# data[].attributes.body
Using BTS, Chilsung Cider can effectively advertise to everyone. Incorporating individuals who already have a strong relationship with the most people appeals to those in the High-Context cultures that rely on strong connections with those promoting the ad but only have a short time to do so, while at the same time those same individuals have managed to connect with fans from all around the world, who either were still drawn in by the same High-Context technique or relate to the idols on their own terms.

# data[].attributes.body
The Twitter debates even caught the attention of Martin Luther King JR's daughter, who sarcastically Tweeted out "If only Daddy would have known about Pepsi". Mocking how the Pepsi advertisement simplifies the long and complex battle for equality in America. The statement is very strong coming from her, as Martin Luther King JR. is an important figure for the movement Pepsi is appropriating in their advertisement. This brought attention to the fact that Pepsi imposed on a specific Racial group without accounting for the history of that group.

# data[].attributes.body
The Tweet shown here is Pepsi's response to Martin Luther King JR's daughter, where they apologise for the perception of their advertisement.

# data[].attributes.body
Ater, Renee. “IN MEMORIAM: I CAN'T BREATHE” List of unarmed black people killed by police, June 9, 2021.

Bai, He. "A cross-cultural analysis of advertisements from high-context cultures and low-context cultures." English Language Teaching 9.8, 2016: 21-27.

Cashion, Susan Valerie. Dance ritual and cultural values in a Mexican village: festival of Santo Santiago. Diss. Stanford University, 1983.
https://ucd.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/dance-ritual-cultural-values-mexican-village/docview/303183807/se-2?accountid=14507.

Gregory, Gary D., and James M. Munch. "Cultural values in international advertising: An examination of familial norms and roles in Mexico." Psychology & Marketing 14.2, 1997: 99-119.

Hall, Edward Twitchell. Beyond culture. Anchor, 1989.

HISTORY.COM EDITORS. “Slavery in America” HISTORY, 19. march 2022.

Hofstede, Geert. "Values and culture." Culture's consequences: International differences in work-related values, 1980.

Jun-hee, Park. “Commercials That Became Talk of Town with BTS.” The Korea Herald, 22 July 2021, http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20210722000818.

KDOL. BTS X Chilsung Cider Goods Sold out in 10 Minutes. https://kdolmaster.tistory.com/349. Accessed 19 Mar. 2022.

Lotte Chilsung Beverage. https://company.lottechilsung.co.kr/eng/main/index.do. Accessed 19 Mar. 2022.

McCarty, John A., and Patricia M. Hattwick. "Cultural value orientations: A comparison of magazine advertisements from the United States and Mexico." ACR North American Advances, 1992.

Pamela, Oliver. “Thoughts about Black Lives Matter in 2017” SSC Black movement, February 8, 2017.

Rossly, KD. “Chilsung Cider Debuts BTS As Its Newest Brand Ambassadors.” HELLOKPOP, 16 May 2020, https://www.hellokpop.com/news/chilsung-cider-bts/.

Samman, Shatha N., et al. "Learning to decode nonverbal cues in cross-cultural interactions." (2009).

Schmalz, Gisela. “Schlagwort: culture”, 15 Apr. 2015, https://www.giselaschmalz.com/tag/culture/

Smith, Alexander. “Pepsi Pulls Controversial Kendall Jenner Ad After Outcry”. NBC News, April 5, 2017.

Van Everdingen, Yvonne M., and Eric Waarts. "The effect of national culture on the adoption of innovations." Marketing letters 14.3 (2003): 217-232.

Wurtz, Elizabeth. Intercultural Communication on Web Sites: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Web Sites from High-Context Cultures and Low-Context Cultures. 2006, pp. 274–99.

# data[].attributes.body
Hall’s High/Low-Context Culture framework looks to distinguish cultures by looking at their preferred means of communication (Hall). More specifically, whether the information is conveyed explicitly or implicitly. Within the three advertisements, we see how the theory of Low/High-Context Culture is visible and how it affects the creation and perception of the advertisements. Hall associates each of these culture types with various other characteristics. Both Mexico and South Korea are High-Context cultures; however, the advertisements use different characteristics within this framework. The elements analysed in the Mexican advertisement are team and relationship-oriented, team achievement-focused and deep respect for the past. The characteristics utilised in the South Korean advertisement include non-verbal communication, the implicit connection between the use of the product and emotional response, along with relationship building.

