired by the beautiful sentiments expressed in the ad and maybe end up
taking it as a meaningful present to show the love and care to their beloved
family members
Besides, the tradition-orientation is also reflected in Vietnamese
television commercials. Typically, the traditional Tet holiday is also
presented in many ads, such as Omo Tet 2008 commercials, Lipton
commercial, Knor commercials etc. In most of these advertisements, what
can be seen are the traditional and familiar images like the family union,

the funds for the poor or the best wishes to family member on New Year
occasion which are considered the beauties in behaviors originated from
traditional values.
4.3.2.3. The wish to live in harmony with nature
In common sense, Vietnamese are believed to live closely to nature
and have harmonious attitude towards nature. This wish to live in harmony
with nature is represented by the frequent use of oneness with nature
appeals in 10% of Vietnamese advertisements.
Considering the traditional value that Vietnamese people always have
love for products made from natural materials, advertisers tend to make
increasing use of natural appeal in their advertisements. Accordingly, it is
not surprising to see that there are more and more advertisements showing
their product’s good qualities in close relationship to nature. Like most
other ads of this category, in the commercial for Lipton Green tea, the
product is guaranteed to be made from 100 % natural materials. Added to
this, the advert seemingly sounds more appealing to viewers when
describing the quality of this product as:
“Lipton, thanh khiết như sương mai”
- Lipton, as pure as morning dew -
It can be said that this “back- to- nature” theme successfully shows
the interaction and affinity of people and nature, for which the commercial
for Ajinomoto is an impressive example. Stated as the sharing knowledge
between the father and son, the ad reveals the familiarity as well as the
importance of nature to people’s lives, that is:
“….. Nước biển làm ra hạt muối và cánh đồng cho hạt gạo… nhưng
ngạc nhiên nhất, ba bảo mía làm ra bột ngọt Ajinomoto…”
- “…the salt is made from the sea water, the fields bring the rice…but most
surprisingly, Dad says Ajinomoto is made from the sugar-cane”

4.3.2.4. The indirectness
The proportion of 34% of Vietnamese ads using the soft-sell appeal
is seen as a clear illustration for the indirectness of Vietnamese culture. In
general, it is found that Vietnamese advertising often displays emotional
approaches in stead of informational ones. As seen from the statistical
result, not a large number of all Vietnamese advertisements analyzed
contains competitive statements, or emphasizes their superiorities
compared with other products. In case comparative appeals are used, they
seem to be “softened” to avoid the possibility that their competitor can lose
face. Accordingly, it is a tendency for Vietnamese advertiser to base their
marketing strategy on creating linking of the product through image and
emotional appeals without bombarding the consumers with the impressive
facts and proof. In the commercial for Omo, what is emphasized is not the
remarkable feature of the product but the beauty of human values conveyed
through the beautiful and moving scenes. Under the miraculous inspiration
of people wearing the white and nice clothes washed with Omo, all the
other people with different ages and genders become enthusiastic and
willing to help the others without being afraid of dirtying their clothes. So
even though the ad mentioned nothing related to the benefits offered by the
product, it still can attract the attention as well as the preference from the
Vietnamese consumers who highly appreciate the spiritual and cultural
values hidden in the image of this product.
4.3.2.5. The attitude towards sex
It is found that the sex appeals only made their appearance in 10% of
the total number of 50 Vietnamese commercials. It is also noteworthy that
the body expose is shown in 4 samples (8%) while only one ad for KFC is
involved in bodily touching. This result leads to the implication that highly
intimate bodily contact in public or too openly dressing is not considered

the favorite images in Vietnamese advertisements, which also indicates the
attitude towards sex of Vietnamese, who are thought to be conservative
with a truly oriental lifestyle.
4.3.2. Comparison of cultural values and characteristics reflected in
American and Vietnamese advertisements
In the following part, an in-depth discussion on the similarities and
differences in the reflection of cultural values and characteristics between
two cultural groups is presented.
4.3.2.1. The similarities
The statistics discussed in the previous part named “Findings” show
that the collected advertisement samples of both cultural groups are
reflective of American and Vietnamese’s preference towards the
appearance of the modernity/ youth appeals as well as the status appeal
Firstly, the huge proportion of youthful or modernity appeals used in
Vietnamese and the U.S commercials, 62% and 64% respectively shows
the reality that nowadays, the advertisements with the appearance of young
good-looking or famous models have more possibilities to catch the
customer’s attention. The favorite models are usually celebrities such as
talented singers, movie stars or sport players whose images become popular
to the majority of target customers who is believed to have increasing
interest in fashionable and modern stuffs.
Another similarity is found in the frequent use of status appeals in
both American and Vietnamese television advertisements. Accounting for
18% and 20% in Vietnamese and American commercials, respectively, the
use of status appeals presents the people’s wish to improve their
achievements as well as the social status. That is the reason why in

practice, a great number of men is fond of the product of Gillette since it is
considered “the best a man can have”, as stated in the American
advertisement for Gillette 2007. As for Vietnamese advertisements, the
products tend to become preferred if they are imported from overseas. This
is not really a characteristic but a common attitude of most Vietnamese
people. In many Vietnamese ads, viewers can come across such
information as:
“Tide- bột giặt số một tại Mỹ”
- Tide –the 1st brand of washing powder in America-
(Tide commercial)
“ Enfagrow A+ mới, sản phẩm từ Mead Johnson, Hoa Kì”
- New EnfagrowA+, the product by Mead Johnson, the U.S-
( Enfagrow A+ commercial )
4.3.2.2. The differences
As discussed in the previous part numbered 4.3.1, there are
particularly striking differences in the cultural reflection between
Vietnamese and American TV ads. While American commercials faithfully
reflect their certain typical cultural values namely the individualism, self-
reliance, directness and competition, it is conclusively proved that the sense
of community, allegiance to the family and traditional orientation,
indirectness and wish to live in harmony with nature are among the most
remarkable values revealed in Vietnamese TV commercials. Apart from
that, in this section, some other significant differences are also pointed out
as follows:

4.3.2.2.1. Attitude towards nature
There is a considerable difference between Vietnamese and
American culture in considering their attitude towards nature. The
Vietnamese normally express a harmonious attitude towards nature while
the Americans tend to show their desire to challenge and conquer nature.
The explanation for this is the fact that Vietnam is an agriculture-rooted
country with a large proportion of population working in agriculture; thus,
there is a heavy dependence on nature for the production as well as living
condition and therefore, Vietnamese people always respect nature and wish
to live in harmony with nature. On the other hand, with a different cultural
pattern Americans are considered people of great mobility who do not have
to depend much on nature since they often move from place to place to
discover new lands as well as seek for new achievements.
4.3.2.2.2. Attitude towards sex
Another considerable difference is also noted between Vietnamese
and American’s attitude towards sex. As seen from the collected
advertisements, in terms of body expose, the American models show a
greater part of their body than the Vietnamese ones. Moreover, the ways
these American models show parts of their bodies are far more impressive
and shocking in comparison with the ways Vietnamese models do.
With regard to bodily touching, the images of male and female
model involved in intimate bodily contact are seen more in American
commercials than in Vietnamese ones. For example, in the American ad for
Calvin Klein perfume, there are quite a few hot scenes of a couple in loves
with close bodily contact, which is hardly seen in Vietnamese
advertisements. That big difference can result from the two distinct
lifestyles. American has a modern liberal Western life style while
Vietnamese mostly still remain their traditional oriental lifestyles. Highly

intimate bodily touching in public, therefore, is considered to be against
Vietnamese’ traditional custom and culture.
4.4. Application
4.4.1. Suggestions for bridging the cultural gap in perceiving American
and Vietnamese advertisements
The gap in perceiving a cultural issue is a common experience to a
person coming from another culture. The similar situation happens to the
way people belonging to two cultural groups of Vietnamese and American
get to know each other through their advertisements. That is to say, there
always exist potential difficulties in understanding American ads for
Vietnamese and vice versa. Therefore, it is necessary to find out some ways
to avoid possible culture shock in such cross-cultural context.
One valuable suggestion here is to enrich one’s knowledge of as
many fields as possible. To overcome the cultural barriers, and get the right
understanding of the foreign advertisements, what a person needs is not
only being expert at the culture itself, but also the comprehensive
knowledge of many other aspects of life. And thanks to that, he can find
out the answers to the questions referring to cultural problem in the
advertisements he sees.
In addition to the improvement of knowledge, it is particularly
significant for one to have an open and receptive attitude towards cultural
differences. Such positive viewpoints are essential here on the basis that
there are definitely no standards for anything to be called “right” or
“wrong”, just cultural differences. If the cultural differences arise, one
should consider them valuable chances to look back on his own culture and
to be self-aware since “the more one learns about others, the more one sees

