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A content analysis of advertising in a global magazine across seven

countries: Implications for global advertising strategies

Article  in  International Marketing Review · February 2007

DOI: 10.1108/02651330710727196

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IMR
24,1 A content analysis of advertising
in a global magazine across
seven countries
64
Implications for global advertising strategies
Received February 2005
Revised July 2005,
Michelle R. Nelson
December 2005 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA, and
Accepted March 2006
Hye-Jin Paek
Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication,
The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA

Abstract
Purpose – This research examines global advertising strategies and tactics in a global media
brand for a shared audience across seven countries (Brazil, China, France, India, South Korea,
Thailand, and USA).
Design/methodology/approach – A content analysis of advertisements in local editions
of Cosmopolitan magazine compares the extent of standardization in execution elements (advertising
copy, models) across product nationality (multinational, domestic) and category (beauty, other).
Findings – Local editions deliver more multinational than domestic product ads across all countries,
except India. Overall, multinational product ads tend to use standardized strategies and tactics more
than domestic product ads, although this propensity varies across countries. Beauty products
(cosmetics, fashion) are more likely to use standardized approaches than are other products (e.g. cars,
food, household goods).
Research limitations/implications – The research only examines one type of magazine and for
one type of audience.
Practical implications – A global medium such as Cosmopolitan offers international advertisers an
opportunity to reach a shared consumer segment of women with varying degrees of standardization,
and that even in Asian countries, some standardization is possible.
Originality/value – This is the first multi-country study to examine advertising executions for
global advertising strategy within a transnational media brand. Unlike previous studies that advise
against global strategy in Asia, we find that contemporary advertisers are practicing some global
advertising strategies, but to varying degrees.
Keywords Globalization, Advertising, Information media
Paper type Research paper

Magazines such as Elle and Cosmopolitan, which used to be “exported” to other countries in
the original format, have turned out local editions in most European countries, which make
them local media. Using the globalization of media as a reason for a standardized advertising
International Marketing Review approach is often based merely on hype about the influence of the media on creating a global
Vol. 24 No. 1, 2007
pp. 64-86
village (de Mooij, 1998, p. 30).
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0265-1335
DOI 10.1108/02651330710727196 Authors’ names are in alphabetical order; both authors contributed equally to the paper.
Media in general and advertising in particular are often cited as major forces shaping Advertising in
the drive toward globalization (Appadurai, 1990). As early as the 1960s global a global
advertisers foresaw this powerful potential: “Advertising is not only helping to break
down national economic boundaries, but ingrown characteristics and traditions once magazine
considered almost changeless” (Fatt, 1967, p. 61). By communicating a shared set of
signs and symbols that are part of a real or imagined group, advertising both reflects
and creates a global target audience of individuals across nations who share a set of 65
values, attitudes, and brands (Alden et al., 1999).
The values of independence, power, and fun are conveyed through Cosmopolitan
magazine (Machin and Thornborrow, 2003) to its international female audience through
its shared content and advertising of global brands such as Clinique, L’Oreal, and
Lancôme. Indeed, targeted, global media such as Cosmopolitan offer advertisers the
opportunity to reach a defined segment of people who share consumption-related
symbols (Terpstra and David, 1991). Where such a global segment can be identified,
some suggest, “it can be the target of global brands advertised using global advertising”
(Whitelock and Rey, 1998, p. 273). Despite this opportunity, however, studies on global
advertising strategies have not explored whether and to what extent advertisements
delivered by a global media brand are globalized (standardized) in local editions.
We seek to uncover the factors that help explain global advertising strategies and
tactics by content-analyzing contemporary ads in one of the most global media brands:
Cosmopolitan. Founded in the USA in 1886, Cosmopolitan now offers 110 editions in 28
languages, with a readership of 36 million worldwide (Carr, 2002). The publication
reaches a global consumer segment of “fun, fearless females” through emphasis on
shared lifestyles (Machin and van Leeuwen, 2005). As such, Cosmopolitan serves as
an excellent example of the growing trend in transnational media, essentially Western
brands exported into foreign markets (Croteau and Hoynes, 2000). Despite the focus,
we are not interested in Cosmopolitan per se. Rather, this research presents the
opportunity to compare trends in global advertising strategies noted in past research
within localized versions of one global media brand.
Instead of comparing fully standardized vs localized (customized) approaches, we
respond to Taylor (2005) who suggests that researchers gauge the degree to which
advertisers standardize their messages. Standardization occurs when the execution
tactics of advertising elements (e.g. advertising copy, visuals) are kept the same across
the countries’ advertisements. In our case, we examine language and choice of models
depicted in the advertisements across seven countries that present important global
markets with different cultures, media environments, and advertising regulations
(Brazil, China, France, India, South Korea – hereafter, Korea, Thailand, and the USA).
In outlining a future agenda for international advertising research, Taylor (2005)
recommended that researchers examine factors that correlate with standardized
advertising strategies. In this regard, past research has suggested that the product
category (de Mooij, 1998) and the extent of the brand’s global reach (Duncan and
Ramasprasad, 1995) may impact advertising strategy and execution (Alden et al.,
1999).
Therefore, the purpose of our study is to examine the influence of various factors on
advertising execution. Specifically, we seek to discern the:
.
degree of standardization of language and advertising models used in
advertising within local editions of the same global media brand;
IMR .
extent to which the brand’s reach (domestic vs multinational) influences degree
24,1 of standardization; and
.
extent to which the product category (e.g. beauty, other) influences degree of
standardization.

In this way, the research offers a snapshot of current advertising practice to a shared
66 global consumer audience of “fun, fearless females” and practical information
and implications for selected global markets.

