文化维度理论视角下中美公益广告对比分析_英语论文

A Contrastive Analysis of Public Service Advertisement Between China and America from the Perspective of Cultural Dimension Theory

摘要

商业广告的目的是促销商品以获取尽可能多的利益，然而，与传统广告不同的是，公益广告作为一种广告形式，其目的是宣传传统价值观念，提高公众对社会热点问题的认知及维护正义。但是，由于社会和文化背景的不同，不同的国家有着不同的民族文化，作为本国民族文化的承载者，公益广告便自然而然地体现出了这些不同点。

本文分为三个部分，第一部分介绍了公益广告的定义及其特征，即非营利性、以人为本和公共服务性。第二部分主要介绍霍夫斯泰德的文化维度理论的起源及其五个文化维度，即个人主义、权力距离、不确定性规避、长期性指数和男性化特性。第三部分从上述五个维度出发，通过具体的公益广告对中美公益广告的差异进行对比分析，发现中国的公益广告重视遵从与和谐而美国的公益广告坚持“个人意识”；前者相对保守而后者热衷于改变和创新；前者高度赞扬权威性而后者强调权威与平等并重；前者强调孝道而后者更关心年轻一代；前者强调男性在家庭中的突出地位而后者强调男女平等。最后，作者希望本文有助于提高国内公益广告的质量，更好地发挥公益广告在文化交流中的作用。

关键词：公益广告；文化差异；文化维度理论； 

Abstract

Unlike the commercial advertisement whose main purpose is to promote the sale of goods so as to make profits as much as possible, public service advertisement, instead, as a sort of advertisement, aims to publicize traditional values and raises public awareness of heated social issues and upholds justice. Due to the different social and cultural backgrounds, different countries have different national cultures which are naturally embodied in their public service advertisements, since public service advertisement is believed to bear national cultures respectively. 

This thesis is divided into three parts. The first part introduces the definition of public service advertisement and its unique features of being non-profit, human-centered and public-served. The second part mainly defines the five dimensions of Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension Theory, namely, individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity and long-term orientation. The third part takes specific advertisements for example to illustrate the differences between Chinese and American public service advertisement from the perspective of the above-mentioned five dimensions. It is found that Chinese public service advertisement emphasizes conformity and harmony while American one insists on “I-conscious”; relative conservation v.s. preference to changes and innovations; approbation of authorities v.s. equal importance attached to equality and authorities; filial piety v.s. concern for youth generation; overemphasis on men’s roles in a family v.s. stress on gender equality. It is expected that this thesis can improve the quality of public service advertisement in China and make it work more efficiently in serving for inter-cultural communication.

Key words: public service advertisement; cultural differences; Cultural Dimension Theory;