one’s own culture more clearly. By learning contrast, we can better
understand how culture influences individuals and their communication
with others” (Nguyen Quang, p.5).
4.4.2. The implication for the study of advertising strategies
It is undoubted that culture plays a crucial role in the perception and
use of advertising. As a result, it is indispensable for any marketer or
multinational company to have a thorough knowledge on the targeted
markets, particularly their cultural values and characteristic when they want
to promote their product overseas or worldwide. The findings from my
study, is expected to bring the useful knowledge when it comes to making
advertising strategy for overseas markets in Vietnam or America.
4.4.3. The use of television advertisements in ESL classes
4.4.3.1. Introduction
A foreign language learner is expected to have a good command of
not only the language itself, but also its culture. Up to now, quite a few new
teaching methods have been introduced and applied in Vietnamese
classrooms. Many sources such as newspaper articles, songs, short stories,
movies, etc… have been used in class as authentic materials for teaching
and learning. Yet there have been few attentions paid to the usefulness of
television advertisements in ESL classes. The following sections are
supposed to present the reasons for which television should be used in ESL
classes as well as suggest the methods of using TV commercials for class
activities.

4.4.3.2. Why television advertisements?
The researcher personally recommends advertisement as an effective
tool for second language teaching and learning because of its outstanding
features namely availability, variety, authenticity and visual appeals.
First of all, the explosion of the Internet and the considerable growth
of means of media bring remarkable eases to the advertisement collection.
Today, TV commercials are available on the Internet as there are a number
of sites to locate commercials of all kinds. Additionally, most of TV ads
typically last 30 to 50 seconds only, which makes them easier to select, to
manipulate and prepare as well.
Another great strong point is that commercials contain authentic
content since they are written for native speakers and spoken in authentic
English. That TV commercials are created in many different English
speaking countries makes it possible for students to have exposure to a
variety of English. As a result, by using TV commercials from different
locations including the UK, USA, Australia, etc., language teachers can
introduce different accents, dialects of English to students, and thereby give
them opportunities to expand the reach of their listening and speaking
abilities.
An additional benefit is the visual elements of TV commercials
which are expected to further enhance the ability of students to understand
a commercial's meaning. A number of studies suggest that students who are
exposed to commercials improve their listening skills and augment their
motivation to learn. The visual clues of a TV commercial provide
scaffolding for students to assist them to understand the linguistic meanings
in the commercial. At the same time, teachers can use the original intent of

the commercial and the cultural elements contained therein to teach critical
thinking and culture.
4.4.3.3. Developing activities with Commercials
In the very first stage, teachers should define the cultural, linguistic,
and logical objectives that they desire to focus on when searching for an
appropriate TV commercial. The next step after selecting objectives and
finding a good TV commercial is developing activities. The researcher
would like to suggest 3 activities in the following:
1. Language Finding
Since the commercials obviously contain a certain amount of
linguistic and lexical data, they are considered useful materials for teaching
vocabulary and grammar in ESL class.
The objective of the activity
The use of this activity aims at making the lesson of vocabulary and
grammar more exciting and interesting to students, at the same time
bringing them chances to practice the language and thereby strengthen
their language skills.
The level of student’s English proficiency
This activity can be used in class with students at many different
levels, including beginner level or Pre-Intermediate as well.
The method
For the lower level grammar element, teacher can provide students
with some new words and structures and ask them to guess their meanings
based on the situation and context in the advertisement.

In terms of higher levels, these new words and explained grammar
can be included in production activities like information gap activities, and
presentations. Thanks to this, students can practice and develop their
language skills
2. Culture Discovery
This activity is based on the fact that there are always messages of
one society’s values and attitudes embedded in its advertisements; so it is
always worth observing and drawing such typical values hidden in those
advertisements.
The objective of the activity
The aim of designing this activity is to give students chances to
discover the cultural values reflected in advertisements and improve their
skill of critical analysis as well
The level of student’s English proficiency
Students are expected to be at the levels of Pre-Intermediate at least
The method
Teacher asks students to work in groups of four or 3. Before showing
the TV commercial, teacher should give students some questions to ponder
on the matter related to the advertisement. Then, the ad should be shown
2-3 times to make sure that the students understand the scenario and
content of the ad. After that, teacher delivers some topics for students to
discuss in groups. Finally, students are supposed to make presentation on
the given topic