International advertising strategy

Since, the 1960s, the question of whether or not to standardize (globalize) or localize
international advertising has been one of ongoing debate (Agrawal, 1995; Ryans et al.,
2003). Briefly, proponents of standardization argue based on shared consumer traits,
economic savings and the benefits of a shared global brand (Levitt, 1983), while
opponents assert the dangers of global strategies due to different local market
conditions and cultural uniqueness (Taylor et al., 1994, 1996).
Cultural differences have been examined in numerous cross-cultural advertising
studies, particularly content analyses and mostly between Eastern (e.g. Japan, China,
and Korea) and Western (predominantly USA) countries (Hetsroni, 2000). Only a handful
of studies have examined other countries such as Brazil (Tansey et al., 1990), India
(Khairullah and Khairullah, 2002) and Thailand (Sar and Doyle, 2003). Even fewer
studies have compared multiple countries in one study (Alden et al., 1999; Zandpour et al.,
1994). Further, the studies often hastily conclude that the cultural differences (e.g. values,
themes) in ads are barriers to adopting a standardized strategy (Mueller, 1992).
Although these conclusions may be true in part, the studies tend to disregard the role of
foreign media and the readiness of standardized ads or product types for particular
target audiences. Therefore, our study compares the extent of standardization across
products from multiple countries’ advertisements found in one global media brand.
In addition, the current study advances literature on global advertising strategy by
looking more closely at the advertising elements, which are the words (e.g. headlines,
body copy) and visuals (e.g. models, illustrations) used in the execution of the strategy.
This focus aligns with the customized uniformity view of global advertising where
executional elements are adapted to fit foreign markets (Kates and Goh, 2003).
Researchers employing this approach have found that few campaigns are fully
standardized, but many ads are partially standardized rather than fully customized
(Harris and Attour, 2003; Mueller, 1989). Such analyses often focus on the degree to
which visual components (e.g. spokesperson) and copy elements (language) are tailored
for each local culture. Yet, no research to date examines these elements across local
versions of the same media brand. We review the international advertising literature
related to spokesperson choice and language use next.

Execution elements for global advertising strategy

Spokespersons
Advertising theory and practice advises that to resonate with the audience, advertising
should present models similar to the target (Belch and Belch, 2003). This strategy is
based on assumptions that identification can invoke involvement in the ad and transfer
positive feelings to the brand (Edell and Burke, 1987). Such beliefs and practices Advertising in
conform to a localized advertising strategy (Alden et al., 1999). a global
Yet, cross-cultural studies of global brand advertising often show that models are
the most easily standardized advertising element across campaigns. Comparisons of magazine
British and French television ads for the same advertisers revealed that 81 percent
of ads contained the same characters (Whitelock and Rey, 1998), while ads in
women’s magazines across European and Middle Eastern countries showed that 67
visuals (model shots) were more likely to be standardized within regions than was
advertising copy (Harris and Attour, 2003).
Standardizing spokesperson across campaigns may be for practical reasons
(e.g. the cost of hiring local actors; Whitelock and Rey, 1998) or for strategic
reasons (e.g. a standardized spokesperson can drive global brands). For example,
Revlon (a global cosmetics brand) believes that “a single model can project a universal
image of beauty” (Seitz and Johar, 1993, p. 24).
Some research has also explored the use of spokespersons in local and transnational
media. As a whole, these studies reveal that global approaches feature standard, often
Western, models. For example, a content analysis in Singapore and Taiwanese
women’s media revealed that the race of the models used in each culture did not reflect
the racial mix of that country’s population (Frith et al., 2004). Specifically, the study
showed that Western models were depicted more frequently than Asians. However, the
choice of model may also vary by the origin of the medium. A study that compared
Hindi and English language women’s magazines in India found that although Indian
models dominated both, Caucasian models were most likely to be found within English
magazines (Karan, 2003).
Yet, to what extent these findings hold for multiple, local editions of a global
magazine brand is unknown. In addition, past studies have not investigated the
factors that may impact model choice (e.g. brand origin: multinational vs domestic).
Our research seeks to fill this gap. Language is another important advertising element
considered in international advertising strategy. A review of the literature related to
language is presented next.

Language
The language used in global advertising also varies according to the extent to which it
is localized. Even when language is localized, it is mostly translated directly from the
original copy without regard for local nuance. But de Mooij (2005, p. 44) cautions that
“language is much more important than many international advertisers realize.”
English is the most spoken second language, and is also considered the standard for
global advertisers (de Mooij, 2005). Indeed, English language choice can convey
cosmopolitan values (Thurlow and Jaworski, 2003) or it can obfuscate meaning, for
example, when colloquial expressions are employed.
Advertisers are cautioned, however, that knowledge of English is often only
superficial in some countries (de Mooij, 2005). In fact, advertisements are rarely
completely written in English in countries where English is not the first language.
Instead, research has shown that certain parts (e.g. headlines, subheads, and slogans)
of an advertisement are likely to employ English (standard) language, whereas other
parts (e.g. body copy) are often written in the local language. In one of the earliest
studies, Mueller (1989) found that product name and packaging were most often
IMR standardized, and body copy was least often standardized in German, US and Japanese
24,1 ads. However, to what extent this is true for advertisements within local editions of a
global media brand – and how product factors (e.g. multinational vs domestic) may
play a role – is unknown. In addition, it may be the case that some countries are more
accepting of English than others. A review of such possible country-level factors is
presented next.
68
Acceptance of “standardization” across countries
The use of “standardized” models or language may depend upon several cultural
factors, and results of past research suggest that some countries may tend to use one
strategy over another. For example, several studies have shown that French ads
tend to use localized strategies, including language, in print advertisements (Harris
and Attour, 2003). A comparison of British and French television commercials revealed
differences with respect to customization between the two countries (Whitelock and
Rey, 1998); the percentage of international products that used customized ads was
greater in France than in the UK Findings from a study of television advertising
content by Alden et al. (1999) also showed that local positioning was greater than
global (standard) positioning in France. These observations could be based on the
fact that the French offer protectionist strategies for their culture and language
through the use of legislation (Law No. 94-665, 2004), stating: “the French language is
a fundamental element of the personality and the patrimony of France. It is the
language of teaching, of work, and of exchanges and services in the public sector”
(Appendix 1).
In addition, in the present study, localized content (even in advertising) may also
vary depending on when the magazine was imported. For instance, Cosmopolitan
magazine arrived in Brazil and France more than 25 years ago (Appendix 1) and has
evolved as a relatively independent entity in those countries. In fact, the Brazilian
Cosmopolitan is re-named Nova Cosmopolitan because internal research in that country
found that the magazine would be better accepted by Brazilian female consumers if it
had a Brazilian/Portuguese name (Trafani, 2004). Nova offers the slogan, “A revista
feminina mais vendida no mundo” (meaning “the female magazine most sold in the
world”) rather than the standard “fun, fearless female.” The French Cosmopolitan
offers no slogan but is promoted as “the magazine for women who live the good life.”
Although the Asian countries in this sample (China, India, Korea, Thailand) are
perhaps culturally more distinct from the USA than are the South American or
European countries (Appendix 1), there are several reasons why the Asian-country ads
may reflect Western (USA, standard) appeals to a greater extent than those in Brazil or
France. First, the development and distribution of the magazine are different for this
set of countries. Cosmopolitan arrived in each Asian country only within the last
few years. Therefore, although the magazines may feature their own local editors,
guidance and content may be more readily accepted from US headquarters and
global advertisers (Machin and Thornborrow, 2003). Second, recent content analytic
studies of advertising in these Asian countries reflect Westernization patterns or a
convergence in values with those found in US ads (China: Zhang and Shavitt, 2003;
India: Khairullah and Khairullah, 2002; Korea: Paek et al., 2004; Thailand: Alden et al.,
1999). If advertising reflects values of a culture (Pollay, 1986), then perhaps individuals
within these Eastern cultures are becoming more accepting of Western styles.
 Further, evidence partially corroborates the assertion that individuals within these Advertising in
Asian countries may more readily accept US values or goods. Researchers suggest that a global
people in less developed countries are likely to look to Western or US products as signs
of modernity and success (James and Hill, 1991). Chinese consumers aspire to own magazine
Western goods because they represent status and are willing to pay up to 20 percent
more for such non-domestic goods (Zhou and Belk, 2004). These aspirations are
particularly true for the Chinese urban dwellers (Sun and Wu, 2004) buying luxury 69
goods that are used in public settings (Wong and Ahuvia, 1998).
Conversely, although Western goods are also desired in the other countries studied
here, individuals also express ambivalent attitudes about the USA or US products and
culture (India: Batra et al., 2000; Korea: Steinberg, 2004). There is a growing tendency
in certain countries to also purchase locally produced goods (India: Nelson et al., 2004)
as a reflection of cultural identity (Zhou and Belk, 2004) and a way to support the local
economy. Such complexity involved in global advertising strategy illuminates the
importance of examining advertisements across multiple countries simultaneously
and identifying factors that are associated with a standardized advertising
strategy. A discussion of several of these factors and related predictions are
presented next.

