Television Advertising

            Television can be used to demonstrate the product in action, or to use colour and sound to build an atmosphere around the product, thus enhancing its image (Fahy & Jobber, 2006). The emphasis for this thesis will be television advertisements, because of the many elements of television, sound, colour, sight and motion that aid the presentation of the message. Also the fact that Brassington and Pettitt (2000) argue that television is better for creating an advertisement message with emotional appeals, contributes to our concentration to television advertisements. The degree of television advertisement standardization/adaptation at theinternational level refers mainly to the manipulation by the manager of the promotional mix elements (Bradley & Sousa, 2005). Supporters of standardization say a trend is sweeping both marketing and advertising – the movement to create products that are manufactured, packaged and promoted the same way around the world, regardless of individual cultures (Mueller, 1989). According to Bradley & Sousa (2005) higher degree of adaptation is encouraged when the manager perceives great differences, in the economic environment and life styles between the home and foreign country. On the one hand, those who support the global standardization approach argue that a single television advertisement should be used in international markets to reduce total costs and promote a global corporate image. On the other hand, those who support the internationalization school of thought see the need for marketing adaptation to fit the unique dimensions of each local market. (Vrontis, 2003). Countries differ widely in the availability, quality, coverage, audience, and cost of advertising media (Root, 1994). According to Laroche and Teng (2006) matching the distinctive cultural values is a vital component of international advertising and marketing. Therefore, marketing practitioners should always consider cultural variables in their advertising because culture seems to influence advertising tactics and consumer's decision making (ibid).