On the other hand, the United States is regarded as a Low-Context culture. However, the Pepsi advertisement uses features of non-verbal communication, which is typically seen in High-Context cultures. Here the Pepsi advertisement differs from the cultural expectations, which likely affected the response the advertisement received.

Mexico can be considered an extremely High-Context nation with a score of 13 on a 16 point High/Low-Context scale (Van Everdingen). As stated above, relevant to this advertisement are the High-Context features; team and relationship-oriented, team achievement-focused, and deep respect for the past (Schmalz). The ad takes a team-oriented approach in attempting to convince Mexican people to increase their physical activity levels. The artists are working together as a team to deliver this message, and furthermore, the viewers are invited to become members of this team, in a sense. Another part of the ad is the focus on increased movement as a significant achievement for Mexico as a whole: “Today together we can achieve it”. Mexico’s deep respect for the past is conveyed in the medium, dance, used to communicate by the ad. Dance is an integral part of Mexican tradition. Coca-Cola Mexico uses a song and dance to appeal to the Mexican people and the deep-rooted respect they hold for their own culture and traditions. Hence this ad and movement were received well among the Mexican population.

A central element of High-Context cultures is that messages are predominantly delivered implicitly. Despite this, the Coca-Cola Mexican advertisement delivers its message explicitly in the form of a song. Although this might contradict the High-Context description, music is significantly tied to Mexican culture, so the use of lyrics has a rationale. The circumstances behind an advertisement are also relevant. Coca-Cola designed this commercial to be part of a campaign looking to battle obesity in Mexico, and verbal communication would have been the easiest way to do this.

The Chilsung Cider ad demonstrates another High-Context influence, using Wurtz’s analysis for ICC website design and advertising. The preference for implicit and nonverbal communication results in a heavier reliance on images, elaborate animated effects, and fewer words. The Chilsung Cider ad utilises many vibrant, flashy colours, with sound effects, using the imagery of enlarged animated fruits that reference the signature flavours of the drinks. The few written and spoken words are all about enjoying the taste, in particular of the new flavour and the brand name. Furthermore, a result from Wurtz’s study demonstrates that high context ads are also more likely to display the product and individual together, therefore “drawing focus away from what the product offers and towards what the person receives when enjoying the product” (Wurtz, 289). This is applied to the Chilsung Cider ad, which does show BTS drinking the beverage, but the focus is on their positive reactions, both in the ad itself and the behind the scenes.

In contrast, the United States is considered to have a Low-Context culture where verbal messages are preferred. Despite this, the Pepsi advertisement has many High-Context traits and remains non-verbal throughout. The entire plot is communicated through implicit cultural understanding and body language. Perhaps this contributed to the poor reaction it received and its later removal.

On the other hand, once compared to the Chilsung Cider advertisement, the United States is much more Low-Context, especially on the relationship-building front (Bai). Both Pepsi and Chilsung use celebrity stars; however, their presence differs vastly in the advertisements. Chilsung focuses much more on BTS as people, each of them having a sequence where they are introduced, and their name appears on the screen. There is also a lot of available behind the scenes footage from the Chilsung advertisement where you see the BTS members interacting with each other. It seems there is much more of an emphasis on the relationship between the celebrities and the fans viewing the advertisement, which matches well with the High-Context culture of South Korea. The advertisement represents a relationship between BTS and their fans as a way of building trust. This trust can be demonstrated in some of the fan responses to the making film. Many of the top comments on the YouTube uploaded advertisement were fans expressing their concern for the well-being of one of the members, Suga, whose arm was in pain during the filming for the ad. After discovering this information from other social platforms, Fans returned to the ad and praised his professionalism.

