• Which of Hofstedes cultural dimensions relate to this advertisement?
• Which cultural specificities are connected to the United Arab Emirates and how would they in turn affect how a company such as Coca Cola chooses to advertise their products in this country?

Looking and examining an advert from The United Arab Emirates is quite interesting because it is an example of a country that requires cultural understanding and prior knowledge to fully understanding their beliefs and practises. It is quite a conservative country ruled by strict Islamic rules in many cases which has a huge impact on the overall culture which thrives in the country. For example, it demands a certain accord by its expatriate residents which regards to matters such as professional practise.

When looking at Hofstedes theory of cultural dimensions, it can be concluded that Dubai scores very high on the Power Distance Index scale (90) and the Uncertainty Avoidance scale also (80). But do these scales affect the way in which Coca Cola decided to advertise their product in this particular advertisement? And if so, how? I believe Dubai’s high score on the uncertainty avoidance scale certainly played a major role in the creation of this advertisement. Coca Cola urges us “refresh good times” whenever we decide to chug down a bottle of the tasty beverage. Good times would imply enjoyable, warm but most importantly, familiar memories. Due to Dubai having a high uncertainty avoidance score, the people of Dubai would tend to rather stick with what they know and not to stray into the unknown. In the far distance of this advert, white buildings can be seen. These buildings could be considered to be typical of old-fashioned Dubai landscape, white and luxurious, furthermore appealing to the high scoring Uncertainty Avoidance part of Dubai’s culture.  

However, there is another quite different aspect to this advertisement. When you consider the fact that the Arabic phrase has been translated into English, one cant help but consider that Coca Cola have taken into account the fact that Dubai has a massive tourist industry, much of which is English speaking. Tourism in Dubai has become a key sector to their economy and economic growth in recent years (Soto, 2016). On top of the English translation of this advert, the family can also be seen enjoying a barbeque, an activity that would be seen more as a Western activity than something typically occurring in the Middle East, once again keeping Dubai’s tourists in mind. 

So this ad is not just aimed at the local people of Dubai, it is aimed at tourists, expatriate residents, and of course the locals. It uses the familiar typical landscape of Dubai, and the Arabic language to appeal to those native to Dubai, and then uses a typically western activity (enjoying a delicious barbeque) in an attempt to relate to people from western countries, as well as using the English advert in the advertisement. 

Now to look at Dubai’s culture in reference to high/low context and how this may have been considered when coca cola were creating this advert. Dubai is thought to have quite a high-context culture, meaning that people within the culture communicate in ways that are implicit and rely heavily on context (Ruttger, 2018). The fact that there is very little text on this advert and absolutely no information provided could be as a result to Coca Colas awareness of the fact that Dubai has a high-context culture. There is no nutritional information or price.

In comparison to the Coca colas attempt in advertisement in Poland, this one really hits the nail the on head. There seems to have been a lack of judgement and research on Coca Colas part with their Polish advertisement not taking into account that the people of Poland may have been offended by such a use of a work space. Once again stepping on a few toes in Mexico Coca Cola did not take into account that their advertisement could be insulting to the indigenous people Mexico and seemed to only consider the non indigenous. A lack of research on the culture of Mexico was definitely at fault here. Whereas on the other hand with Coca colas advertisement in Dubai (above) they seemed to have taken into account EVERYONE who this advert could be aimed at both tourists and locals and managed to get the balance correctly without offending anyone. 

Historically, Poland is an ethnicity both freeform in borders, and enriched with western and eastern influences. Coca-Cola, the Atlanta-based oligarch of carbonated beverages, had broken fundamental ground in the Soviet bloc in the 1960s through Czechoslovakia and Poland (Kawczyńska, 2016), where it built a steady rapport in a transitioning region. Vitally, this welcoming of global produce and influence is a defining characteristic of Poland in contrast to its Cyrillic neighbours east of them, and a comparison and conformity to the west. 

When a 26,000 square feet billboard by Coca-Cola was erected on a derelict office block in Warsaw in 2000, controversy arose as the advertisement was hit with an overwhelmingly unfavourable reception. Wholly, the faults of the campaigners could be dissected via three categories- ethic, pride and connotation. It is amidst these factors where attitudes towards the multinational corporation could have been enhanced.

Encountering this advertisement, breakdowns present themselves almost immediately- the placement, lack of cohesion and intendment is inadequate. Of course, in many circumstances, the acknowledgement of cultural factors and actions, aligned by T. Hall and Hofstede, regardless of upbringing, might be prosperous in achieving a simple task.

