International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews

International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, Vol 4, no 2, pp 370-377, February 2023 International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews Journal homepage: www.ijrpr.com ISSN 2582-7421 Cultural Adoption Through Advertisements: International and Indian Scenarios Aaratrika Chattopadhyaya, Sk Suhan Alib, Satyarup Chakrabortyc, Sonali Acharjeed, Ankit Roye, Sayak Palf, Sam Victor Chittilapillyg a School of Liberal Arts and Culture Studies, Adamas University, Silver Estate, Block-C, Doltala, 143, Methopara(N), Kolkata- 700132, West Bengal, India b School of Business and Economics, Adamas University, Barrackpore, Birlagate ,Gheedahuttarpara, P.O Nilganj, Kolkata Pin- 700121, West Bengal, India c School of Business and Economics, Adamas University, BadgdigiBhulanBrariKurmidiJhorapukhar Dhanbad, Jharkhand – 828133, India d School of Business and Economics, Adamas university, Laskarpara, Barobisha, Alipurduar, 736207,West Bengal, India e School of Business and Economics, Adamas University, 84/93/390 Krishnanagar, Pakhipara, West Bengal, Kolkata- 700104 f School of Media and Communication, Adamas University, Uttarayan Apartment, 149, R.B.C Road (Extn.), Kolkata- 700028, West Bengal, India g School of Business and Economics, Adamas University, Sonartari Apartment, 1 N.C Mitra Lane, Konnagar -712235, (Hooghly District)West Bengal, India DOI: https://doi.org/10.55248/gengpi.2023.4215 ABSTRACT Advertising has always been used as a mass media tool to reach out to heterogeneous consumers with their varied choices. Cross-cultural advertising research on the other hand includes the branch of advertising research that explores the issues or contents related to advertisements across cultures. When it comes to cultural depiction through advertisements, most of the advertisements take refuge in the celebration that signifies and glories the culture to a mass number of people. The study has taken audio-video commercials from several brands from both international and Indian perspectives to understand the cultural depiction that has been portrayed through the ad content. Those commercials were also been screened during focus group discussions to understand the perception of the viewers on the cultural differences displayed through the advertisements from the same brands but with different cultural perspectives. The understanding of culture for people turned out to be highlighting three major key areas „belief‟, „passed on for generation‟, and „action‟ that represents culture. The participants of focused group discussions also suggest factors like „the depiction is less realistic‟, „less practical‟, „missing essence‟ etc., while incorporating these could finally mend the gap between the expectation from the audience and portrayals of the message through advertisement. Keywords: Cultural adoption, Indian advertisement, international advertisement, audience perception, audio-visual advertisement 1. Introduction Advertising in India has a rich history and is defined as a paid form of communication. The notable changes in the modern history of Indian advertisement go back to the era of Mahatma Gandhi and his „swadeshi‟ movement when the Indian market learned the art to differentiate the products offered by foreign sellers from homegrown products. This movement set the market for the Indian sellers in terms of essential goods like cotton, salt, etc., challenging the monopoly of the foreign players where advertisements played a significant role in the conversion. The hostile attitude toward the foreign market became the cause of the rejection of non-Indian ownership as well as multi-national corporations. Later on, in 1999, the Indian government enthusiastically welcomed foreign investors to the massive and diverse Indian market. This attracted more foreign marketers to explore Indian buyers (O'Barr, 2008). The opinion differs among the researchers on the impact on a nation caused by advertisements from multinational corporations. Some research indicates the possibility of suppressing the native culture and traditional beliefs are being hampered because foreign products and services are being advertised to the audience. Even though there are opinions against the compassionate attitudes showered by the governments toward foreign investors, in India, MNCs are one of the giant sources of advertisements in the marketplace (Subir Sengupta, 2009). Advertisements are the creative route that leads the markets to create an impact on the target consumers and instill the presence of the brand among them. PSA s are another varieties that work with a similar intention even for international brands affecting public opinion through advertisements (Sayak Pal, 2022). The language of advertisements have always been kept simple keeping in mind the diversified characters of the consumers, however, the parataxis, imperatives, disjunction, and spoken languages are also used to improve the level of persuasion through advertisements. Sometimes, the cultural impact is deeply rooted in advertisements and gets reflected through the text used in the advertisement. In those scenarios, transcreation is the International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, Vol 4, no 2, pp 370-377, February 2023 371 only viable option to replicate the brand‟s message for another culture. The most prominent benefit of transcreation is that it allows retaining the originality of the message while transferring the soul of the advertisement to another language (Benetello, 2017). 