Thesis
A comparison of visual and verbal content of print cosmetic advertising between the US and China
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
2008
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/101689
Abstract
This study was intended to discover and understand the differences in cosmetic advertisements in print media between the U.S. and China. The study content analyzed a total of 378 cosmetic advertisements that appeared in three international fashion magazines published between 2003 and 2007. Each advertisement was coded for focal object, verbal content, visual, the racial background of the character, and so forth. This study employed Resnik and Stern's informational classification system and Moriarty's visual typology to analyze the information and visual contents. The study found that the U.S. and the Chinese advertisements differed in the use of verbal content and visual. The cosmetic ads in the Chinese magazines contained more information cues than the ads in the U.S.. For skin care products, the ads in the Chinese magazines relied more heavily on symbolic visuals while the U.S. ads heavily utilized literal visuals. In addition, although the majority of the cosmetic advertisements from both countries used symbolic visuals as the focal object, the U.S. cosmetic ads used literal visuals significantly more frequently than the Chinese ads. When examining the ads run by international/global brands only, the U.S. and China differed in the use of focal object. The Chinese international ads used more symbolic visuals while the U.S. international ads relied more heavily on literal visuals as focal objects. In addition, the global ads in the Chinese magazines contained significantly more information cues both in the headlines and in the entire copies and significantly more visuals, both literal and symbolic, than the U.S. counterparts.
Metrics
27 File views/ downloads
85 Record Views
Details
- Title
- A comparison of visual and verbal content of print cosmetic advertising between the US and China
- Creators
- Zhenzhen Wang
- Contributors
- Mija Shin (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Edward R. Murrow College of Communication
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; Pullman, Wash. :
- Identifiers
- 99900525049601842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis