The new media era, defined by digital platforms and global interconnectivity, has fundamentally transformed cross-cultural advertising. This paper employs a conceptual synthesis of contemporary research to argue that effective navigation of this landscape requires an analytical framework integrating established cross-cultural theories—such as self-construal, cultural dimensions, and human values—with the unique dynamics of digital interaction. The analysis demonstrates that while the classic paradox of standardization versus adaptation persists, digitality intensifies it, favoring deeply adapted, culturally resonant strategies. This is evident in the nuanced appropriation of social values, where brands co-opt discourses of empowerment and community to forge connections, a strategy powerfully deployed in gendered marketing for products like alcohol and infant formula. Ultimately, the convergence of cultural theory and digital practice creates a potent new marketing paradigm whose ethical complexity—regarding consumer manipulation, algorithmic bias, and the masking of product harms—demands critical scrutiny and new regulatory and strategic approaches.
Wang Yiming (Wed,) studied this question.