1.1. Audio-visual advertisement The known history of advertising has two different sections, one that we know of and another that is being existing through the ages since the inception of human history (Presbrey, 2000). Audio-visual as well as broadcasting sectors have found their grip in modern civilization, especially in the urban areas, and have also been added as a tool in the regional development plans. Many early examples were found in the 1980s, across the cities of Britain where various such techniques were implied. One of the most challenging parts of audio-visual advertisements is the keep the consumers engaged throughout the commercial. Audio-visual sensory cues can prompt enhanced internal brand processing, producing greater active attention and better brand memory preservation. This has consequences for the motivated mediated message processing limited capacity model as well as for marketers regarding the kind of content that is suggested to accompany an audio-visual or visual sensory cue in advertisements (Jean-Claude Burgelman, 1992). Brands require to fulfil their goals like being connected with the brand name, which is related to consumption, for which advertisers need to get the attention of the target customer through appropriate advertisements. Marketers can use three key sensory clues in video advertising to determine the name. Visual sensory cues draw in the consumer's gaze by visually displaying the brand's name, logo, packaging, or other distinguishing elements that are specifically connected with it (Romaniuk, 2018; for example, Ronald McDonald for the fast-food chain McDonald's). When the brand is mentioned in the audio track of the commercial (e.g., spoken brand name or tagline, distinctive noises, or jingle), auditory sensory cues draw the consumer's attention. However, audio-only sensory cues are probably rare in video advertising, and marketers are more likely to combine audio-visual sensory signals. When a brand is shown alongside the sounds that go along with it, audio-visual sensory indicators for brand image give users an experience for their eyes and ears (Romaniuk, 2009). In an attempt to adjust to the new sociological perspective in the market, advertising strategies have undergone constant change throughout the past century. The field of neurobiology can serve as an alternative to or a supplement to traditional research methods by enabling the investigation of unconscious or hard-to-express motivations that underlie purchasing decisions (Giovanni Vecchiato, 2014; Mu Wu, 2016). The raw ingredient for the audio-visual industry in that environment is emotion (Verónica Crespo-Pereira, 2019). Contemporary reality shows that the primary methods for developing effective advertising messages and transmitting those feelings to companies rely on the routine usage of emotions (Feng Shen, 2016). 1.2. Cultural adoption through audio-visual advertisement Cross-cultural studies are unusual because of the challenges they present, but they are also extremely valuable for society, making them globally acceptable and applicable (Macnamara, 2004). Cross-cultural advertising research is a branch of advertising research that examines the issues or contents related to advertisements across multiple cultures (Saeed Samiee, 1994). A country is a viable unit of analysis for advertising when the goal of the research is to establish national rather than cultural perspectives on a problem. In fact, the majority of empirical studies base their findings on a nation rather than a culture. As a result, a researcher can use a nation or a country as the subject of their study, concentrating on examining how advertising fits into "national culture" and taking into account that advertising is a national or cultural phenomenon operating within the constraints of the national media landscape. Finding value orientations in advertising is important followed by the attempt to compare them to the prevalent inclination towards the culture in which they occur is a popular strategy. Examples of such studies include those that have focused on determining the degree to which ideals like individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, or materialism are reflected in samples of commercials or print advertisements. Their objective is to provide cultural insights to marketers who want to market goods in various cultural contexts (Gary L Clark, 1990;Saeed Samiee, 1994). 2. Research Methodology The research applied qualitative techniques to establish the objectives and collected both primary and secondary data in support of the same. Four food and beverage brands and one eCommerce site (that delivers the food items along with other varieties of products) were taken as the sample cases. All five brands are international with a strong presence in the Indian market. The selective advertisement campaigns were chosen from dual cultural perspectives. One from the country where the brand originated or is closely associated and another from the Indian perspective. Each one of the advertisements was chosen with a cultural portrayal that differentiates the international advertisement from the Indian advertisement from a cultural perspective. The study adopted the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) as the second method to understand the perception of the views on the selective advertisement prominently. Two FGDs were conducted carrying five and four participants respectively. The participants were exposed to all ten selected advertisements and asked a set of structured and open-ended questions with the intention to find out their understanding of culture, the portrayal of culture in advertisements (the selected advertisement that has been screened), the portrayal of Indian and foreign culture through the respective ads, and the difference in cultural portrayal through advertisements. The responses were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for the study. 