Does patriotism work in persuasion across countries? Consumer response to ads with a patriotic theme in South Korea and the US

Abstract

This study aims to explore how consumers' chronic and momentarily activated national identity affect their responses to patriotism-themed ads across countries. Specifically, this study examines (1) how consumer response to patriotism-themed ads varies across cultures in terms of chronic level of national identification; (2) how the activation of national identity influences consumer response to patriotism-themed ads and how this influence varies across cultures. Findings from this study suggest that consumers' cultural orientations influenced their responses to patriotism-themed ads. And, this influence was mediated by the chronic level of national identification. Specifically, Koreans (collectivistic) were likely to respond to patriotism-themed ads more favorably than were Americans (individualistic) due to their higher level of national identification. Results from this study further showed that, when national identity was made salient through an identity prime, consumers' evaluation of the patriotism-themed ads were increased significantly, regardless of their cultural backgrounds. However, such an effect of national identity activation was found to be significantly stronger among Koreans than among Americans.