Abstract
This study extends our understanding of the influence of culture on advertising within the novel context of online dating. People around the world have come to depend on online dating services (ODSs) to participate in the dating process. Since the norms and expectations of dating are influenced by a country’s cultural values, we expect ODSs to adapt their advertising messages to be congruent with these values. Using the Pollay–Hofstede framework, we examine the relationship between advertising appeals used by 1,003 ODSs from 51 countries and the cultural dimensions of these countries. Results showed that ODS advertisements appealed to people’s need for relationship, friendship, entertainment, sex, status, design and identity. The use of these appeals was congruent with only the individualism/collectivism and uncertainty avoidance cultural dimensions. Based on these results, we argue that ODS’s overwhelming use of culturally incongruent advertising messages can lead to a global transformation and homogenisation of the dating culture.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 179-198 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Journal of Creative Communications |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2022 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2022 Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, India.
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Communication
Keywords
- advertising research
- cross-cultural
- Hofstede
- online dating