In comparison, Kendall Jenner is never mentioned by name during the Pepsi advertisement, nor does she interact with the viewers in the same way as BTS in the Chilsung advertisement. The goal of the Pepsi advertisement seems to be sending an overall message rather than creating ethos through interactions. Not only does this contrast fit well with the High/Low-Context framework, it also plays into Hofstede’s framework for individualist and collectivist societies. At the end of the advertisement, it is only Kendall Jenner who walks up and hands a police officer a Pepsi. This action reflects the individualist culture in America, as the advertisement is focused on the single main actress rather than a unified action by multiple people. Although Pepsi claimed their advertisement is about unity, the people within the advertisement are fairly isolated from each other.

# data[].attributes.body
The relationship-oriented aspect of High-Context is also important in who they choose as brand ambassadors. Wurtz describes Slow Message as another dimension proposed by Edward Hall and Mildred Reed Hall (1990) that is applicable to this situation (Wurtz). This dimension covers the preferred speed at which a message is conveyed. High-Context cultures tend to prefer slow messages, where it takes time to decode the message, but also slowly form a stronger relationship.

In contrast, Low-Context cultures prefer fast messages, where the intent is communicated immediately and is often paired with quick and more numerous relationships that end up being more superficial (Wurtz). Therefore, South Korea, and many other Asian countries where Chilsung Cider is popular and are generally also High-Context, prefer slow messages with stronger but slower relationships. The main issue is that these quick ads aren’t long enough to form a relationship beyond the relationship the company has developed with the general public over the past 70 years. While that may be enough, this campaign was also introducing a new flavour. Perhaps, given their choice of BTS, they intended to reach a broader audience that doesn’t have that relationship already. Therefore, they chose models who are extremely well known, not just as celebrities, but for their personalities as well.

# data[].attributes.body
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions model allows us to explore Mexican, South Korean and American culture through six distinct categories; Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance, Long-Term Orientation and Indulgence. The Coca-Cola advertisement reflected Mexico’s scores in the dimensions of Individualism and Long-Term Orientation, although predominantly the former. The Chilsung Cider and Pepsi advertisements reflect the results that South Korea and America received in the Individualism dimension. None of the other dimensions were relevant to the influences of the advertisements’ countries of origin.

An individualist society is one that has concerns over themselves as individuals and close family members. The values that people within an individualist society have respect for include accomplishment and acknowledgement (McCarty & Hattwick). In contrast, those who conform to a collectivist society respect values such as family, reliability and a portrayal of traditional social norms (Hofstede).

A low score of 30 indicates that Mexico can be viewed as a collectivist society. In Mexican culture, long-term and secure relationships between close or extended family and strong friendships are extremely important. Everyone belongs to a group, and individuals within each group take care of each other (Hofstede). Having analysed the Mexican Coca-Cola advertisement, it is clear that it makes use of these values. The lyrics continuously use the first person plural “we” and mentions family members moving together; “The big one moves, the small one moves, The father moves, the son moves”. The wording appeals to Mexican principals by attempting to get them to engage as a collective.

South Korea scores even lower, with 18 in the Individualism sector. The collectivistic influence manifests itself in demonstrating a group of people rather than single individuals, being more physically active, and interacting with each other (Wurtz). The Chilsung Cider ad features all seven members of BTS socialising, dancing, having fun, and enjoying the cider together as a group. This, therefore, creates a positive emotional connection between drinking the cider and spending time together with a group of friends. The appeal to group connection and mutual enjoyment of the cider is even demonstrated in the short clips made by each member of BTS on their own. Even though they are alone in the video, and each of their short actions reflect their individual personalities or roles within the group, they all say, “BTS is looking forward to it; Chilsung Cider!”. Therefore, reinforcing the group mentality.

Furthermore, the Mexican Coca-Cola advertisement creates interdependence between people for movement by saying, “If you move, I move, And so we all do”. According to Gregory and Munch (99-119), members within a collectivist culture often feel motivated to act in a way that is in line with the expectations of a group they are a part of.

