Abstract
This chapter discusses the role of Indian culture in advertisements (ads) in India. First, it summarizes the sparse extant literature in this area. Then, this chapter dwells on key aspects of Indian culture that is reflected in Indian ads (e.g. respect for one’s elders, family relations and celebrating key festivals). Subsequently, it dwells on ads hurting cultural sensitivities and negative aspects of Indian culture and advertising. All these issues are embellished and substantiated with real ads from India. This chapter also provides directions for future research in this important domain. Specifically, authors develop propositions revolving around content analysis and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions in Indian ads, types of products and culture in Indian ads, Indian culture and hi tech/hi touch products in ads, products conspicuous by their consumption, culture and Indian ads, services, culture and Indian ads, and finally, public policy and culture in Indian ads. This chapter is useful in that it not just encapsulates the use of culture in Indian ads, but also offers specific propositions that can be empirically tested by researchers in future.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alden, D. L., Hoyer, W. D., & Lee, C. (1993). Identifying global and culture-specific dimensions of humor in advertising: A Multinational analysis. Journal of Marketing, 57(2), 64–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299305700205
An, D. (2014). Tangibilizing services through visual tangible cues in corporate web sites: A six-country cross-cultural analysis. Journal of Services Marketing, 28(7), 566–579. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-04-2013-0097
Baidya, M., Maity, B., & Ghose, K. (2012). Measuring dynamic effects of advertising: A case study in India. Journal of Indian Business Research, 4(3), 158–169. https://doi.org/10.1108/17554191211252671
Banerjee, S., Gulas, C. S., & Iyer, E. (1995). Shades of green: A multidimensional analysis of environmental advertising. Journal of Advertising, 24(2), 21–31.
Beatty, S. E., & Smith, S. M. (1987). External search effort: An Investigation across several product categories. Journal of Consumer Research, 14(1), 83–95. https://doi.org/10.1086/209095
Bowen, D. E., & Jones, G. R. (1986). Transaction cost analysis of service organization-customer exchange. Academy of Management Review, 11(2), 428–441. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1986.4283519
Briley, D. A., & Aaker, J. L. (2006). When does culture matter? Effects of personal knowledge on the correction of culture-based judgments. Journal of Marketing Research, 43(3), 395–408. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.43.3.395
Briley, D. A., Morris, M. W., & Simonson, I. (2000). Reasons as carriers of culture: Dynamic versus dispositional models of cultural influence on decision making. Journal of Consumer Research, 27(2), 157–178. https://doi.org/10.1086/314318
Butler, J. (2005). Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity GT. Political Theory, 4, 4–24.
Cateora, P. R., & Graham, J. L. (2005). International marketing (12th ed.). Richard P.Irwin.
Chandra, A., Griffith, D. A., & Ryans, J. K. (2002). Advertising standardization in India: US multinational experience. International Journal of Advertising, 21(1), 47–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2002.11104916
Chopra, S. (2019). Kellogg’s eyes Indian snacks giant Haldiram’s to diversify beyond core breakfast cereal category, says Global Data. Retrieved 13 June 2019, from https://www.globaldata.com/kelloggs-eyes-indian-snacks-giant-haldirams-to-diversify-beyond-core-breakfast-cereal-category-says-globaldata/
Darby, M. R., & Karni, E. (1973). Free competition and the optimal amount of fraud. The Journal of Law and Economics, 16(1), 67–88. https://doi.org/10.1086/466756
de Mooij, M., & Hofstede, G. (2002). Convergence and divergence in consumer behavior: Implications for international retailing. Journal of Retailing, 78(1), 61–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4359(01)00067-7
Dhar, R., & Wertenbroch, K. (2000). Consumer choice between hedonic and utilitarian goods. Journal of Marketing Research, 37(1), 60–71. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.37.1.60.18718
Ersin, İ., & Eti, S. (2017). Measuring the waste-conscious and saving habits of the youth in Turkey: The sample of Istanbul Medipol university. International Journal of Islamic Economics and Finance Studies, 3(3).
Fernando, A. G., Sivakumaran, B., & Suganthi, L. (2014). Nature of green advertisements in India: Are they greenwashed? Asian Journal of Communication, 24(3), 222–241. https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2014.885537
Hofstede, G. (1998). Masculinity and femininity: The taboo dimension of national cultures (Vol. 3). Sage Publications.
Hofstede, G. (2019). Hofstede insights. Retrieved 14 June 2019, from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/india/
IBEF. (2008). Rural market. Retrieved 24 June 2019, from https://www.ibef.org/pages/20071
IBEF. (2019). Services sector in India. Retrieved 23 June 2019, from https://www.ibef.org/industry/services.aspx
Inman, A. G., Howard, E. E., Beaumont, R. L., & Walker, J. A. (2007). Cultural transmission: Influence of contextual factors in asian indian immigrant parents’ experiences. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54(1), 93–100. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.54.1.93
Jeon, J. O., & Beatty, S. E. (2002). Comparative advertising effectiveness in different national cultures. Journal of Business Research, 55(11), 907–913. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0148-2963(01)00210-7
Kahn, B. E., & Lehmann, D. R. (1991). Modeling choice among assortments. Journal of Retailing, 67(3), 274–299.
Kalro, A. D., Sivakumaran, B., & Marathe, R. R. (2010). Comparative advertising in India: A content analysis of English print advertisements. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 22(4), 377–394.
