摘 要

广告是一种具有传播性的文化载体，其中公益广告是反映社会现实，为社会公益事业服务的非营利性广告活动，因为传播范围和传播对象广泛，对社会经济发展和文化传播有很大的影响力。公益广告的主题包含家庭、社会、教育、健康、安全等社会生活的各个方面，不仅反映了社会现象，还能体现一个社会的价值观和文化内涵。中国和美国因社会制度、历史背景、文化习俗的不同，在公益广告的发展上也有很多不同之处。

本文将以霍夫斯泰德的文化维度理论作为理论基础，从权力维度、风险维度、关系维度和性别维度四个方面，在学者现有研究的基础上，通过收集资料、查阅文献、案例分析等方法对中美公益广告进行对比研究，分析中美公益广告的差异，为本国公益广告的发展提出参考性建议。

关键词：霍夫斯泰德；文化维度理论；公益广告；对比研究；

Abstract

Advertising is the carrier of cultural communication. As a kind of advertising, public service advertising is a non-profit advertising activity that reflects social reality and serves the social welfare cause. Because of a wide range of communication, it has great influence on social and economic development and cultural communication. The theme of public service advertisements includes all aspects of family life such as family, society, education, health and safety. It not only reflects social phenomena, but also reflects the values and cultural connotations of a society. China and the United States also have many differences in the development of public service advertisements due to differences in social systems, historical backgrounds, and cultural practices.

This paper takes Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory as the theoretical basis to compare the Chinese and American public service advertising from the perspectives of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism and collectivism, masculinity and femininity. Based on scholar’s existing research, by collecting data, consulting literature, and analyzing cases, it explores the differences between Chinese and American public service advertising and gives suggestions for the development of domestic public service advertisements.

Key words: Hofstede; Cultural Dimensions Theory; Public Service Advertising; Comparative Study

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Literature Review 3

2.1 Advertising and public service advertising 3

2.2 The status quo of Chinese and American public service advertising 4

3 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory 6

4 Comparative Study of Chinese and American Public Service Advertisings 8

4.1 Power distance 8

4.2 Uncertainty avoidance 10

4.3 Individualism and collectivism 12

4.4 Masculinity and femininity 13

5 Conclusion 16

References 17

Acknowledgements 19

A Comparative Study of Chinese and American Public Service Advertising Under Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory

1 Introduction

Advertising is a kind of communicative cultural carrier. It not only has commercial use, but also conveys cultural concepts such as lifestyle, value orientation, and aesthetic norms. (Song, 2005) Therefore, people introduce advertising from the economic field into cultural categories, resulting in Public service advertisings.

Advertising for the economy is what public service advertising for social welfare. In order to better carry out social welfare undertakings and stimulate people’s potential from various aspects such as culture, spirit, society and environment, public service advertisements are very close to social reality and reflect general social phenomena. In addition, the theme of public service advertisements is also very profound. Only profound themes and rich content can maximize the publicity role of public service advertisements.

Public service advertising provides free services to the society because of its non-profit nature, and exert its influence more in the field of thought and culture. Chinese public service advertisements are dominated by government. The advertising theme is close to the social reality, reflecting all aspects of life, and guiding the public through a creative and artistic advertising approach to show positive and correct positions. The theme of public service advertising covers all aspects of family, society, education, health and safety, and has a profound social foundation.

Public service advertising first appeared in the United States in the early 1940s. In China, it first appeared in the "Water Conservation" produced by Guiyang TV in 1986.(Ai, 2018) China and the United States are typical Eastern countries and Western countries. From the perspectives of historical origins, national culture, and social customs, the two countries are completely different. Therefore, the public service advertisings of the two countries also reflect different social phenomena and cultural connotations. Based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, this paper will conduct a comparative study of Chinese and American public service advertisings and provide reference suggestions for the development of public service advertisements in China.

The emergence of Hofstede’s cultural dimension theory has had a great impact on cross-cultural research. Because public service advertisements can reflect the cultural trends and values of a society, many studies on public service advertisements also use this theory as a theoretical basis. A study based on Hofstede’s theory on Chinese Coca-Cola advertising pointed out that according to the application of Hofstede’s theory in China, it can be seen that Chinese cultural dimension is biased towards high power distance, collectivism, high uncertainty avoidance and masculinity.(Miao, 2017) Hofstede found that social relations in China have long been unequal. In the 21st century, China still maintains a high power distance. Collectivism is another major feature of China, because since the ancient time, the core of Chinese society was agriculture, and people farming and living together depended on the power of the group. Regarding the gender dimension, China is a male-dominated society, but many scholars have questioned this view. They believe that with the development of society, the status and role of men and women in society are constantly changing.(Zhanamp; Zhang, 2015)

2 Literature Review

To conduct a comparative study of Chinese and American public service advertisements, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of advertising and public service advertisements, as well as the status quo of the development of Chinese and American public service advertising. In this chapter, the relevant information of advertising and public service advertising and the status quo of Chinese and American public service advertising will be introduced.

2.1 Advertising and public service advertising

Advertising is to advertise something to the public. Generalized advertising includes for-profit advertising, also known as commercial advertising, by which an enterprise distributes goods or services to consumers through an advertising medium, and non-profit advertising which consists of government statement, social notice, public service advertising, etc. Advertising is different from general mass communication and publicity activities. It is a purposeful, planned and continuous communication tool, and advertising requires payment.(Zhu, 2016) Advertising allows both advertisers and target audiences to obtain valid information that benefits both parties. It can be seen from the propagation mode and range of audience of advertising that it has a huge impact on society because it exists everywhere in people’s lives. When people watch TV at home, listen to the radio in the car, watch a movie in a theater, play games on a mobile phone, or surf the Internet, they will see ads of different types and different themes. Public service advertisements are advertising activities that provide free services to the society for the purpose of making profits.

Public service advertisements are advertising activities that provide free services to the society without the purpose of making profits. Because of its non-profit nature, public service advertising has more influence in the field of thought and culture. Since the birth of Chinese first public service advertisement in 1986, public service advertisements have been increasingly developed, and common themes in public service advertisements such as fire prevention, forest protection, public order maintenance, and environmental protection have all spread healthy and positive themes. Public service advertising in China are usually led by relevant government departments. Public service advertising is the most widely distributed, and its themes are mostly popular social phenomena, aiming to create a good social environment. Public service advertisements is public welfare, non-profit, social and popular. The theme of public service advertisements has a profound social foundation, which comes from the daily life of ordinary people, and uses creative and artistic advertising techniques to show positive and correct positions to guide the public.

2.2 The status quo of Chinese and American public service advertising

The concept of public service advertising was first proposed in America in the early 1940s. This concept stems from the Second World War and the economic crisis. (Xuamp;Wang,2012) At the joint meeting of the American Advertising Commission, James Webb Young first proposed that the United States needs public service advertisements to restore people’s respect and confidence in American business. Patriotism promoted the development of American public service advertisements. James Webb Young’s speech is of great significance in the history of American advertising development. Modern public service advertising has begun to develop in the US.