Identity, Gender, Uncertainty and Long/Short-term Orientation in British and Spanish TV Adverts at the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This article discusses the differences found in some British and Spanish television advertisements issued at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and more specifically during the months of March and April 2020, i.e., during the first weeks of confinement. Forty advertisements issued in Great Britain and Spain were analysed, identifying expressions referring to the cultural dimensions of identity, gender, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation. The last dimension is not usually included in intercultural communication analysis, so its inclusion here adds value to this study. This qualitative and quantitative analysis shows that although there are traditionally large differences in advertising in these two countries, due to their also different cultural values, at a time of a global pandemic, values and preferences are very similar, and the same expressions are repeatedly used in the advertisements of both cultural groups. In particular, advertisements aimed at the British audience appealed to feminine and tribal-collectivist cultural values, although adverts for this cultural group typically exhibit traits of masculinity and individualism. Thus, this article demonstrates the importance of context when analysing the speakers' discourse, to the point that a cultural group can highlight cultural values with which it is not traditionally associated. As can be seen in this paper, the similarities found in the communicative styles of these two groups outweigh the differences, when traditionally it should not have been the case.