Consumers Perceptions of the Ethics of Brand Placement in Hollywood Movies: A Cross-Cultural Study of Chinese and English Students at the

University of Nottingham.

by

Oliver Fawcett

2008

A Dissertation presented in part consideration for the degree of International Business (MSc)

Abstract

This qualitative study explores how ethical brand placement in Hollywood movies is perceived to be by consumers. This industry has grown rapidly over the last few decades. However, the ethical guidelines in place are not currently sufficient to ensure the protection of the consumer. In an age of global advertising, promotional tools that offer a global reach are very important to advertising companies. If brand placement in movies is to be an effective global promotional tool it is necessary to understand how different cultures react to it. This study compares the views of Chinese and English students at the University of Nottingham. The findings suggest there is a difference between the views of the two cultures in their acceptability of brand placement. Several propositions for future research have been identified.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 1.1 The Ethical Guidelines of the Brand Placement Industry 1.2 Brand Placement as a Global Promotional Tool 2. Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Brand Placement 2.2.1 The Definition of Brand Placement 2.2.2 The Development of Brand Placement in Hollywood Movies 2.1.3 The growth of brand placement in movies as a promotional tool 2.3 Brand Placements and Ethics 2.3.1 The Deceptive Nature of Advertising and Brand Placement 2.3.2 The Freedom of Choice 2.3.3 The Promotion of Ethically-Charged Products 2.3.4 The Consumer Effect 2.4 The Cross Cultural Element 2.4.1 The Chinese Culture 2.5 Summary 3. Methodology 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Data Collection 3.2.1 Qualitative Research 3.2.2 The Interviews 3.2.3 Individual Depth Interview

5 5 6 7 7 7 7 10 12 15 16 19 21 22 24 27 32 36 36 37 37 37 38

3.2.4 Advance Materials 3.2.5 Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) 3.2.6 Semi-structured Interview Design 3.2.7 Interview Outline 3.2.8 The Interviewer as the Research Tool 3.2.9 Sampling 3.3 Ethical Considerations 3.4 Data Analysis 4. Analysis 4.1 Ethically Charged Products 4.2 Casting Products in a False Light 4.3 The Consumer Effect 4.4 General Awareness to Brand Placements in Movies 4.5 Deception of Brand Placement 4.6 Jeopardising the Consumers Freedom of Choice 5. Conclusion, Propositions and Limitations 5.1 Conclusion 5.2 Propositions for future research: 5.3 Limitations of the Study References Appendix 1.

40 40 41 41 45 45 46 47 48 48 50 52 56 59 64 69 69 73 74 76 83

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Deborah Roberts for her guidance over the course of this dissertation. Her comments have been very useful throughout the research project.

I would also like to thank all the respondents who took part in the interviews.

Chapter 1 - Introduction

For the purpose of this dissertation brand placement has been defined as Incorporating brands into movies in return for money or for some promotional or other consideration Gould and Gupta (1997, p. 37). The full commercial impact of brand placement in Hollywood movies was realised following the placement of Peanut Butter candy Haresheys Reeses Pieces in the film E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. Sales of the candy increased by 65% within a month following the placement (Gould and Gupta 1997). Brand placements are now being used with increased frequency and are becoming increasingly important to advertisers. There are number of reasons for the growth of the brand placement industry which are explored later in the dissertation. As the industry has grown its affect on consumers has increased. As with any industry there is a need to fully understand the ethics of the industrys actions and how the consumer is affected.

1.1 The Ethical Guidelines of the Brand Placement Industry

The ethical protection of the consumer has been somewhat avoided by the law and codes of conduct and as such the ethics of brand placement is still a major issue. The US law has been said to have taken a hands off approach with respect to brand placement in Hollywood movies (Karrh 1998). The issue of ethics of brand placement has thus been predominantly left to the brand placement industry. They have established their own association called Entertainment Marketing Association (EMA) (Wenner 2004). According to a former president of the EMA, their purpose is to promote the profession and to ensure that it has a high standard of ethics (as quoted in Harrison, 1999). The EMA has developed a twelve point code of ethics which refers explicitly to business transaction between the corporate identity; issues referring to consumer protection have been left out.

As films continue to emerge that contain placements considered to be unethical there is clearly a need for research into the ethics of brand placement. It has been argued that brand placement in movies is unethical for a number of reasons. This dissertation explores these reasons and provides an insight into how they are perceived by consumers.