Kalro, A. D., Sivakumaran, B., & Marathe, R. R. (2013). Direct or indirect comparative ads: The moderating role of information processing modes. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 12(2), 133–147. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1421
Kalro, A. D., Sivakumaran, B., & Marathe, R. R. (2017). The ad format-strategy effect on comparative advertising effectiveness. European Journal of Marketing, 51(1), 99–122. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-11-2015-0764
Kalro Arti, D., Sivakumaran, B., & Marathe Rahul, R. (2017). The ad format-strategy effect on comparative advertising effectiveness. European Journal of Marketing, 51(1), 99–122. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-11-2015-0764
Karan, K. (2008). Obsessions with fair skin: Color discourses in Indian advertising. Advertising & society review, 9(2).
Lee, W.-N. (2019). Exploring the role of culture in advertising: Resolving persistent issues and responding to changes. Journal of Advertising, 48(1), 115–125. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2019.1579686
Mukherji, J. (2005). Maternal communication patterns, advertising attitudes and mediation behaviours in Urban India. Journal of Marketing Communications, 11(4), 247–262. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527260500167223
Nimmagadda, J., & Cowger, C. D. (1999). Cross-cultural practice: Social worker ingenuity in the indigenization of practice knowledge. International Social Work, 42(3), 261–276. https://doi.org/10.1177/002087289904200302
Prabhath, S. V. (2011). Role of Education and Culture in Rural Development. https://www.mkgandhi.org/articles/role_edu.htm. Accessed January 2019.
Ramamoorthy, N., Kulkarni, S. P., Gupta, A., & Flood, P. C. (2007). Individualism–collectivism orientation and employee attitudes: A comparison of employees from the high-technology sector in India and Ireland. Journal of International Management, 13(2), 187–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2006.11.002
Rew, M., Gangoli, G., & Gill, A. K. (2013). Violence between female in-laws in India. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 14(1), 147–160.
Roy, S., Jain, V., & Rana, P. (2013). The moderating role of consumer personality and source credibility in celebrity endorsements. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, 5(1), 72–88. https://doi.org/10.1108/17574321311304549
Sadarangani, P. H., Krishnamurthy, A., Bagozzi, R. P. (2017). Shared consumer needs across India and China: A path to global advertising of services? Management International Review, 57(3), 473-500. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-016-0299-2
Sharma, P., Sivakumaran, B., & Marshall, R. (2014). Exploring impulse buying in services: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 42(2), 154–170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-013-0346-5
Muralidharan, S., La Ferle, C., & Sung, Y. (2015). How culture influences the “social” in social media: Socializing and advertising on smartphones in India and the United States. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 18(6), 356–360. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2015.0008
Singh, N., Fassott, G., Zhao, H., & Boughton, P. D. (2006). A cross-cultural analysis of German, Chinese and Indian consumers’ perception of web site adaptation. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 5(1), 56–68. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.43
Singh, R., & Kaur, P. (2014). Maternal attitude towards TV advertising in India. Management and Labour Studies, 39(2), 160–173. https://doi.org/10.1177/0258042x14558182
Sinha, J. B. P., & Kumar, R. (2004). Methodology for understanding Indian culture. The Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies, 19, 89–104.
Song, M. (2014). Challenging a culture of racial equivalence. The British Journal of Sociology, 65(1), 107–129. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12054
Sridhar, G., & Mishra, D. (2011). Executives social representation of rurality and product adaptation: A case of rural markets in India. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 23(3), 285–303. https://doi.org/10.1108/13555851111143222
Srikandath, S. (1991). Cultural values depicted in Indian television advertising. Gazette (leiden, Netherlands), 48(3), 165–176. https://doi.org/10.1177/001654929104800302
Srivastava, E., Maheswarappa, S. S., & Sivakumaran, B. (2017). Nostalgic advertising in India: A content analysis of Indian TV advertisements. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 29(1), 47–69. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-10-2015-0152
Srivastava, T., & Schoeebachler, D. D. (2000). An examination of the information and thematic content of consumer print advertising in India. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 12(2), 63–85. https://doi.org/10.1300/J046v12n02_05
Stafford, M. B. R., Reilly, T., Grove, S. J., Carlson, L., Bhandari, R., & Copeland, J. (2011). The evolution of services advertising in a services-driven national economy. An Analysis of Progress and Missed Opportunities, 51(150th Anniversary Supplement), 136–152. https://doi.org/10.2501/jar-51-1-136-152
Taylor, C. R. (2018). Global consumer culture and advertising research. International Journal of Advertising, 37(4), 505–507. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2018.1474021
Wansink, B. (2003). Using laddering to understand and leverage a brand’s equity. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 6(2), 111–118. https://doi.org/10.1108/13522750310470118
Williams, J. T. B. (2019). Measles, mumps, and communion: A Vision for vaccine policy. Health Affairs, 38(11), 1944–1947. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00446
Wirtz, J., & Mattila Anna, S. (2003). The effects of consumer expertise on evoked set size and service loyalty. Journal of Services Marketing, 17(7), 649–665. https://doi.org/10.1108/08876040310501223
Zhang, J., & Shavitt, S. (2003). Cultural values in advertisements to the Chinese X-generation–promoting modernity and individualism. Journal of Advertising, 32(1), 23–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2003.10639047
Zhang, Y., & Neelankavil, J. P. (1997). The influence of culture on advertising effectiveness in China and the USA: A cross-cultural study. European Journal of Marketing, 31(2), 134–149. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090569710157106
Zinkhan, G. M., Johnson, M., & Christian Zinkhan, F. (1992). Differences between product and services television commercials. Journal of Services Marketing, 6(3), 59–66. https://doi.org/10.1108/08876049210035944
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sivakumaran, B., Harindranath, R.M. (2022). Influence of Indian Culture on Advertising in India. In: Pandey, A., Budhwar, P., Bhawuk, D.P.S. (eds) Indigenous Indian Management. Palgrave Studies in Indian Management. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87906-8_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87906-8_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-87905-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-87906-8
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)