2.1 Research objectives R1. To identify the cultural portrayals depicted through foreign and Indian advertisements. International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, Vol 4, no 2, pp 370-377, February 2023 372 R2. To find out the viewer‟s perspective of cultural adoption through foreign and Indian advertisements. R3. To understand the cultural portrayals through Indian advertisements and viewers‟ perception of cultural depictions of Indian advertisements. R4. To find out whether foreign advertisements from the same brand are appropriate counterparts of Indian advertisements while depicting individual cultural trials. 3. Data Analysis 3.1. Coca Cola, Atlanta, Georgia, United States Coca-Cola, an American multinational corporation founded in1892 by John Pemberton, is popularly known for its leading beverage product Coca-Cola. It is currently the largest business in the world and the leading manufacturer of soft drinks. People throughout the world consume Coca-Cola, as a carbonated beverage. The brand Coca-Cola is one of the world's most popular soft drinks because of its unique marketing approach. The best-known product in the entire globe and the most widely consumed and best-selling soft drink in history is Coca-Cola. International Advertisement: In 2016, the company created a theme-based advertisement with a boy watching a man struggle to hang Christmas lights on the family's lawn Christmas tree on a chilly morning. The boy then left a bottle for his preoccupied father and headed outside with a trolley full of Coca-Cola bottles. Later on, the boy was dropping a Coca-Cola bottle on the window of a woman who is seen preparing Christmas dinner for her family. The streets are adorned with decorations for Christmas as the boy enters a store. A young woman was working as a cashier at the bustling business. The boy left a bottle of coke on the counter for the diligent woman after casting a glance at her through the door. The boy beams as he watched the woman taking a sip of coke. Back at his home Santa then drops a red bag on the ground and he finds a coke set out for him with a note that reads, "for Santa." He grins and winks at his reindeer as he takes a sip of the coke as a treat. Indian Advertisement: Another ad on Coca-Cola came in 2018, depicting a story of a guy who is living far away from his hometown, in a rented house. It‟s the occasion of Diwali and he is talking to his mother over the phone about how the people in that place don‟t celebrate the festival with the same vigor. The daughter of the landlord overhears this and takes off to buy decorative essentials like rangoli for the occasion. The elderly hosts are making dessert, and the older man seemed to be unsure about what chiroji is. When the guy gets home from work, a lovely rangoli that says "subhdipawali," which translates to "happy Diwali," is waiting for him. The landowner‟s family inquires if he feels at home with the now overwhelmingly elated man. He expresses his incapability of fathoming about what he can do to thank them. The woman replies by pointing at the coke bottle in his hand. The family enjoys Coca-Cola together while celebrating Diwali. 3.2. Amazon, Seattle, Washington, United States Amazon .com Inc. is an American multinational technology company pioneering e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world" and is one of the world's most valuable brands. It is one of the Big Five American information technology companies, alongside Alphabet, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft. International Advertisement: Amazon has earned a reputation as a disruptor of well-established industries through technological innovation and "aggressive" reinvestment of profits into capital expenditures. As of 2021, it is the world's largest online retailer and marketplace, smart speaker provider, cloud computing service through AWS, live-streaming service through Twitch, and Internet Company as measured by revenue and market share. In 2021, it surpassed Walmart as the world's largest retailer outside of China, driven in large part by its paid subscription plan, Amazon Prime, which has over 200 million subscribers worldwide. It is the second-largest private employer in the United States. The ad came late in 2021 when a black girl was taking her way in a big city and started to live in an apartment beside another black elderly woman. The news city and its culture were slowly taking a toll on the girl and triggering discomfort within her. The girl tries to blend in with her classmates, as well as get used to her new college. She is expecting a test the coming Friday when the pandemic also caused an extra amount of stress. On the other side, the elderly woman, who was keeping an eye on the girl became anxious