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ABSTRACT
The challenge of cross-cultural communication is to overcome the differences between cultures in order to deliver messages to people from different backgrounds, without occurring in misunderstandings and disrespectful behaviour. As a basic human need, we all feel the need to share thoughts, ideas, to exchange stories and knowledge with other people (Dam, 2017). No matter which part of the world they come from, humans have found universal means of communication such as art, music, body movement, facial expression, gesture, and, last but not least, language. However, these means are indeed used in different ways from one culture to another. As a matter of fact, communication is culturally influenced: it reflects our own history, beliefs, and values. For instance, language is a powerful cultural tool of communication shared by humankind yet “each country use their language and speech in a different way” (Lewis, 2006). A study conducted by N. Evans and D. P. Wilkins (2000) has shown that in Australian Aboriginal cultures direct eye-contact is considered to be aggressive because the habit of communication is to sit side by side when communicating. On the other hand, in a western culture it is more likely to have a face-to-face interaction. Acknowledging that the cultural aspect is challenging in everyday life communication, it is important to realise its crucial role in public relations, diplomacy, marketing, and public communication at large (Goman, 2011). Explanatory is HBSC “Eels Ad”. During a Chinese business dinner, the English guest is the only one to clear his plate. A voiceover explains the reason is to not be impolite however, “the Chinese feel you are questioning their generosity if you” finish your plate. Consequently, they keep bringing him food. In the end the voiceover stresses the importance of “local Knowledge” in order to avoid awkward situations.
This work will explore and highlight the importance of the cross- cultural approach through the analysis of two advertising campaigns: McDonald’s Singapore Ramadan’s advertisement (McDSG, 2018) and De Beer’s Trilogy Diamond Ring marketing strategy. The analysis of the McDonald’s campaign will investigate the company’s approach to cross-cultural marketing by targeting an audience, the Muslim community in Singapore, during a time of the year very sacred to them: the holy month of Ramadan. The second analysis will compare two different marketing campaigns run by the same brand, De Beers, for the same product, Trilogy Diamond, in two different countries: the USA and Japan (Friedman, 2015). This opposition will help the disclosure of cultural differences and how these will successfully affect a marketing campaign. The final aim of this work is to elucidate, through the analysis of these campaigns, the importance of overcoming and understanding gaps between cultures in order to create succeed in cross-cultural communication. This research will adopt Aristotle’s rhetoric, “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion” (Dorati, 1996) and Hofstede’s multicultural theory. After a brief excursus through the two theories, I will extrapolate from the campaigns the three persuasive skills the Greek philosopher identifies as the most appealing to the audience: logos, pathos and ethos (Rapp, 2010) and I will explore to what extent Aristotle rhetoric can be tailored to different cultures. Hofstede’s approach, on the other hand, will display the importance of multiculturalism in public communication. As a matter of fact, according to the Dutch anthropologist, the cross- cultural communication faculty on first place comes from the awareness that everybody has their own mental software, and, on
Reference list
Dam, R. F., 2017, Social Evolution and Why We Need to Communicate, viewed 18 April 2020, https//www.interaction-design.org/literure/article/social-evolution-and- why-we-need-to-communicate Dori, M., 1996 , Aristotele Retorica. Milano Mondadori Evans, N. & Wilkins, D. P., 2000, In the Mind's Ear The Semantic Extensions of Perception Verbs in Australian Languages, viewed April 2020, https//www.researchge.net/publicion/271784067_In_the_Mind's_Ear_The _Semantic_Extensions_of_Perception_Verbs_in_Australian_Languages Friedman, U., 2015, How an Ad Campaign Invented the Diamond Engagement Ring, viewed 12 April 2020, https//www.thelantic.com/internional/archive/2015/02/how-an-ad- campaign-invented-the-diamond-engagement-ring/385376/ Goman, C. K., 2011, How Culture Controls Communication, viewed 17 April 2020, https//www.forbes.com/sites/carolkinseygoman/2011/11/28/how- culture-controls-communicion/#36319d6d263b Hofstede, G., 1991 , Cultures and Organizations Software of the Mind , New York McGraw-Hill Lewis, R. D., 2006, When Cultures Collide Leading Across Cultures , Boston Hachette Book Group. McDSG, 2018, McDonald's Ramadan, viewed 12 April 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4twTZru9Go&t=4s Rapp, C., 2010, Aristotle's Rethoric, viewed 17 April 2020, https//plo.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-rhetoric/#
