From 2020... Some advertisements work well across many cultures, others do not

From 2020... The evolution-similarity matrix: an evolutionary psychology perspective on cross-cultural advertising. Lachezar Ivanov ORCID , Jordan Buck , Rory Sutherland. Innovative Marketing Volume 16 2020, Issue #2, pp. 159-167, July 3, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/im.16(2).2020.12

Abstract: The standardization/adaptation debate in cross-cultural advertising is a topic on which little consensus prevails and which remains heavily discussed. Using evolutionary psychology, this paper presents a typology of advertising cues and explains their cross-cultural relevance and transportability. The paper highlights three distinct categories – human universals (evolved similarities), local adaptations (evolved differences), and local socialization (differences not due to evolution). The paper contributes to advertising theory by providing a meta-framework for the study of cross-cultural similarities and differences in the processing of advertising cues. It further assists advertising practice by delivering a framework aiding in cross-cultural advertising copy decisions. By raising the questions that the paper poses to develop the proposed typology categories, advertisers can identify which advertising cues are malleable by advertising and which are based on innate human preferences and are relatively stable. With that knowledge in hand, advertisers can decide when and to what extent to use a standardization approach versus an adaptation approach.

Keywords: ad appeals, adaptation, cross-cultural, evolutionary psychology, evolved differences, evolved similarities, international, standardization