and they met at the park where the elderly woman was feeding the birds while the young one was watching her with kept eyes. This gave the elderly woman an idea and she reached out to Amazon to fetch a fitting gift for her neighbour. One morning the young woman received a bird feeder from Amazon and became delighted with the company of the birds that frequented her. She understood the generosity and thanked the elderly women for the warmth. Indian Advertisement: Amazon‟s Great Indian Festival is yet another occasion where they implore people to buy for themselves and for their dear family, friends, and colleagues. The ad shows families where everyone is showered with gifts for the festival Ramesh got himself a big-screen television, Pammiji bought the latest fashions for each one of her family members, and Chanchal bought her new phone for a great deal. In their society, everyone wants to know, from where did they buy these products? And they got the answer that they bought these products from Amazon. 3.3. Cadbury, Birmingham, United Kingdom Cadbury was founded in Birmingham, United Kingdom, in 1824, by John Cadbury and is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars. Cadbury is internationally headquartered in Buckinghamshire and operates in more than 50 countries worldwide. It is known for its Dairy Milk Chocolate and Dairy Milk Silk, Bournville, International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, Vol 4, no 2, pp 370-377, February 2023 373 Perk, Éclairs, Bournvita, Celebrations, Gems, Oreo, and many other confectionery products. It is also one of the best-known British brands across the world. International Advertisement: In 2021, Cadbury decided to create an advertisement that would not only put forward the spirit of Christmas but also bring in the essence of a charming way of celebrating Christmas. The ad shows several instances where kids and adults alike are keeping chocolate boxes for their dear ones under a „santaclaus‟ mask to bring happiness as a surprise. The 40-second ad ends with a note that says “give chocolate secretly to someone you love”. Indian Advertisement: In India, „Diwali‟ is considered one of the biggest festivals. Dairy Milk came up with an innovative concept through their campaign in 2022 during Diwali entitled “SHOPS FOR SHOPLESS” with a motive to “Support the hawkers near you” who bring helping society to keep alive the essence of Diwali but often lose business due to the lack of a permanent shop. The ad begins with a doctor in search of a street vendor, Damodar, who sells diyas. On finally locating his local hawker after looking for two days, on being spotted and enquired about his whereabouts, the hawker emphasizes his volatility of his in a rather spirited manner, which the doctor already understands, and finds a way to resolve his favorite hawker this Diwali. He makes the kind and simple gesture of gifting him Cadbury Celebrations and guiding him through the process of using the QR code on the pack to set up the hawker‟s very own virtual shop, leaving the hawker and his son emotion bound and thanking him for the guidance. 3.4. McDonald’s, Chicago, Illinois, United States McDonald‟s is a leading American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940. The chain of restaurants was launched and operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald from San Bernardino, California, United States. The brand has spread over 38,000 locations across 100 nations making it one of the most popular food junctions. International Advertisement: The brand created and circulated this Christmas special ad in 2022 winter with the tagline #reindeerready. The ad starts with a young boy looking down from the balcony watching another kid learning to ride a bicycle. The mother told his boy to make a list of the Christmas presents that he fancies. The young boy kept on adding page after page writing down his wishes for Christmas. The Boy also went ahead and carried the list with him everywhere he goes. Once the boy reached a public opening, he was struggling to keep the list in his possession because of the wind. Eventually, the list flew away and he tried to catch it but failed. The boy became sad, and to cheer him us, his parents took him to the nearest McDonald‟s for a pack of a „Happy Meal‟. The boy got cheered up and went on to spend a lovely evening with his parents. When his mother asked him about his list, the boy produced the last piece of paper from the list that had a picture of the boy with his family. Indian Advertisement: The brand created and circulated this wonderful advertisement in 2022, especially for the Indian market, with the tagline “Festivals make families, Meals make families”. In this ad, a boy is making a video of his family, trying to capture the moments of festival celebration, such as a woman opening the front door to welcome her extended family, a man trying to hang the decoration from the wall and asking the boy to help him, kids are playing, elders and adults are having fun by dancing. By the end of the video, the camera pans to the dining table where the food from McDonald‟s was laid out and the guy comes in from of the camera to take a selfie with his family and extended family. 