Materialism and Status Appeals in Japanese and Us Print Advertising

Content analyses of US and Japanese magazine advertisements featuring products and services in a home setting reveal several significant differences over time and support hypotheses based on comparative cultural values and economic conditions. As expected, recent Japanese advertising has increasingly emphasised status to a much greater degree than recent US advertising, and recent US advertising has continued to emphasise personal efficacy to a much greater degree than does Japanese advertising. Both cultures are found to use materialistic themes in their advertisements.