Identifying factors that relate to standardized advertising executions

Multinational vs domestic products
Given that the local edition of each Cosmopolitan is both international (media brand)
and local (production, language), we expect that both multinational and national
(domestic) advertisers will place ads in each edition. Although earlier research
suggested that there should be a predominance of national brands within domestic
media (Brochand and Lendrevie, 1993), more recent empirical data of television ads
from the UK and France show that 60 percent and 43 percent, respectively, of ads were
domestic (Whitelock and Rey, 1998). Because the magazine is global, we expect more
ads to feature multinational brands rather than domestic ones:
H1. In the examined global magazine brand, multinational brand ads will
more frequently appear than will domestic brand ads.
Further, based on past research and brand positioning differences, we expect that
the tendency to use a standardized advertising approach will vary for multinational
and domestic brand ads. Specifically, past research has shown a greater propensity
among multinational than domestic brand ads to use standardization. In a
comparison of music styles and lyrics used in television ads, Murray and Murray
(1996) observed that domestic brands were significantly more likely than
multinational brands to use localized Latin music and lyrics in the Dominican
Republic. The analysis of French and British television advertisements conducted
by Whitelock and Rey (1998) showed that 15 percent of multinational product ads
were standardized while domestic products were tailored to fit each culture. Finally,
in a study of Chinese commercials, the ads for imported and joint-venture products
depicted more Western cultural values than did those for domestic ads (Cheng and
Schweitzer, 1996). Thus, based on previous research and within the context of
an international magazine for a shared target audience, the following hypotheses
are posed:
IMR H2-1. Multinational brand ads will be more likely to use standardized advertising
24,1 copy than will domestic brand ads.
H2-2. Multinational brand ads will be more likely to use standardized (global)
models than will domestic brand ads.

Product category: beauty products vs other products

70 A standardized advertising strategy should be more easily produced for products in which
individuals share common consumer behaviors than for products used in culturally
specific ways (Alden et al., 1999). For instance, consumer high-tech goods (computers,
mobile phones) may be somewhat similar across cultures (Yip, 1995), whereas food is
generally considered to be consumed in traditional and idiosyncratic ways (Fischler, 1988).
Indeed, in a survey of foreign advertisers in China, most companies indicated they
employed a combination (local/standard) strategy, except for those in the electronics
industry who indicated that they never used localized advertising (Yin, 1999).
Conversely, and relevant in this study, because they focus on similar needs for
beauty among a shared audience, beauty-related product ads may be more easily
standardized than more culture-specific items such as food or automobiles (Murcotte,
1986). For example, an analysis of French and British ads in women’s magazines
revealed that fragrance ads were the most likely product ads to employ completely
standardized executions (Whitelock and Chung, 1989). This result echoes assertions
that high-touch products such as fashion, perfume, and jewelry are relatively
culture-free, so ads for these products can be more easily standardized (de Mooij, 1998).
As a whole, past research has demonstrated differences with respect to global
strategies and tactics across products.
Standardization may be effective for products in which the audience shares
universal behaviors, particularly those products that are considered modern and
cosmopolitan (Thurlow and Jaworski, 2003). Given our medium and audience, it is
likely that women readers would desire beauty products and clothing that reflect a
shared set of ideals and lifestyle related to the cosmopolitan girl (Machin and
van Leeuwen, 2005). However, other general products such as automobiles and food
may reflect indigenous cultural rules and practices. We seek to replicate findings from
past research with respect to product types within local editions of a global media
brand. Therefore, we suggest:
H3-1. Beauty product ads will be more likely to use standardized advertising copy
than will ads for other kinds of product types.
H3-2. Beauty product ads will be more likely to use standardized (global) models
than will ads for other kinds of product types.

Method
Sample
Cosmopolitan magazine was selected in seven countries (Brazil, China, France, India,
Korea, Thailand, and the USA) that represent a full array of cultures, language,
geography, and advertising regulations (Appendix 1). Each of the countries also offers
critical international markets for top global brands. According to Advertising Age (2005),
for example, France, China, and Korea were ranked as the world’s fourth, sixth, and
seventh largest advertising markets with a total of USD 10.8, 7.7, and 6.8 billion in 2003 ad
spending, respectively. Thailand is also amongst the leading countries in the Asia Pacific Advertising in
region and recently recorded double-digit ad growth. In fact, advertising spending in a global
Thailand enjoyed a double-digit growth of 15 percent, ranking number five in 2003 and
four in 2004 among the ten Asian countries tracked (AC Nielson Thailand, 2005). Brazil set magazine
the pace for growth in Latin America with its advertising investments in the first quarter
of the 2005 up to R$6.9 billion (Azedo, 2005, April 20). Finally, multinational corporations
now market to India with its one billion consumers (Bhatia, 2000). 71
The following issues of Cosmopolitan were analyzed: Brazil: January/August 2002,
April 2003; China: September 2002, January/June 2003; France: January/August
2002, August 2003; India[1]: January 2002, April 2003; Korea: January/July 2002,
April 2003; Thailand: January/August 2002, April 2003; USA: January/July 2002,
April 2003). We attempted to select issues from within the same approximate time period.
The unit of analysis was at least a full-page ad (N ¼ 1,232; Brazil ¼ 90, China ¼ 212,
France ¼ 131, India ¼ 100, Korea ¼ 265, Thailand ¼ 121, USA ¼ 313).

