A Comparative Study on the Differences of Advertising Ethics between China and the United States in Cross-cultural Contexts

Abstract

Due to the significant differences in history, culture and law, the basic characteristics of advertising ethics expression, as well as the standards and principles for ethical misconduct in advertising, vary among different countries or regions. As two typical representative countries in the dissemination of Chinese and Western advertising cultures, the differences in advertising ethics between China and the United States have certain research value for the current practice of cross-border advertising dissemination. The research focuses on representative advertising works that can showcase the cultural background differences or present the ethical tendencies of the two countries. Under the perspective of contemporary cross-cultural communication, it conducts a comparative analysis of the cultural and ethical manifestations of advertising in the two countries. The research specifically combines the three dimensions of cultural patterns divided by Hofstede, using positive or negative cases of Chinese and American advertisements to explore the issues of advertising ethics expression and ethical misconduct in China and the United States. Based on the cultural differences between China and the United States, it proposes normative strategies for addressing advertising ethics issues in the two countries.