In stark contrast to Mexico’s and South Korea’s collective societies, the United States scores a ‘91’ in individualism. This would suggest that people in the United States have tendencies to look after themselves and their immediate family (Hofstede). The Pepsi advertisement reflects this in that the centrepiece is a single famous individual, Kendall Jenner, who is not shown to have any meaningful connections with the people around her, nor mention of one. The story portrayed shows a single, powerful individual having an impact. This differs significantly from the Mexican Coca-Cola advertisement where three artists invite viewers to join them in dance, and we are shown clips of people from different backgrounds participating.

Mexico’s low score of ‘24’ in the Long-Term Orientation dimension indicates that as a society, they are normative. People of Mexican culture display strong appreciation and respect for past customs while also living in the present moment to reach instantaneous results (Hofstede). This is evident in the Coca-Cola Mexican advertisement as the lyrics continuously make reference to living life in the present but through dancing, keeping the element of past traditions there; “It’s time to live with passion. Come since your part of the movement. With Coca-Cola live in the moment”, “Let’s all dance together because life is good”.

# data[].attributes.body
Chilsung Cider is one of the most established and iconic beverage brands in South Korea, with the main carbonated soft drink being the country's representative drink since its launch. Since then, the company has become one of the largest beverage companies in Asia (Chilsung).

The Kpop industry is distinct from the Western music industry in that it emphasises the slow relationship building between the idols and the fans, requiring the idols to interact with their fans as often as possible in order to demonstrate their personalities, likes, preferences, talents that aren’t necessarily related to their main jobs as musical artists. The way this industry is designed is likely also due to the culture being HC, but it still has become popular around the world, even in LC cultures like in the US.

# data[].attributes.body
Here we see a comparison of a scene in the advertisement to a picture from a Black Lives Matter protest. A Twitter user posted these images to show the similarities between the advertisement and an actual protest. Images like these were used in the media to argue that the advertisement was disrespectful and trivialising important movements. However, Pepsi expected it to be perceived as a tribute to the people of the past who have stood up to injustices done against minorities. (Smith)

# data[].attributes.headline
                                                                             Introduction      

# data[].attributes.subject
                                                                             Introduction      

# data[].attributes.body
In this assignment, we will form a contrastive analysis of a Mexican Coca-Cola advertisement, a Pepsi advertisement from the United States and a South Korean Chilsung advertisement utilising intercultural communication frameworks such as Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions and Hall’s High/Low Context Culture Theory, among others.

# data[].attributes.body
The identity framework is definitely relevant in this case, as the advertisement heavily relies on issues relating to racial identities. Pepsi centred its advertisement around the battle for equality within the African American community and used the communities struggle as a marketing tool. Though it could seem efficient to support a racial identity as a means to sell a product to them, a group with such a deep-rooted history of racism did not appreciate having their struggles connected to a soda. Pepsi is not a brand with any specific ties to the group they were advertising towards and thereby did not belong with that racial identity. The main celebrity of the advertisement, Kendall Jenner, does not have any ties to the racial group either, as she is a white woman who is not involved with the struggles of the community she attempted to represent, which is likely another reason the advertisement was so poorly received.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
David Bisbal - Te mueves tú, se mueven todos lyrics + English translation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Translation of 'Te mueves tú, se mueven todos' by David Bisbal from Spanish to English

# data[].attributes.headline
Historical Context: United States - Slavery

# data[].attributes.subject
Historical Context: United States - Slavery

# data[].attributes.body
The Black Lives Matter movement are intertwined immensely with American history as slave owners. Many African people were stolen from their homes and brought to America to work on slave plantations. They were considered less than human and didn’t have the same rights as the white people in America. Though African American people gained freedom from slavery, the mentality that they are less than the white population remains an issue within the United States. Many atrocious acts have been committed against People of Colour in America, making it a very sensitive topic. Even though the Pepsi advertisement was advocating in favour of African Americans’ rights, seeing such a sensitive issue used as a commercial is likely to cause outrage amongst the people dedicated to the cause. (HISTORY.COM)

# data[].attributes.body
The Sociopolitics of the United States is by far the most relevant tool when analysing the advertisement and the negative backlash it received. The big issue people had with the advertisement was the reminiscence of the Black Lives Matter movement, which is a very hot topic in the United States. The advertisement came out in 2017, a year when social issues surrounding racial discrimination were a huge topic in the media. (Pamela) Many big protests for the Black Lives Matter movement were happening at this time due to different tragedies and injustices. Police brutality was especially a topic of massive importance as there was an uproar against police officers killing unarmed people of colour in the United States. (Ater) Since the subject was so broadly discussed in the media, it could seem like a good strategy to cash in on these issues. However, for too many consumers, it seemed tone-deaf to compare the loss of human life to a soda. The section where Kendall Jenner hands an officer a Pepsi and everyone is united was perceived as trivialising these issues to something that could be solved with a soda.