Coding procedures
This study developed mutually exclusive, exhaustive and reliable categories based on
previous literature (Alden et al., 1999). We selected coders who matched the audience of
Cosmopolitan to obtain assessments of the variables similar to those of the real
audience and to enhance validity (Lerman and Callow, 2003). Two bilingual females for
each country coded their respective advertisements independently to calculate
inter-coder reliability. In each case, the coders were proficient in both languages and
had lived more than two years in the country for which they coded. In all, 14 coders
were trained. Those who had sufficient advertising background were recruited and
trained through group discussions, where each coder shared meanings about the
variables. After pilot coding one magazine, coders discussed possible problems.
The coding scheme included a detailed description and examples about each variable.
Because there is little agreement on which intercoder reliability is the best (Kolbe and
Burnett, 1991; Lombard et al., 2002), we adopted several intercoder reliability formulas
as Lombard et al. (2002) suggested, including Krippendorff’s (1980) a for all the variables
and Perreault and Leigh’s (1989) Index (P/L Index) for nominal data. All reliability
coefficients exceeded the rule-of-thumb coefficient size, which is 0.70 (Nunnally, 1978),
ranging from 0.70 (product class, Thai ads) to 0.96 (model nationality, US ads).

Measures
To assess to what extent advertisements in each county were standardized, the
following variables were investigated:
.
product category;
.
product nationality or reach (domestic vs multinational);
.
advertising copy; and
. visual (spokesperson) elements.

For product category, coders originally classified products into 22 categories

adopted from Mueller (1992). For hypotheses 3-1 and 3-2, which compared degrees of
standardization by product category, we constructed “beauty” products by combining
cosmetics, clothing/fashion, and jewelry/watches. The frequency of beauty product ads
IMR were: Brazil ¼ 47.8 percent (n ¼ 43), China ¼ 81.1 percent (n ¼ 172), France ¼ 41.2
24,1 percent (n ¼ 54), India ¼ 66 percent (n ¼ 66), Korea ¼ 78.5 percent (n ¼ 208),
Thai ¼ 57 percent (n ¼ 69), and USA ¼ 31.9 percent (n ¼ 100).
Product nationality was coded with binary values of domestic vs multinational.
Based on conceptualizations of de Mooij (1998) and Samli (1995), domestic products were
defined as those that are made, sold, and advertised domestically (e.g. LG cosmetics in
72 Korea). Multinational (available in more than one country) products were those that are
made for and used by multinational or worldwide customers (e.g. Lancôme).
For the written elements, product-relevant text (brand name and product types) was
categorized as well as advertising copy elements (headline, subhead, body copy, and
slogan) adopted from Mueller’s (1989) study. The six elements were originally coded as
“1” (local language including official and dialects), “2” (mixed language; use of both
local and non-local), and “3” global language (English or standardized language
worldwide as a brand/product name – L’Oreal). The language index was constructed
by averaging the six advertising elements. Cronbach’s a reliability coefficient was
computed to see whether the index obtained internal cohesion (a ¼ 0.82). Model
nationality was scaled as “1” (domestic/local models), “2” (mixed; simultaneous use of
both local and non-local models), and “3” (non-local or recognized as a global model).
This single item served as the model index. For the purpose of gauging degrees of
standardization in advertising execution elements, these two indices are treated as
ordinal (i.e. low to high degrees of model and language use) variables.

Results
Presence of domestic and multinational product ads
H1 predicted that multinational product ads would be more represented than domestic
ones in this global magazine. As expected, Cosmopolitan, as an international magazine
brand, overall delivered significantly more multinational (72.7 percent, n ¼ 896) than
domestic (27.3 percent, n ¼ 336) product ads. However, the presence of domestic vs
multinational product ads varied across countries (Table I). The USA (87.2 percent)
and three of the Asian countries’ magazines (Thailand ¼ 79.3 percent,
Korea ¼ 76.2 percent, China ¼ 71.7 percent) contained mostly multinational ads.
The French Cosmopolitan followed next with 67.2 percent multinational product ads,
Brazil with 51.1 percent, and the Indian Cosmopolitan had the least number of

Product nationality
Country Domestica percent (n) Multinationalb percent (n) x 2 (df ¼ 6)

Brazil 48.9 (44) 51.1 (46)

China 28.3 (60) 71.7 (152)
France 32.8 (43) 67.2 (88)
India 61.0 (61) 39.0 (39) 118.15 *
S. Korea 23.8 (63) 76.2 (202)
Thailand 20.7 (25) 79.3 (96)
USA 12.8 (40) 87.2 (273)
Table I. Total 27.3 (336) 72.7 (896) 100.0 (1232)
Product nationality
a b
presented in each Notes: Domestic are made, sold, and advertised domestically; multinational products are sold in
country’s ads (n ¼ 1,232) more than one country; *p , 0.001
multinational product ads (39.0 percent). The frequency of domestic vs multinational Advertising in
product ads across countries was significantly different, with x 2 (6) ¼ 118.15, a global
p , 0.001. This supports H1.
magazine
Degrees of standardized strategies: advertising copy and model
H2 predicted that multinational product ads would adopt more standardized strategies
and tactics than would domestic ads. We tested this hypothesis for written (copy) and 73
visual (models) elements (Table II). Since, it is assumed that degrees of standardization
between domestic and multinational product ads may differ due to differences in global
brand identity or ad creation, we analyzed each separately and then compared mean
differences between the two product ads. Ads without any text or model were excluded
from the analyses.
To explore differences in language use between domestic and multinational product
ads and between countries, one-way ANOVA tests were performed. For the language
index, significant mean differences were found both in domestic (F(6,317) ¼ 78.00,
p , 0.001) and multinational (F(6,888) ¼ 194.17, p , 0.001) product ads. Overall,
multinational product ads were more likely to employ a global or standard language
than were domestic product ads. For both domestic and multinational product ads, the
US and Indian magazine ads had the highest mean scores on the language index (2.98).
This finding is not surprising given that English is the official language in the USA
and is one of the official languages in India. English is also featured in the editorial in
these countries’ issues of Cosmopolitan.
In contrast, France and Brazil showed the lowest mean scores on the language index
in their domestic ads (mean ¼ 1.33 and 1.34, respectively), meaning that they were more
likely to use their own languages. While domestic ads in Asian countries also show low
scores on the language index (China ¼ 1.56, Thailand ¼ 1.95), domestic ads in the
Korean magazine showed a relatively high adoption of English language (mean ¼ 2.17).
Independent sample t-tests showed that mean differences of the language index
between domestic and multinational products were statistically significant (D ¼ 0.30,
t ¼ 2 5.68, p , 0.001, for pooled-sample comparison), supporting H2-1. The only
exception was in China, where multinational product ads tended to use local language.

