Behind the smile: Reading cultural values in Thai advertising

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate how Thai national cultural values are expressed in advertising messages and contexts. Three research questions guided the study: Are the Komin's nine value clusters expressed in the main message strategies and contexts of Thai commercials?; if they are expressed, how are these values presented in Thai commercials?; and, what relationship, if any, exists between message strategies and product categories? Thai commercials are selected to be the sample for the current study. This study used document analysis utilizing an interpretive approach in order to gain better insight into another level of the documents' meanings. Two hundred and twenty-five commercials were selected from six main commercial broadcast channels that were taped from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on six different weekdays in November 2000. The results of this study indicated that Komin's values of ego, fun and pleasure, achievement and smooth interpersonal relationships were the dominant cultural values used in Thai commercials. Each value used in Thai commercials' message strategies and contextual elements reflects both individualistic and collectivistic sides. Additionally, two other values, taking care of family and saving money, which did not appear in Komin's value list were also very present in Thai advertising. In terms of the relationships of product categories to Komin's values, the findings revealed that the ego value was most often used for beauty and personal care while fun and pleasure value was most often used for food and beverage products. Results of this study suggested that applying Komin's value list alone, without concerning other factors such as western values, economic situations, or social phenomenon influencing the Thai society, might not be enough to measure all values that could exist in Thai advertising.