3.5. KFC, Louisville, Kentucky, United States Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is an American fast-food restaurant that is specialized in fried chicken. It was founded in 1952 in North Corbin, Kentucky, United States, and later on headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. After McDonald‟s, KFC is the largest restaurant chain in the world. International Advertisement: In 2014, KFC introduced a beautiful campaign "THE BOY WHO LEARNT SHARE". This ad features a young boy who hates to share things with anyone, be it a piece of toy, gift, or food. For instance, He refused to share the umbrella while coming back home with his mother on a rainy evening, wrote his name on the gift cards that are kept for others, and also refused to part with the prop during a school play. He also behaved the same way during Christmas, not sharing the tree decorations with his little sister and sitting holding the entire bucket full of KFC chicken. He soon realized the joy of sharing and started sharing things with others from then on. Indian Advertisement: KFC India came up with a campaign before the Durga puja in 2022. The short commercial of 25 seconds depicts a get-together of friends during the Durga puja. The group is celebrating the festival with music and food when one of them, sitting beside a window started appreciating the pandal and others agreed. The friend who was appreciating the pandal suddenly turned and found out that his friends are enjoying the KFC chicken and appreciating the food rather than the pandal. International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, Vol 4, no 2, pp 370-377, February 2023 Table 1. Questions and responses from the focused group discussions, Group 1 and 2 (controlled) Questions Pre What do understand culture? you by Post How does the culture that has been portrayed through these ads that you have seen differ? Could you identify the ways Indian culture that has been portrayed through the ads? FGD (Keywords with no. of frequencies) – Group 1 FGD (Keywords with no. of frequencies) – Group 2 Practice, set of belief (6), morals, geographical factors, norms, values, arts (2), tradition, everything, people follows (2), passed on for generation (4), whole culture (2), reflects the community, religious influence, ritual, way of expressing, celebrations, Action (2), specific community, part of a society, blinds us together Religion is an umbrella below that you see culture definitely, cultures can be similar in two religions but it's not very similar, western countries, follow Christianity and the culture is very similar, we also see a very major change in culture from the northern part of India to the southern. India portrays unity in diversity, in the western country, Christianity is more popular than other religions, in India Hinduism is prominent, diversity in our own country. India does not have a proper like one culture, Indians don‟t follow any particular culture, Indians celebrate every festival, western follows one culture and festival, the cultural aspect is well portrayed in the ads. Displayed Indian culture, showcasing preparation for Christmas, international ads sympathizing but not showing the unity of culture, Indian ads are different from South India and North India. Christmas is a joyous celebration, Coca-Cola adds to the Joy, In India it binds different cultures, in west it just adds up to the joy. Yes, I do feel related, experienced different cultures, but again, we Indians, we respect diversity. I could not relate to the festival, but to the essence, I could relate. I can relate to the ad, I might not directly but I can understand the belongingness. I can't relate to this I can‟t relate to the ad Indian outlook has more dramatic perspective, based upon very subtle activities. Depicted the house cares or house fullness in the festivities, foreign ads were very much monotonous and quite black and white as compared to the Indian ads which were quite colorful and very much progressive. Indians value families, tradition and everything in festivals celebrated, foreign ad was intrapersonal and shows the child asking for gifts from Santa. Ads showed both cultures Indian and foreign, Clearly depicting how joint families and nuclear families are different from each other and how the ceremonies are the occasions are different from one culture to another. Do you think the foreign ads are counterpart of the Indian ad (with reference to the ads that you have seen as a part of this study)? They're trying to connect emotionally, yes, they were somewhere or the other successfully representing Indian culture. The brand portrayed a particular culture, which was very efficient, they could not cover the whole India. It's so difficult to represent every aspect and every cultural, more or less it could be successful. I don't think the ad was able to represent our culture. I do not think the foreign add is a counterpart of Indian ad. how do you think the representation of culture is different from Indian and to Foreign ads are trying to portray a culture which is followed by every person, while India celebrates many different festivals and culture indifferent parts. It is under represented, India is more diverse and in Could not find the relation between the Indian culture and the ad that was portraying the Indian culture, Indian culture is based upon the realities of life and its practical nature. It wasn't that much realistic, foreign ads were much more realistic and representative. I could identify somehow through the Indian culture and ads, some parts of me still think that wish I could gather with my family and have