# data[].attributes.body
The Kinesics in the advertisement did definitely have an impact on the way the advertisement was perceived. Kendal Jenner’s body language is very relaxed and casual throughout the video, the same for most of the other cast. Even though the advertisement is set in a protest, the people don’t seem angry or distraught. The body language was an aspect the advertisement was criticised for as it appeared to be making light of a usually very intense environment. (Samman)

# data[].attributes.body
Pepsi stated on Twitter that the goal of the advertisement was to “project a global message of unity” (Smith). However, that was not how it was perceived. The advertisement caused outrage, and Pepsi pulled it from the public. We can apply different methods when trying to understand the perception and the cause of the controversy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ha*Ash Reik David Bisbal - Te mueves tú (lyrics video)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Full Pepsi Commercial Starring Kendal Jenner

# data[].attributes.body
The Pepsi advertisement features the celebrity, Kendall Jenner. She is a member of the Kardashian family, a prominent and famous family globally but especially within American society. The Kardashians are very active on social media, so by featuring Kendall Jenner in this advertisement would make it cater to a younger audience around the ages of 13-30, since the younger generations are much more prominent on social media, thereby more likely to know who Kendall Jenner is. The advertisement was geared towards American activist culture specifically. The advertisement is set in a crowded American city, where a diverse cast all come together in a protest. One of the actors picks up Kendall Jenner along the way, and they all meet at a somewhat organised protest with police officers standing watch. The advertisement hits its climax when Kendall Jenner picks up a Pepsi, walks up and hands it to one of the officers who accepts the Pepsi, and everyone is happy.

# data[].attributes.headline
Background of advertisement: Chilsung Cider

# data[].attributes.subject
Background of advertisement: Chilsung Cider

# data[].attributes.body
To celebrate their 70th anniversary, Chilsung Cider recruited world kpop idol group BTS. This campaign also focused on promoting the new peach flavour, in addition to the traditional lemon-lime soda.

BTS has an extremely large and powerful fanbase, known as ARMY. Using BTS as their new brand ambassador quickly opened the door to the non Asian market, with ARMYs all around the world causing the phrase “cider poster” to be #1 trending on Twitter. All of the limited edition Chilsung Cider X BTS products, including a BTS miniature set, Chilsung Cider perfumes, and calendar sold out in 10 minutes.

# data[].attributes.body
Music and associated dances have been used to maintain culture from generation to generation through communicating deeply held beliefs and attitudes (Cashion).

Historically, music and dance are inherent to Mexican traditions and were used by protectors of culture such as priests and warriors to communicate with the Gods. Dance was also a way for Mexicans to interact socially and entertain each other.

It can be said that dance and music have carried these functions from the past to modern-day Mexican culture (Cashion).

# data[].attributes.headline
Background of advertisement: Coca-Cola Mexico

# data[].attributes.subject
Background of advertisement: Coca-Cola Mexico

# data[].attributes.body
To celebrate World Physical Activity Day, Coca-Cola Mexico released an advertisement as part of a campaign to promote healthy activity and movement through music and dance.

The advertisement consisted of a song titled ‘Te mueves tú, se mueven todos’ translated to ‘You move, everyone moves’ in English. The song is performed by Mexican descendant duo HA-ASH, the Spanish artist David Bisbal and Mexican pop-rock band; Reik.

In the music video, the performers urge Mexicans to get up and move while simultaneously carrying out a choreographed dance routine that viewers can learn and practise. The advertisement was released on the 10th of April 2014 via YouTube for its target audience, Mexican families, to view.