It is often the case that advertising is explained in cultural terms-that is, how culture and its various facets influence production and consumption of ads. But can we turn things around and examine a country's or region's culture by reading ads? This article attempts to do so. We undertake a cross-cultural reading of a single ad-the McDonald's ad-produced for markets in India, France and the US to explain why ads are constructed the way they are and how they encode the culture of their place of origin.
Culture plays an important role in the way we represent food consumption. The entire ritual of meat preparation and consumption, for instance, is organized to dissuade us from believing that we eat dead animals. Our definitions of what should be consumed (or not consumed), how and when to consume, and what constitutes taste and pleasure are as much personal as they are cultural. This is quite well-illustrated by the McDonald's television advertisement. Here, we analyze four McDonald's ads, two from India, and one each from France and the US.
Let's start with the Indian ads. McDonald's has positioned itself as a family restaurant for middle-class Indians. This is not because McDonald's is a family restaurant everywhere in the world. Prior to coming to India, McDonald's was positioned, at least to begin with, as a place that served hamburger at a speedy 15 seconds a piece. Fast food, that's what it was. It is in the Indian context, that McDonald's acquired its identity through the ideal happy Indian family. In India, going to the restaurant to eat with friends or family is an elaborate social occasion rather than a private act of an individual seeking to fulfil his/her hunger. |