fun. We still find some families or even my family, when we gather together to celebrate things. In no way, I could find foreign ads to be a counterpart to Indian ads, Indian culture is based upon the Vedic culture, truth-based culture, and foreign culture is based upon the Greek theory of consumption. I think that foreign ad was like acted as a counterpart to the Indian ads. Foreign ads are a counterpart of the Indian ad, Foreign ads did portray emotions but Indian ads didn't show the ups and downs that come with the family gathering. I also agree that the foreign ad was a counterpart of the Indian ad, happiness is only portrayed in the Indian ad, but the sorrow or the emotion that was being portrayed in the foreign ad. Western culture is based upon three pillars, that is consumption, satisfaction and motivation, Foreign ads try to instil qualities among their people by advertisement. But in the Indian ad they were trying to 374 International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, Vol 4, no 2, pp 370-377, February 2023 foreign ad? Western countries. it was represented well, Western culture since they do not have that much diverged background, culture or ethnic groups. There wasn't a huge difference in the ads. Only a certain amount of population can relate to this ad, it's easier for The Westerns to relate to that one ad but It's not easy for the whole Indian community. 375 portray what was previously present in the culture, Indian ads did not want to instill any form of new qualities or better qualities that would make the person a better human being. A new saree or new jewelry, bringing gifts, and decorating houses with flowers are the representation of any kind of festivities, for the foreign ad, wearing winter clothes, and Christmas arrangements generally represent Christmas. Foreign ad is more of a nuclear family and in their culture while in an Indian ad, we can see that everyone was together. In Indian ads, the presentation of culture is different, for foreign ads it's not always about finding own happiness in others‟ happiness. The focus group discussion was arranged to find out the perspective of the participants who were exposed to the selected advertisements. The first question was asked about their understanding of culture‟ before showing the commercials. From group one, „belief‟ had the greatest frequencies followed by „passed on for generation‟, and from group two, „action‟ had the highest frequencies. The participants in both the focused groups were then exposed to the commercials and asked four questions. The participants were asked to identify the differences they find in the ads and both the focused group finds that there are identifiable differences between the Indian ads and foreign ads. Many even pointed out the prominent differences like, such as foreign ads are mostly based on Christmas while Indian ads show diverse cultural outposts, and foreign ads are more monotonous than Indian counterparts. Next, they were asked if they could identify the ways Indian advertisements managed to portray Indian culture. For group one, two out of five participants could relate to the Indian ads depicting Indian culture whereas the rest of them could not. For group two, half of the total participants went on in favor of the ads being managed to pull out the cultural portrayal through illustration, while two of them could not find out the relationship between the depiction and actual Indian culture. They have been also asked if they consider the Indian ads are the counterpart of the Foreign ads from the same brand in terms of adapting the cultural difference. The majority of the participants from group one express their disagreement on Indian ads being the counterpart of the foreign ads while one of them actually thinks that the representation fits well. Surprisingly, barring one who expresses discomfort in agreeing on the fact that the Indian ads are counterparts of the foreign creation, the rest of the participants are agreeing on the issue and vouch for their choice. Lastly, they were asked if they find cultural differences in the representation of ads between the Indian and foreign versions. Most of the participants from both groups could find the differences in the portrayals between Indian ads and foreign ads. They even identified the differences like „homogeneity in foreign ads and diversification in Indian ads‟, „Indian ads lacking human values‟, „differences in celebrations‟, „family status‟, etc. 4. Discussion and conclusion Table 2. International and Indian advertisements on selected brands (Source: Youtube.com) Brand and Origin Coca Cola, Atlanta, Georgia, United States Amazon, Seattle, Washington, United States Cadbury, Birmingham, United Kingdom McDonald‟s, Chicago, Illinois, United States KFC, Louisville, Kentucky, United States International Ad A Coke for Christmas Cultural depiction Christmas, the joy of sharing, Indian Ad Share A Diwali! Kindness, the greatest gift Kindness, gifting Amazon Great Indian Festival Festival, gifting, Cadbury Secret Santa Christmas, gifting, Diwali, helping , gifting The list Christmas, Family Support the hawkers near you Festivals make families | Meals Make Families The Boy Who Learnt to Share Christmas, Sharing Let's KFC Durga Togetherness Wish, Coke this Cultural depiction Diwali, celebration, togetherness Festival, Togetherness puja, The ads on Coka Cola from an international and Indian perspective