A Multi-Country Examination of Hard-Sell and Soft-Sell Advertising: Comparing Global Consumer Positioning in Holistic- and Analytic-Thinking Cultures

Prior research has revealed that advertisements utilizing a global consumer culture positioning (GCCP) strategy more often adopt soft-sell (indirect and image-based) rather than hard-sell (direct and information-based) appeals.

A Multi-Country Examination of Hard-Sell and Soft-Sell Advertising: Comparing Global Consumer Positioning in Holistic- and Analytic-Thinking Cultures

Shintaro Okazaki

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Barbara Mueller

San Diego State University

Sandra Diehl

University of Klagenfurt

Management slant

  • Global consumer culture positioning (GCCP) associates a brand with a widely understood and recognized set of symbols believed to constitute emerging global consumer cultures.
  • Different ways of thinking (holistic versus analytical) may influence how consumers process advertisements grounded in different types of appeals.
  • The specific features of the soft-sell approach—subtlety, implication, and abstractness—make it ...

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