That just isn't for me! Foreign and home style food advertising from culturally close countries through the eyes of the consumers.

In recent years, a considerable body of knowledge has addressed the issue of whether or not advertising can be standardised across cultures. However, most of the studies have focused on culturally very different countries, and few studies have addressed the issue of how consumers react towards advertising which uses “foreign” appeals. In this exploratory study, focus groups in three culturally close countries are shown television advertisements for food products selected on the basis of containing appeals typically used in the country (home-style) or in another country (foreign-style). The participants were then asked to make purchase decisions based on the adverts they saw. The results show that participants have a significant preference for home-style commercials, and therefore that advertising practitioners may need to exercise caution even when considering to adapt or standardise advertisements in culturally close countries.