The global language indexa (n ¼ 894) The global model indexa (n ¼ 686)
Domestic Multinational Domestic Multinational
product ads product ads t-valueb product ads product ads t-valueb

Overall 2.09 2.39 25.68 * * * 1.63 1.98 2 5.15 * * *

Brazil 1.34 2.05 24.92 * * * 1.17 1.32 2 0.98
China 1.56 1.69 21.17 2.46 2.69 2 1.65
France 1.33 1.61 22.81 * * 1.42 1.67 2 1.32
India 2.98 2.98 20.19 1.44 2.39 2 4.50 * * *
Korea 2.17 2.44 23.27 * * * 1.56 2.64 2 8.04 * * *
Thailand 1.95 2.37 23.08 * * 2.20 2.44 2 0.95
USA 2.98 2.98 20.79 1.11 1.09 0.30
Notes: aThe global language index is an average score of the six copy elements. The global model Table II.
index is a single item of model nationality. Each item is scaled as “1” (local), “2” (mixed), and “3” Global index scores by
(global). Ads without any verbal element (for global language index) and without any human model product nationality
were excluded; bIndependent sample t-test; *p , 0.05; * *p , 0.01; * * *p , 0.001 across countries
IMR Thus, there was no significant difference of the local and global language usage
24,1 between domestic and multinational product ads (D ¼ 2 0.13, t ¼ 2 1.17, p ¼ n.s.). In
addition, the language mean scores of each advertising copy element (e.g. brand name,
headline, body copy, etc.) across the seven countries are shown in Appendix 2.
Although not statistically analyzed in detail here, a glimpse of the elements indicates
that brand and product class are more likely to use English or standardized language
74 than are the other copy elements.
In a similar fashion, one-way ANOVA tests were performed to compare mean
differences on the model index for domestic vs multinational product ads across the
seven countries. Selection of global or domestic models was significantly different
among the seven countries, both in domestic (F(6,256) ¼ 16.07, p , 0.001) and
multinational (F(6,680) ¼ 116.13, p , 0.001) product ads. For domestic products, the
US ads demonstrated the lowest score on the global model index (1.11), followed by
Brazil (1.17), France (1.42) and India (1.42). In contrast, ads in East Asian countries
showed higher mean scores on the global model index, even in domestic product ads.
In particular, ads in the Chinese and Thai Cosmopolitan employed significantly more
Western models than did the other countries (2.46 and 2.20, respectively), while the
mean difference scores (for use of global models between domestic and multinational
product ads) in the two countries were not statistically significant.
The comparison of the global model index between domestic and multinational product
ads shows some interesting patterns. While the index score in pooled-sample multinational
product ads was significantly higher than in domestic product ads (D ¼ 20.35, t ¼ 25.15,
p , 0.001), which supports H2-2, significant mean differences were found only in Indian
and Korean Cosmopolitan magazines. As shown in Table II, multinational product ads in
each of these two countries had a significantly higher mean score of the global model index
than did domestic ads (D ¼ 20.95, t ¼ 24.50 and D ¼ 21.08, t ¼ 28.04, both at
p , 0.001). In other words, domestic product ads were more likely to use domestic models,
whereas multinational product ads tended to use Western models. Meanwhile, there were
no significant mean differences between domestic and multinational product ads in the
other countries. Specifically, ads in the Chinese and Thai Cosmopolitan generally tended to
use Western models, while ads in the Brazil, French, and USA Cosmopolitan tended to use
local models regardless of product nationality.

Degrees of standardization by product category

Following the argument of some global advertising scholars that beauty and fashion
product ads can be more easily standardized (de Mooij, 1998), we expected that beauty
product ads would be more likely to use standard approaches (language: H3-1; model
use: H3-2) than would other types of product ads. Since, the medium that delivers the
studied ads is a global female magazine, the dominant number of ads is for
beauty-related products (e.g. cosmetics, fashion, jewelry). Thus, we categorized products
into beauty (57.8 percent) and other types of products (42.2 percent) among
pooled-sample ads with some variations by country. The results are reported in Table III.
Independent sample t-tests showed that, among pooled-sampled ads, there was no
significant mean difference of the global language index between beauty and other
types of product ads (D ¼ 2 0.04, t ¼ 0.92, p ¼ n.s.), but beauty product ads tended to
use more global models than did other product ads (D ¼ 0.61, t ¼ 10.14, p , 0.001).
Thus, we did not support H3-1, but did support H3-2.
 Advertising in
The global language index The global model index
Beauty Other Beauty Other a global
product adsa product ads t-valueb product adsa product ads t-valueb magazine
Overall c 2.30 2.34 20.92 2.13 1.51 10.14 * * *
Brazil 1.75 1.77 20.14 1.22 1.27 0.35
China 1.76 1.19 7.98 * * * 2.70 2.32 2.16 * 75
France 1.41 1.60 21.89# 1.66 1.51 0.80
India 2.98 2.98 0.46 1.94 1.79 0.57
Korea 2.49 1.96 6.63 * * * 2.48 1.91 3.51 * * *
Thailand 2.41 2.13 3.01 * * 2.65 2.11 2.75 * *
USA 2.98 2.98 0.18 1.06 1.11 2 1.20
Table III.
Notes: abeauty products: cosmetics, clothing/fashion, and jewelry/watches; bindependent sample Global index scores by
t-test; cpooled-sample: beauty product ads ¼ 712; other product ads ¼ 520; *p , 0.05; * *p , 0.01; product categories across
* * *p , 0.001 the countries

