廣告語言與文化差異

摘要：隨著社會經(jīng)濟的發(fā)展，廣告已經(jīng)滲入社會的每個角落。廣告能提高產(chǎn)品的形象和知名度，同時也能展示特定的文化。本論文從三個角度來具體說明在廣告語言上中西方文化的差異。

關(guān)鍵詞：廣告；廣告語言；文化差異；中國文化；西方文化

[中圖分類號]：H31[文獻標(biāo)識碼]：A

[文章編號]：1002-2139(2012)-11-0143-02

Ⅰ、Introduction

Today， with the development of the technology and the diversity of the mass media， advertising has influenced us pervasively in our daily life.

No countries and nations are without their cultures. Since culture is what people do， or “the total life ways of a people， the social legacy the individual acquires from his group”.(O’Guinn 1998:137). The advertisement is a kind of manifestation of culture， it’s under the influence and restrict of local culture while national culture influences and restricts the development and expression of advertising language which is the core content of advertisement. The aim of the paper is to lay out three aspects to illustrate cultural difference in China and Western countries in advertisement.

Ⅱ、Collectivism vs. Individualism

It believed that advertisements that follow the value and belief of people are to be more persuasive. In Chinese ads， Collectivism is a term used to describe any moral， political， or social outlook that stresses human interdependence and the importance of a collective， rather than the importance of separate individuals. Collectivists focus on community and society， and seek to give priority to group goals over individual goals( wikipedia). The traditional Chinese culture was of an ethical nature and it can be called “morality-worshipping” culture.

This concept is often reflected in advertising language. For example:

走中國道路，乘一汽奧迪（一汽）

喝孔府宴酒，做天下文章（孔府宴酒）

咱老百姓的好藥(葵花藥業(yè))

情系中國結(jié)，聯(lián)通四海心（中國聯(lián)通）

以產(chǎn)業(yè)報國、以民族昌盛為己任（長虹）

海爾，中國造（海爾）

孔府家酒，叫人想家（孔府家酒）

每喝一杯農(nóng)夫山泉，就為中國奧運捐出一分錢（農(nóng)夫山泉）

中國平安，平安中國（平安保險）

From above， we can see that Chinese strive to achieve unity and compatibility. But this character is radically opposed by westerns who advocate individualism. Individualism refers to a doctrine advocating freedom from government regulation in the pursuit of a person''s economic goals (wikipedia). This doctrine holds that the interests of the individual should take precedence over the interests of the state or social group. This is due to their history different from the Chinese. So they prefer to be unique individual. This concept can also be found in these ads:

Just do it.(Nike)

The only thing like Coca-cola is Coca-cola itself. (Coca-cola)

\"Doing what we do best\"， and later \"Something special in the air\". (American Airlines)

Obey your thirst．（Sprite）

We lead. Others copy．（Ricoh）

\"I''m lovin'' it!\" （McDonalds）

\"The Power to Be Your Best. （Apple）

From the above， we can see that the westerns often regard uniqueness and difference as the best quality of products. They pay attention to diversity and changes of material， emphasis specially on the change and difference of the nature and stress personal freedom， self-development and personal enterprise. Compared with Chinese ads， they don’t focus on “society” and “authority” because it takes for granted that individuals know best and the public authority or society has he right to interfere in the person''s decision-making process only when a very compelling need to do so arises.

Ⅲ、Past Orientation vs. Future Orientation

The Chinese culture has formed the richest cultural accumulation in the world. Since Chinese cultural has a long history， in the advertisements， esp. in the alcohol advertisements， the emphasis on history is important for customers to accept this product. From the following examples， we can see that :

品味的歷史，430年：國窖1573（瀘州老窖）

千古佳釀，萬代留香，中華酒宗，汝陽杜康（杜康酒中華酒宗系列）

往事越千年，陳釀白云邊（白云邊酒）

回味唐朝（劍南春）

傳奇品質(zhì)，百年張裕（張裕）

The word “old” usually prefer to stress the point that their companies and their products are traditional ones， such as“百年老店”(a shop with a history of a hundred years)，“老字號”(age-old brand)，“老招牌”(age-old shop sign)，“歷史悠久”(with a long history)and“祖?zhèn)髅胤健?a secret recipe handed down from generation togeneration)(Shi，2007).

The Western countries insisted the short term oriented culture; the main reason is that their history is shorter than China. They don’t do the business like Chinese who often use the factors of history and tradition， but use the strong and direct marketing strategy (hard sale)， a product of the “immediate results” as a selling point.

“True success，” the young people explained， “is not a matter of money or position. It’s a matter of self-fulfillment. And self-fulfillment of reaching one’s goals and achieving happiness in one’s own way without paying attention to rules， duties， or the opinions of others.” This history has cultivated the future-oriented culture， which is different from the Chinese. We can also see that from the following examples:

The choice of a new generation.（Pepsi）

To me， the past black and white， but the future is always color．（Hennessy）

The future''s bright - the future''s orange（Orange）

Instead of soap， try a whole new way to wash your face. New pond’s leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth. Try it and see. (Pond’s)

Ⅳ、 Conservativeness vs. Openness in Sex

Chinese are more traditional than Western people. Talking about sex is controversial because sex has long been a taboo subject in China. Once a report in China Daily Let’s do it， not taking revealed that the Chinese have sex much more often than the global average but are still too shy to talk about it with their partners.

Sexually suggestive ads are banned in China. In daily life， Chinese people are not accustomed to express their ideas directly， but to use the euphemism， tortuous way to express. Han nationality affected by Confucian ideas is modest， introverted and conservative. This is unlike European and American national export and lively personality. In France， for example， a perfume advertisement: “The one drop is to the beauty， two drop is for the lover， three drop is enough to lead to one love affair.” (Zhu，1999:28). French people think that this expression is very romantic and attractive， but Chinese consumers think it hard to accept this extreme expression. For the following ads of condoms， most Chinese people will find hard to accept it:

Better Shape， Better Sex.

Good news for your sex life， bad news for beds. (Durex)

There''s life after sex.(ad against AIDS)

Ⅴ、Conclusion

Culture has a significant influence on advertising. Successful advertisements will be produced on the basis of local culture and advertising culture. As long as we pay attention to the cultural difference between China and western countries， we can draw our customer’s attention， activate their interest， stimulate their desire， strengthen their memory and induce action finally.

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