A content analysis of cultural values in Thai award-winning Television commercials.

• Main Author: Nguyen, Binh Phuong Vu.
• Other Authors: Lee Chun Wah
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Mass media::Broadcasting::TV
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/15506
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In view of the rising status of Thailand in the world of advertising, this study explores the portrayal of Thai cultural values in its Cannes-winning television commercials from 2003 to 2008 by using qualitative content analysis, based on the cultural theoretical perspective by Komin (1991) with two additional values identified by Punyapiroje and Morrison (2007). Findings show that with the exception of four commercials, the rest of 67 advertisements reflect Thai cultural values in some way. For instance, “smooth relationships” and “fun and pleasure” top the list, accounting for 45 percent of all commercials. Meanwhile, “achievement-task” as well as “education and competence” come bottommost, which is likely due to the insignificance they possess in Thai life. It can also be observed that Westernized or universal values such as “self-efficiency” and “safety and security” are gaining more prominence in Thai commercials, while values steeped in Thai culture like “religio-psychical” appear to be inferior due to its perplexity to foreigners. The relationship between cultural values and product categories is also investigated. “Ego-orientation” value is manifested the most in cosmetics commercials while “smooth relationships” is most often portrayed in services ads. Personal care spots are also often linked to “education and competence”, whereas “safety and security” are commonly used in services commercials. Interestingly, advertisements for food and beverage depict a wide range of values. These findings completely make sense in view of the nature of the product categories and the influence they exert on the storyline.