Structurally, the advertisement depicts two subjects; a smiling Caucasian woman and the Coke product, and a predominant binary of colour- red and white, synonymous with both the country and company. But it proves to be irrelevant here, stretched and blown up to cover a face of a building. With it, one phrase accompanies the logo- “Odkryj na nowo wszystkimi zmysłami”, literally translating to “Rediscover with all of your senses”, beholding little semantics or nuances specified to the region concerned.

Foremostly, there is a resonant pride in local and national commerce, recognised in all nation’s patriotism, but there is a particular potency within Poland. Companies such as Tymbark, Frugo and Oshee boast household popularity, only narrowly beaten by Coca-Cola in yearly sales, and that in itself creates cultural and generational division (KPMG, 2016).

Contrastingly with Emirati produce, which is localised and emphasised around cultural hubs such as traditional markets with no incentive for globalising, and worldwide capitalist corporations tend to manifest in cities such as Dubai, which have exponentially grown within the last 35 years at rates never seen before. The pride, a sense of Polish identity, is absent, nor does it share an optimistic or communal connotation. In order to introduce a relative set of constructs which might involve the Polish demographic, Coca-Cola missed out on a minimum of one ident to represent any kind of affiliation with the culture. In some measure, a matching depiction of an enthused with text to match was not an unattainable exercise.

Edward T. Hall, American anthropologist and intercultural communication pioneer, assessed world culture with a table that defined general factors such as sense of belonging, blatant messaging, response and regard for time. Appropriately, Poland values its notions of ingrouping and outgrouping (T. Hall, 1959), directly associated with both the overseas company versus the Polish society, as well as Polish traditions and customs being challenged by progressive (or regressive) ideas. It also values considerably its high commitment to long-term relationships, evident in a reputable work ethic (Czerw & Grabowski, 2015).

Comparing this to a country such as Mexico, where an advertisement had been erected with the shared idea of family and community, a sense of any communal dynamic is missing from the Polish advertisement, which is slightly earlier than the Mexican advertisement, but even so, the extents gone within the Mexican subject- where they even included an indigenous/regional language- suggests the idea that this communication can be maximised and projected favourably. However, the additional video footage of Oaxaca gives a better all-round effect of resonating verbally and non-verbally with the Mexican public, in comparison to the understated canvas in the Polish capital.

The role of chronemics in this prevalent form of non-verbal communication also impacts the renowned Polish lifestyle as this one advertisement appears as an obstruction. Edward T. Hall conceived this during his cultural endeavour, which he discovered a clear dichotomy between monochronic and polychronic time management. Monochronic management accentuated itself after the western Industrial Revolution, which contrasts to the fluid, indefinite perception of polychronic time. This ties in strongly with one culture’s views of performance and expected attributes within all nationals. Monochronic time inherits rigid theory to this, which is present in countries such as T. Hall’s United States, but more profound in Poland- even more rigid in the UAE and less so in Mexico.

Geert Hofstede’s alternative to intercultural analytics and communication surrounds a revised scale with several factors present in all civilisations- such as individualism, masculinity, indulgence and uncertainty-avoidance. Like T. Hall, his programme was realised in the 1960s. A ranking system of 0-100, with the maximum defining the extremity of each dimension. Extensively, it can be implemented on one culture to actuate the best approach and understanding. In order to fairly determine Polish values generally, two comparatives of Western Europe and Eastern Eurasia can attempt to solute an idea of what Polish culture might receive better, and what it would dismiss. On the other hand, comparing and contrasting their key differences to the UAE and Mexico allows us to decipher what three individual identities value most, and least.

Correlations between Ireland and Poland are stark. Differences in each estimated dimension are evident, except a closer range of individualism, and even more similar levels of masculinity ingrained in their systems (Brannen, Wigfall & Paritus, 2014). A trend particularly evident in Western Europe, going further east in the region implies a gain in uncertainty-avoidance and a decrease in indulgence (analysis extracted from Hofstede's Cultural Insights webpage, 2011-2020). If the advertisement had been hoisted in Ireland, the building would have to have a particular significance or the inconsistencies of this advertisement appearing would have to be recognised for this community to take particular notice towards it. Undoubtedly, there is bound to be uproar, yet in a country such as Poland, without inputting any generalisations, their uncertainty-avoidance and lack of indulgence/restraint is sequenced in their society- therefore the placement of the billboard and the incohesive message conveyed on it communicate non-verbally and indirectly a sense of insensitivity.