3. Culture Comparison
As a matter of fact, the same product can be advertised in the two
distinct ways when it is promoted in two different countries. So there must
be different advertising appeals or cultural values employed in the two
advertisements of the same products
The objective of the activity
This activity is aimed to improve student’s awareness on the cultural
similarities or differences in these ads
The level of student’s English proficiency
Students are expected to be at the levels of Intermediate or Upper
Intermediate
The method
Teacher prepares a pair of television advertisements of the same
product and delivers them to students who are supposed to work in group
of 4 or 5 to analyze and compare two ads. The final output can be the group
presentations or a task of writing a compare and contrast essay on the given
advertisements.
4.5.Conclusion
This chapter has reported the findings and discussed the result for the
research questions with regard to literature and come up with the marked
reflection of Vietnamese and American cultures in TV advertisements.
Besides, the interpretation of the findings and some suggestions by the
researcher are expected to improve the understanding of the Vietnamese-
American cross culture more thoroughly as well as to encourage the use of
TV advertisements in ESL classrooms nowadays.

CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION
5.1 Introduction
The present research is aimed at investigating the reflection of
American and Vietnamese cultures in their television advertisements. In the
previous chapters, the introduction, the literature, the implementation and
the results of the research have been thoroughly elaborated. This
concluding chapter is supposed to briefly and critically evaluate the
outcomes and the contribution of the whole research. Also the research’s
limitations will be cited and several suggestions for further studies will be
proposed.
5.2. Summary
In the sum, this research paper performs as a fairly comprehensive
study on the cultural reflection of Vietnamese and American television
commercials. Significant findings concerning the research questions have
been revealed through a process of the investigation using the method of
content analysis. Firstly, the findings show a close relationship between the
expression in television advertisements of two groups and their cultural
values. Generally speaking, American advertisements faithfully reflect their
certain typical cultural values namely the individualism, self-reliance,
competition, and directness. Meanwhile, sense of community, indirectness,
wish to live in harmony with nature, and allegiance to the family and
traditional orientation are proved as the most remarkable values revealed in
Vietnamese TV commercials. It is also notable that a great number of
American and Vietnamese advertisements make frequent use of youth,
modern and status appeals in their ads. There are also distinct differences
between two cultures with regard to the attitude towards nature and sex.

Based on the findings, the study then suggests some ways to bridge the
cultural gap as well as some class activities to use advertisements as an
effective tool for learning and teaching in ESL classes.
5.3. Contribution of the study
The research is believed to offer some far-reaching implications as
follows:
In the first place, it contributes to the scarce literature on the cultural
reflection of television advertisements in two target nations.
Moreover, the study also sheds light on the major similarities and
differences in cultural reflection between American and Vietnamese
advertisements. Thus, it provides an insight into Vietnamese and American
culture, contributing to the mutual understanding between two countries in
general and their advertisements in particular.
Last but not least, the study gives some useful suggestions which
help international companies or organizations who wish to promote their
products in America or Vietnam to learn more about the culture of these
two targeted markets in order to avoid cultural shock as well as to create
successful advertising campaigns.
5.4.Limitations of the study
Although this research has been conducted to the best of the
researcher’s efforts, time constraint and other unexpected objective factors
have led to certain unavoidable limitations involving the collection of the
data and the scope of the study.
Firstly, the total number of television advertisements collected
remained relatively limited. There were only 100 commercials from both
countries; thus the reliability of samples might not be ensured.

Added to this, the majority of the commercials collected were merely
involved in the ads for domestic products of food, drinks, beauty care,
household appliance, consequently, it is difficult for the researcher to make
a valid generalization about the cultural reflection in TV ads of both
cultural groups.
Despite the aforementioned shortcomings, the research’s flexibility
and serious work is expected to have well retained the validity and
reliability of the result. However, it is worth noting that these above
shortcomings should always be taken into consideration when further
related studies are conducted in the future
5.5. Suggestions for further study
Since there have been so far few American- Vietnamese cross-
cultural studies on the relationship between advertising and culture, it still
offers other researchers large room to conduct further studies. From the
researcher’s point of view, further studies should be conducted with
broader target subject to increase the generalizability of the findings as well
as enhance the validity. Also advertisements on other means such as
printed advertising, radio and internet advertising should be considered to
be the scope of the follow-up studies.

REFERENCES
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http://clip.vn
http://youtube
http://www.veryfunnyads.com
http://www.spike.com
http://www.esm.psu.edu/faculty/gray/movies.html
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761564279/Advertising.html#s1

http://www.mediaknowall.com/gcse/advertising/history.html
http://www.airnyc.org/info/AdvertisementAve-com-236185.html