The most noteworthy finding is the geographic/cultural distinction with regards to

mean differences on the global index scores for language and model use between the
two product categories. While the ads in western countries (and in India where English
is the one of the official languages) showed no mean differences on the global index
scores for language or model use between beauty and other product ads, analyses of
ads in each of the East Asian countries revealed significant mean differences on both
the global language index (China: D ¼ 0.57, t ¼ 7.98, p , 0.001; Korea: D ¼ 0.53,
t ¼ 6.63, p , 0.001; Thailand: D ¼ 0.28, t ¼ 3.01, p , 0.01) and the global model index
(China: D ¼ 0.38, t ¼ 2.16, p , 0.05; Korea: D ¼ 0.57, t ¼ 3.51, p , 0.001; Thailand:
D ¼ 0.54, t ¼ 2.75, p , 0.01). For that set of countries, beauty product ads (clothing,
cosmetics, jewelry) were more likely to use standardized strategies than were other
product ads (home appliances, food, cars), by using English and showing Western
models. Such differences regarding degrees of standardized strategies were more
salient in language than model usage.
Finally, one-way ANOVA was performed to examine an overall comparison of the
global index scores in beauty product ads across the seven countries. There were
significant mean differences of the global language index across countries (global
language index: F(6,698) ¼ 117.57, p , 0.001; global model index: F(6,562) ¼ 62.63,
p , 0.001). Several results reported in Table III are noteworthy. Among non-English
language countries, Thai ads reflected relatively high scores on the global language
index (2.41 for beauty and 2.13 for other types of product ads), while Chinese ads
ranked high in the global model index score (2.70 for beauty and 2.32 for other types of
product ads).

Discussion
This study is the first to systematically examine degrees of advertising
standardization through content analysis within local versions of the same
transnational magazine in seven countries. Cosmopolitan served as an apt medium
to study contemporary advertising practice because it is the most global young
women’s magazine. Just like other global magazine brands, the USA publisher of
Cosmopolitan consciously practices a global brand strategy by sharing similar
IMR packaging (covers) and editorial content (Carr, 2002). Indeed, analyses of the editorial
24,1 content (Machin and Thornborrow, 2003) and the advertising content (Nelson and
Paek, 2005) across international versions of the same issues of Cosmopolitan revealed
similar themes related to women’s sexuality. It is not surprising then that our analysis
of the ads within the localized versions of the magazines showed that this global media
brand appears to easily deliver multinational brand ads. Indeed, there were more
76 multinational product ads than domestic ones in every country except for India. As
expected, these multinational product ads seemed to adopt more standardized
execution styles than did domestic product ads; however, the extent and nature of these
practices varied by country, product nationality (multinational or domestic) and
product category (beauty or others).
First, as expected, across most of the countries outside of the USA and India (where
editorial was written in English), a comparison of the global language index score
across product nationality (domestic vs multinational) revealed that multinational
product ads were more likely to use English than were the domestic product ads. This
finding is consistent with past research in other kinds of media, which has shown that
multinational ads were more likely to employ English than were domestic ads (Karan,
2003; Murray and Murray, 1996).
Global advertisers may find that English, as the standard language of business,
maps on to their global brand identities better than domestic languages. Indeed,
Thurlow and Jaworski (2003) found that English was the predominant language used
among 72 in-flight-magazines from around the world. They assert that global brands
(such as those of airlines) cash in on the “worldly” or cosmopolitan nature of the
English language to convey their global image. Another reason for the predominant
use of English may be that multinational product ads are also likely to be developed by
Western or non-domestic firms and therefore are more likely to use English than would
domestic advertising agencies (Punyapiroje et al., 2002).
However, an anomaly was found with respect to China, where the overall language
index showed that both domestic and multinational ads skewed toward using Chinese or
a hybrid of Chinese and non-Chinese language. A closer examination of the elements
(Appendix 2) reveals that multinational brand ads were more likely to use non-domestic
brand names, product names, and slogans than were domestic brand ads. These results
mirror those of the other countries. Yet, the body copy and subheadings, where the bulk
of the information lies, were written in Chinese for both domestic and multinational
product ads. This finding fits with the beliefs among practitioners who advertise in
China (Hite and Fraser, 1988; Yin, 1999). Namely that the adaptation of language and
product attributes to fit the local culture is rated as the most important factor in
advertising. Whereas many Chinese recognize global brand names (Zhou and Belk,
2004), the information about the product is best conveyed in their local language. Finally,
the use of Chinese language is advocated in the Interim Advertising Censorship
Standards, which were designed to control and censor advertising content (Chadha and
Kavoori, 2000). Among other things, these standards are meant to protect Chinese
culture from foreign values and norms, which are in conflict with traditional values.
Second, when employing a model in the ad, overall across all countries, it appears
that multinational products are more likely to use global (non-domestic) models than
are ads for domestic products. This finding is consistent with arguments by Frith and
Mueller (2003, p. 234), who assert that, because ads are produced by branch offices of
Western agencies with people trained in US or British universities or advertising Advertising in
agencies, “the forms of representation, particularly of women, often take on globalized a global
or transnational patterns”. Such standardization approaches for multinational
products are also in line with a global consumer culture positioning strategy (Alden magazine
et al., 1999). Although this pattern of results was observed across countries, the
differences were significant only for India and Korea.
Third, as we expected, the propensity to use standard approaches differed across 77
countries. Ads in Brazil and France tended to reflect similar low standardization scores
for language use and model selection. These findings could be due to the fact that
Cosmopolitan magazine is well established in these countries or due to the desire on the
part of these countries to protect their unique cultural identities. These findings offer a
warning to global advertisers and marketers to adequately research the legal
restrictions and cultural acceptance of language or models in each particular culture.
Conversely, the likelihood of employing global language in copy and Western
models in ads in East Asian countries (particularly Korea and to some extent,
Thailand) was relatively high. These observations may be due to the well-educated and
upscale target audiences who may also more readily accept Western models (and more
broadly Western cultures) as multinational sophisticates and may be more comfortable
with the English language if they select a Western magazine. Penetration of various
global media such as MTV and fashion magazines in Asian countries may also
contribute to such acceptance and comfort with Western culture (Paek and Pan, 2004).
Our findings with respect to Thailand’s use of “global” language and models are in
line with past research that showed a propensity to use global consumer positioning in
television ads (Alden et al., 1999) and that Thai advertising is becoming more
Westernized (Sar and Doyle, 2003). Similarly, a study of multinational vs domestic
product ads in Thai newspapers revealed no differences in the racial image of
spokespersons (Tantavichien, 1989). Further, advertising agencies in Thailand are
likely to be owned by Western multinationals but employ local Thai personnel
(Punyapiroje et al., 2002). This combination may help explain the patterns observed in
this study. Finally, scholars have suggested that standardization strategies are likely to
occur in less affluent countries (James and Hill, 1991) and that global positioning may be
more effective than local positioning in less developed countries because consumers
believe that products from western countries have higher quality (Appadurai, 1990).
Fourth, our study identified differences in standardized efforts across product
categories even within the same transnational magazine and for a shared target
audience. Our analysis of standardized language and model choice by product category
revealed that beauty goods (e.g. cosmetics, fashion items) were more likely to use
non-domestic copy elements and a global model than were other types of products
(e.g. food, drink, home appliances), especially in Chinese, Korean and Thai ads.
Interestingly, these Asian countries’ global model scores were higher than the other
countries for beauty products, with China scoring the highest. This observation in
advertising content corresponds to preference among Chinese consumers for global or
Western models (Zhou and Belk, 2004), brand names (Barnes et al., 2004), and executions
(Tai and Pae, 2002) within advertising for fashion and beauty products. In a study
assessing Chinese consumers’ feelings about global and local advertising approaches,
Chinese consumers indicated that the products were regarded as more fashionable, more
cosmopolitan, and more modern if they used Western (rather than domestic) advertising
IMR elements in the advertising (Zhou and Belk, 2004). Further, Chinese participants
24,1 pointed out that foreign brands or models could also “get away with” poses or themes
(e.g. sexual) that were not appropriate for domestic brands or models.
Fifth, although we did not analyze advertising copy elements in depth, we did
observe differences in how ads were standardized. Similar to what Harris and Attour
(2003) and Mueller (1989) reported, we found that product-relevant copy (i.e. brand and
78 product class name) were the most common ways to standardize, whereas advertising
copy (i.e. headline, body copy and slogan) was not often standardized, perhaps due to
language and differences in nuance (Nelson and Paek, 2003). Indeed, slogans were
identified by international advertising executives as crucial in attaining local relevance
through adaptation (Kates and Goh, 2003). In our study, L’Oreal was a common brand,
but the slogan varied. Whereas the English-language magazines (USA, India) shared
the same slogan: “Because you’re worth it,” the Korean ad was literally translated,
“you’re precious” in Korean. Although this translated slogan has similar nuance as the
English slogan, “you’re worth it,” it also implies that language can be a critical barrier
for practitioners to adopt standardized advertising strategy (Machin and van Leeuwen,
2005). In Brazil, meanwhile, a totally new slogan was used: “the number one in the
world in anti-wrinkles.”
Finally, although we assessed degrees of standardization in terms of language and
models, another standardization strategy is to focus on products. Not included in our
analysis, we found that there were a substantial number of ads without any copy or
model. Such ads focus on the product alone as a dominant visual, for example, the style
used by Clinique cosmetics. According to de Mooij (1998, p. 243), these ads, are a
“relatively culture-free form and may be useful for international advertising”.
Similarly, Harris and Attour (2003) reported that visuals were more likely to be
standardized than copy in European and Middle Eastern print ads. International
advertisers for fashion and beauty products often employ this execution style, and in
fact, Clinique ads were the most common brand, present in five countries, in our study
(USA, France, Korea, China, and Thailand).

Managerial implications
As a whole, we observed that a global medium such as Cosmopolitan offers
international advertisers an opportunity to reach a shared consumer segment of
women with varying degrees of standardization, and that even in Asian countries,
some standardization is possible. One myth with regards to global advertising strategy
is the difficulty of standardization in Asian countries due to language barriers and vast
cultural differences (Taylor et al., 1994; Zandpour et al., 1994). However, when
international brands are introduced via international media, our results indicate that
such barriers can be overcome perhaps because target audiences for international
media may more readily accept standardized strategies such as use of English
language and Western models. Such findings provide practical implications to
international advertising practitioners who may wish to consider how media type and
creative strategy intersect with their global advertising strategy.
Managers should also consider external factors such as characteristics of the target
media audience and advertising regulations along with cultural values (Duncan and
Ramasprasad, 1995). For instance, if practitioners target upscale consumers in Asian
countries, they may easily adopt standard advertising strategies and tactics, especially in
a transnational medium. Practitioners in the early 1990s suggested that international Advertising in
standardization would increase with the emergence of consumer segments of a global
“demographically and psychographically similar people that extend across national
boundaries” (Duncan and Ramasprasad, 1995, p. 64). Our investigation of the shared magazine
target of “fun, fearless females” appears to support such assertions. It may well be
advisable, for example, to use a standard (global) model and a standardized brand and
product name but localize any product information in the advertising copy. Although our 79
findings should not be generalized across all countries or cultures, they do provide critical
insight to practitioners who pursue market penetration in the examined countries.

Academic implications
Despite the interesting observations, several limitations should be addressed. First, this
study examined only seven countries’ magazines, yet Cosmopolitan now offers
110 editions. To what extent our findings may generalize to other countries is not
known. An alternative strategy might be to compare all versions of the same global
magazine for a certain month. In addition, we employed content analysis to code for model
and language use, but it may be interesting to code for further nuances of advertising
elements either using content analysis or semiotic approaches. For example, to what
extent is the language modified in style, for example, to reflect a Western-style direct
address (e.g. “You” or “Your”), which may or may not be culturally appropriate (Machin
and van Leeuwen, 2005). Also, models could be examined more closely for celebrity status
or beauty type to reflect global or local standards (Frith et al., 2004). Finally, degrees of
advertising standardization can differ between global and domestic magazines; therefore,
an evaluation of strategies within domestic media could provide additional insights for the
interaction between global advertising strategy and media that deliver it.
Although advertisements can be fairly similar across cultures, the content does not
allow us to assess if women share the same meanings cross-culturally. Future research
could gauge consumer response to transnational magazine ads across cultures. In
addition, in-depth interviews with ad agency executives or examinations of internal
strategic and creative documents might shed light upon the advertising process in
these countries (for one example in Thailand, see Punyapiroje et al., 2002).
In sum, we have begun to identify factors that may lead to standardization,
including development of the medium and advertising regulations. Rather than
offering a complete answer for global advertising strategy, we hope our study opens
possibilities for future studies that go beyond description and pursue further which
factors help explain and predict global advertising strategies and tactics.