have a common ground of celebration. Both the international and Indian ads were taken from the perspective that resonates with the respective cultural outbursts. The international ad depicts the celebration of Christmas and the joy of sharing with the community through Coka Cola while the Indian ad emphasizes the celebration and togetherness with Coka Cola. Amazon is an ecommerce company that delivers a range of products to the customers like electronics, electronics, groceries, foods, beverages, and many more. Both International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, Vol 4, no 2, pp 370-377, February 2023 376 the international and Indian ads on Amazon depict their cultures like Christmas and Diwali respectively and both of them are relating the concept of gifting to their ads, however, the international ad was more inclined towards another essential property, kindness as an integral part of Christmas celebration, heather the Indian ad was more inclined towards the celebration of the festival. Cadbury Secret Santa was another adorable campaign that is also related to the celebration of Christmas where people send gifts to loved ones. Although the ad does not prominently show the day of Christmas or the celebration the presence of decorations, Christmas, and the song depict the spirit of Christmas with a message at the end „give chocolate secretly to someone you love‟. For the Indian counterpart, the ad again focused on Diwali and its rituals of it. The one-minute ad illustrates the conversation between a customer and a street vendor when the customer plays a different role and offer unusual support to the vendor by showing the e-shop that would help them in selling their product online with a packet of Cadbury celebration. The song in the background also aligns with the spirit of the theme fulfilling the purpose of the festival. The McDonald‟s international ad again revolves around the celebration of Christmas and its spirit, the commercial highly emphasizes family bonding and the time a kid needs to spend with the parents to nurture the imagination and also the emotional support required for cognitive development. This ad is a little different from the previous Christmas-themed ads that are discussed as it focuses on the happiness and bonding within a family. The Indian ad from McDonald‟s shows a celebration for a festival, however, the exact festival is not highlighted in the commercial. The depiction of rituals, customs, decoration, and other essentials are indicating one thing on which the ad is based, and also comes as a message at the end of the commercial „festival makes families‟. The togetherness that bounds families with each other through festivals is the agenda of the Indian ad from McDonald‟s. KFC came up with a campaign for the UK named “the boy who learnt to share‟ which is based on the presence of Christmas. The kid (boy) who doesn‟t want to share things with anyone, even with his family learns the happiness in sharing during one Christmas. The song in the background also plays on the spirit “when you give some, you get some in return” of the advertisement. The ad tries to highlight the essence of Christmas „a festival to share happiness‟. The Indian Advertisement from KFC is a straightforward approach to cultural adoption through advertisement. Although, the 25 seconds ad doesn‟t specify the name of the festival the ambiance, pandal, clothing style, and music indicate the biggest festival of West Bengal, Durga Puja. Similar to other Indian commercials that have been chosen for this study, this one also illuminates togetherness, bonding, friendship, and celebration. The perception of the participants (FGD 1 & 2) on their understanding of culture is highlighting three major keywords „belief‟, „passed on for generation‟, and „action‟ that represents culture. The advertisers who are creating ads for the same brand keeping cultural aspects in the center should include these aspects while depicting culture. All the participants from both the focused group could identify the differences between the ads of foreign and Indian origin, while some even went on to explain the overall and minute differences in cultural portrayals through ads. The collaborative outcome from both groups is slightly heavier towards the non-acceptance among the people when it comes to accepting Indian ads depicting Indian culture rightfully. The details analysis of the comments reveals factors like „The depiction is less realistic‟, „less practical‟, „missing essence‟ etc., and incorporating these could finally mend the gap between the expectation from the audience and portrayals of the message through advertisement. The acceptance among the viewers of the Indian ads being the counterpart of the foreign ads are almost similar to the disagreement, therefore the advertisers should be more careful while selecting the campaigns and reproduce them with a new cultural aspect for a different set of viewers. Although the differences in cultural representation between Indian and foreign ads are mostly identified, advertisers should also be careful about the strings of values they are choosing to portray through their advertisements. 5. Reference Benetello, C. (2017). Transcreation as the creation of a new original. Exploring Creativity in Translation Across Cultures, 237-247. doi:10.4399/978882550960117 Feng Shen, J. D. (2016). 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