Neighbouring Lithuania is a prime example of eastern femininity, incorporating orientation to long-term affairs and Soviet influence on a considerable landmass. Since the collapse of the USSR and the Eastern bloc in 1989, gradual evolution has taken place in both Lithuanian and Polish culture, and whilst it may be seen as Western tendencies and approaches, both nations have integrated a shared sense of ethics, which shows opposing cultural dimensions moving eastward (Szeligowska, 2016). Just over a decade beyond this monumental period, the intensification of anti-capitalist culture, despite scores of trading between Coca-Cola and the Polish market, resonates, combined with a preference for national brands and a want for encouraging, determined messages of diligence and excellence- all calculating into one convincing image of patriotism (Lisica, 2018).

Comparing this index to the two countries listed in the comparative, both Poland and the UAE share high uncertainty-avoidance and power distance scores. But, both countries need their own sensitive approach to their respective cultures- as both countries may want an advertisement that represents their pride in labour, but both communities have less of a communal dynamic revolving around paternal and maternal superiorities such as Mexico. Consistently, research of your particular demographic and nation-state should come with meticulous understanding, trial and error testing with selected members of the public or volunteers at random.

Holistically, the negative impression of this advertisement can be resolved using the techniques, time and practice shown in the Emirati and Mexican versions, which also prove to be lacklustre in other elements of their communication methods. Implementing the cultural contexts, concepts of non-verbal communication in chronemics and cultural dimension charters, coming from an advertising campaign triumphant seems to be perceivably easier as we move forward in intercultural relations.

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The ad opens with a statistic that 81.6% of indigenous Mexicans felt rejected for speaking their native language, with a backdrop of various indigenous Mexicans looking downcast. The ad then cuts to an outside group of high-energy white people having fun and playing around a workbench while the text tells the viewer that the group of young people “wanted to give them a very special message”.

They then arrive in Totontepec and, with the help of Coke, gather the Mixe people to convince them to build a large wooden tree to celebrate Christmas with the message “Let’s stand together” written on the tree in the native Mixe language, as everyone stands together. The ad ends with a message telling the viewer that it was their turn to “break a prejudice and share it using the hashtag #AbreTuCorazon (#OpenYourHeart)”. 

Mexico is a quite collectivist country, with an individualism score of 30 and is also a very indulgent country, with an indulgence score of 97. This ad plays off these cultural dimensions, encouraging the community to come together as one community. It also shows the cast of the ad relaxing and partying together, playing into Mexico’s high indulgence factor and trying to advertise their product as something to enjoy while celebrating. This is why there’s such a difference between Warsaw’s ad, where Poland is more individualistic and restrained, with an Individualism score of 60 and an indulgence score of 29 (source: Hofstede Insights). Mexico also is quite a high-context culture, where interpersonal relationships are highly valued and communication is less formal and less explicit. 

As previously mentioned, the ad was released in late November and was intended as an ad for Christmas, as Coke is famous for doing many of these Christmas style ads. Hence, the whole building a tree together and the reinforcing of the idea of coming together as a community, now that it is Christmas. By choosing to release the ad with this theme, Coke is able to play into Mexico’s high-context, collectivist, and indulgent ideals and profit off them.

The reason why this ad enraged so many was that Coke was trying to play up the young white people as heroes for simply going to an Indigenous community and celebrating Christmas with them, and then encouraged others to also “break a prejudice” and share it online via a hashtag. Coke trying to get a viral hashtag going of people breaking prejudices in order to disseminate their product was quite a ridiculous idea, and many prejudices run deep in and between communities, and can’t be ‘broken’ by bringing cases of Coke to these communities.

It also portrays the Mixe community in quite a negative light, and activists saying that the ad “reproduced and reinforced stereotypes of indigenous people as culturally and racially subordinate” 

The opening statistic of indigenous Mexicans feeling rejected about their language in order to play up the white people doing their “good deed” for Christmas by interacting with the Mixe people perfectly illustrates how that by trying to promote Collectivist values Coke failed to take into account how they were portraying Indigenous people and their own values and ideals, separate to the wide Mexican audience that Coke were advertising to on YouTube.

Due to the medium of the advertisement being an online video, it was easy enough for Coke to remove the video after complaints from the public. This is in contrast to the Dubai and Warsaw ads, both of which are large billboards that would be expensive and time-consuming to remove after backlash.

Similiarly enough, due to the Oaxaca ad being distributed online on YouTube, it was much easier for people to share the ad with other people and for the controversy to grow even stronger, as opposed to the Dubai and Warsaw ads, where people could only view them either on site or from photos shared online.