Note
1. Only two issues from India were obtained due to difficulty of collecting the magazines. We
attempted to obtain more issues by writing to the international publisher and the domestic,
Indian publisher, but were not able to receive another copy.

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 84
24,1
IMR

Table AI.
Brazil China France India S. Korea Thailand USA
Location South America Eastern Asia Western Europe South-central Eastern Asia South eastern North
Asia Asia America
Whole pop (2001)
thousands 172,559 1.3 billion 59,453 1,025,096 47,069 63,584 285,926
15 languages
Official language Portuguese Mandarin French þ English Korean Thai English
Female magazine Competitive: Competitive: 10 Competitive Increasingly Very Very competitive Competitive
industry hundreds of key women’s competitive, competitive, industry and
women’s magazines, penetration of hundreds of continue to
magazines in including Cosmo, transnational women’s expand with
several Elle, Ray Woman media magazine more titles being
categories & the Vogue, etc. published
monthly
Cosmopolitan
start year 1974 1998 1973 1996 2000 1997 1886/1965
Cosmopolitan
Appendix 1. Overview of the seven countries

circulation
(month) 400,000 528,000 –– 168,000 100,000 140,000 2,889,043 * *
Cosmopolitan Professional, The female “The magazine Elite woman’s Licensed fashion Positioned as a Lifestyle
positioning/target single female group with for women who magazine magazine – mid life style magazine
profile between 20 and highest live the good 20 and early 30s, magazine,
30 purchasing life.” business college or higher targeted mostly
ability positioning is education and (80 percent)
“The magazine professionals urban women
for women who aged 15-35 and
are impertinent 66 percent in
and who have a managerial
tendency to positions
spend money”
(continued)
 Brazil China France India S. Korea Thailand USA
Advertising Self-regulation Foreign Heavy control on No No No No
regulation for languages language (Law
print ads on cannot be used adopted by the
foreign language solely in French Senate,
advertising. approved by the
Should the president,
foreign August 4, 1994)
languages be
necessary for
special needs
Advertising Self-regulation No No No No No No
regulation for
print ads on
foreign models
Sources: Hofstede’ cultural values (Mueller, 2004); for the general information on each country: www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/; for the media
and advertising related information; Brazil: www.conar.org.br; China: www.cpirc.org.cn/en/enew0329-1.htm; (Hank, 2002); France: Association Pour le
Controle de la Diffusion des Medias: www.tarifmedia.com/static/services/infos/chiffres_cles.pdf; www.groupemarieclaire.com/app/WebObjects/BMApp.
woa/wa/BCODirectAction/goToPath?menuPath¼_1364_1381_&currentPath¼_1364_1381_1295_; India: circulation -Anusha (2003); Korea: www.hrc.co.
kr/renewal/default.asp; Thailand: The guide to Asian media: Advertising regulations index, www.asianmediaaccess.com.au, www.topspace.com; USA:
Top 100 consumer magazines 2003, Audit Bureau of Circulations, Magazine Publishers of America; Personal communication by graduate students from
each country who contacted advertising professionals, media industry acquaintances, and Cosmopolitan editors. More detailed information is available
upon request
magazine
a global

Table AI.
85
Advertising in
IMR Appendix 2. Mean scores of the advertising copy elements across the seven
countries
24,1
Product
Brandname class name Slogan Headline Subhead Bodycopy

Overall Domestic 2.25 (0.96) 2.30 (0.95) 2.14 (0.99) 1.92 (1.00) 1.88 (0.99) 1.90 (0.99)
86 Multinational 2.63 (0.68) 2.65 (0.73) 2.43 (0.90) 2.13 (0.99) 2.22 (0.97) 2.08 (0.99)
Brazil Domestic 1.14 (0.52) 1.39 (0.79) 1.14 (0.53) 1.18 (0.55) 1.21 (0.54) 1.38 (0.77)
Multinational 2.67 (0.73) 2.08 (0.82) 1.39 (0.78) 1.50 (0.84) 1.10 (0.47) 1.50 (0.81)
China Domestic 1.58 (0.89) 1.36 (0.78) 1.11 (0.46) 1.55 (0.90) 1.08 (0.41) 1.14 (0.52)
Multinational 1.97 (0.79) 1.97 (0.99) 1.56 (0.90) 1.30 (0.71) 1.02 (0.22) 1.10 (0.45)
France Domestic 1.10 (0.37) 1.63 (0.94) 1.44 (0.86) 1.29 (0.71) 1.36 (0.78) 1.39 (0.80)
Multinational 1.73 (0.80) 2.12 (0.97) 1.29 (0.69) 1.36 (0.77) 1.62 (0.94) 1.57 (0.91)
India Domestic 3.00 (0.00) 3.00 (0.00) 3.00 (0.00) 2.89 (0.46) 3.00 (0.00) 3.00 (0.00)
Multinational 3.00 (0.00) 2.97 (0.18) 2.95 (0.21) 3.00 (0.00) 3.00 (0.00) 3.00 (0.00)
Korea Domestic 2.94 (0.35) 2.70 (0.72) 1.73 (0.98) 1.48 (0.86) 1.29 (0.71) 1.00 (0.00)
Multinational 2.94 (0.31) 2.86 (0.50) 2.07 (1.00) 1.81 (0.97) 1.72 (0.97) 1.18 (0.57)
Thailand Domestic 2.44 (0.87) 2.39 (0.94) 1.88 (1.02) 1.52 (0.87) 1.73 (1.01) 1.59 (0.91)
Multinational 2.75 (0.44) 2.81 (0.54) 2.42 (0.92) 1.74 (0.97) 1.91 (1.01) 2.21 (0.95)
USA Domestic 2.92 (0.35) 2.95 (0.32) 2.93 (0.37) 2.95 (0.32) 2.94 (0.34) 2.94 (0.35)
Multinational 2.95 (0.21) 2.97 (0.16) 3.00 (0.00) 3.00 (0.00) 3.00 (0.00) 3.00 (0.07)
Notes: Ads without any copy elements were deleted; each copy element was scaled as “1”(local), “2”
Table AII. (mixed), and “3” (global)

Corresponding author
Michelle R. Nelson can be contacted at: nelsonmr@uiuc.edu

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