Modernization and tradition in an age of globalization: Cultural values in Chinese television commercials

The authors analyzed commercials (N = 496) shown on 3 Chinese TV stations in the summer of 2000 to uncover the dominant value themes and identified 13 value themes as applicable in the current sample. This study found that the most dominant value themes in the Chinese commercials were product quality/effectiveness, family, modernity, beauty/youth, and pleasure indicating the prevalence of utilitarian values and the coexistence of both traditional and modern values in the world of Chinese advertising. Value themes identified in this study are compared with previous conceptualizations and discussed in the context of globalization and Chinese cultural change.