Sneek-peek to Multiculturalism through advertisements

Culture affects everything we do. This applies to all areas of human life from personal relationships to conducting business abroad. When interacting within our native cultures, culture acts as a framework of understanding. However, when interacting with different cultures this framework no longer applies due to cross cultural differences.

The essence of successful advertising is convincing people that a product is meant for them. By purchasing it, they will receive some benefit, whether it be lifestyle, status, convenience or financial. However, when an advertising campaign is taken abroad different values and perceptions as to what enhances status or gives convenience exist. These differences make the original advertising campaign defunct.

By way of highlighting areas of cross cultural differences in advertising a few examples shall be examined.McDonald's Corporation is one of the most successful global restaurant chains around the world.Its global success can be attributed to a myriad of reasons with one, in particular, being its ability to innovate and adapt across different regions and cultures. 

McDonald’s strategic aim to support cultural diversity and adjust their offerings to local markets underscores its effective geographic segmentation which in return allows them to obtain a wider reach than its competitors.

Consumer attitude in Japan is vastly different than that in the U.S. Initially, McDonald’s in Japan retained the menu for the U.S. market. However, it gradually rolled out new menu items such as the Rice Burger, Seaweed Shaker, Teriyaki Burger, Ebi (shrimp) burger, green tea milkshakes and ice cream to cater to Japanese preferences. Even the product sizes are different in Japan than in the Americas. For instance, a large drink container at a McDonald’s in Japan is significantly smaller than that in the U.S. 

As the majority of the Indian population are Hindus, people consider cows as sacred animals. Taking this into account, McDonald’s customized its menu to cater to the locals’ tastes and preferences by replacing beef with chicken. As a result, they introduced the Maharaja Mac which is the local version of the standard Big Mac. McDonald’s also tried to appeal to vegetarians in India by offering vegetarian-friendly options such as the Masala Grilled Veggie Burger, McAllo Tikki and McVeggie. In 2013, the company even opened its first vegetarian restaurant to cater to this demographic.

Another example I would like to mention is about Pepsi. In a bid to encourage millennials to take charge of their own lives, Pepsi India has launched a new TVC for its 'Har Ghoont Mein Swag' campaign. Featuring Bollywood superstar and brand ambassador Salman Khan, the ad film asks youngsters to embrace the SWAG philosophy of 'har wrong ko right bana de' – a signature Pepsi tagline.

It asks the youth to overlook conventional societal judgements and not be bogged down by them. With Khan as the protagonist, the spot takes a stand against bullying and prejudices.

The film depicts a college canteen setting where a young couple is seen getting bullied by a bunch of students – until, of course, the 'Dabangg' actor enters the scene to set the record straight.

Speaking about the TVC, a PepsiCo India spokesperson says that Over the years, Brand Pepsi has had its pulse on the changing trends, evolving times and beliefs of the younger generation. It has always created campaigns that resonate with their contemporary ideas. This summer, P is reflecting on how the youth should tackle societal judgement - with self-confidence, unshakeable self-belief and irrefutable SWAG. In 2020, P will continue celebrating the spirit of the new generation through the Har Ghoont Mein Swag campaign and bring it alive through multiple consumer passion points during the year.”