1.2 Brand Placement as a Global Promotional Tool

Hollywood movies allow advertisers to have an almost global reach to consumers (Karrh 1998). The movies are watched all over the world which means advertisers can have their placement seen by a vast number of cultures. Douglas and Craig (2001) emphasise the point that target audiences differ from country to country in terms of how they perceive different things. If brand placement is to be an effective global promotional tool, an understanding of how different cultures react towards it is necessary. Due to the supposedly unethical nature of brand placement, consumer perception of the ethicality of the practice is an appropriate place to start.

To date the majority of studies (Nebenzahl and Secunda 1993, Gould and Gupta 1997) have focussed on Western audiences. This dissertation provides a comparison of Chinese and English students at the University of Nottingham. This cross cultural element is necessary to assess the validity of brand placement as a global promotional tool.

Chapter 2 - Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

This literature review is composed of three sections. The first provides a general outline of what brand placement is and describes how it is used in movies. The concept of brand placement is defined and its development in Hollywood movies is described in some detail. The literature covering the growth of brand placement as a promotional tool is then critiqued. The second section explores the ethics of brand placement. From the literature the following four sub-topics were identified: advertising deception; the freedom of choice; ethically-charged products; and the consumer effect. Each sub-topic is discussed in detail and the relevant literature is reviewed. The final section of the literature review covers the cross-cultural element of the study. The issue of global advertising is critiqued in detail. The Chinese and English cultures are also explored, with particular reference to the cultural dimensions of Geert Hofstede. The literature review summarises the literature and identifies gaps in need of further research.

2.2 Brand Placement

2.2.1 The Definition of Brand Placement

For the purpose of this dissertation the term brand placement as oppose to product placement will be used. Karrh (1998) argues that whilst product placement is more commonly used in both trade and academic articles, it is actually less accurate as more frequently a particular brand and not a product is being highlighted. There is a degree of

ambiguity over exactly what is meant by the term brand placement. Karrh (1998) has attempted to form a unified definition by observing the shortcomings of the three following definitions:

The inclusion of a brand name, product package, signage, or other trademark merchandise within a motion picture, television show, or music video (Steortz, 1987, p. 22).

A paid product message aimed at influencing movie (or television audiences) via the planned and unobtrusive entry of a branded product into a movie (or television programme) (Balasubramanian 1994, p. 31)

The inclusion of commercial products or services in any form in television or film productions in return for some sort of payment from the advertiser (Baker and Crawford, 1995, p. 2)

Karrh (1998) argues that the first definition failed to recognise the paid nature of the placement or the potential for a placement to be audio and not visual. The second two definitions also failed to recognise the potential for the placement to be contained in other media, for example novels and computer games (Karrh 1998). Balasubramanian (1994) also referred to the placement as unobtrusive which is potentially inaccurate. Karrh (1998, p. 33) thus attempts to produce a unified definition:

The paid inclusion of branded products or brand identifiers, through audio and/or visual means, within mass media programming.

When researching brand placement it is important to recognise that it can loosely fall into one of two categories. It can be used by creative professionals such as writers and directors to help convey a particular trait or impression of a character or scene. Alternatively the placement can

be used as a promotional tool that is sponsored by the advertiser. Karrhs (1998) definition can only be used to define brand placement from a marketing perspective because if the placement is being used by creative professionals solely to evoke an emotion it will not contain a money transaction. As brand placement is very diverse a simple definition is perhaps more appropriate. The following definition offered by Reijmersdal et al. (2007, p. 403) is simple yet accurate:

The intentional incorporation of a brand into editorial content.

Whilst this definition omits the issue of payment it does not mean it is less accurate as it may refer to both paid placements and those used by creative professionals. However, as this dissertation is focussing on brand placement as a promotional tool a definition similar to Karrhs is more useful. Other attempts within the marketing literature do appear to reflect the views held by Karrh, for example Gould and Gupta (1997, p. 37) have defined brand placement in movies and from a marketing perspective as:

Incorporating brands into movies in return for money or for some promotional or other consideration.

As this dissertation is aiming to make a contribution to the topic of brand placement as a promotional tool, the definition offered by Gupta and Gould (1997) is accepted. The picture below shows an example of a brand placement in the movie Castaway starring Tom Hanks. The FedEx brand is clearly displayed on the truck in the background.

(Friedman 2004)

2.2.2 The Development of Brand Placement in Hollywood Movies

The presence of advertisers and advertising agencies in entertainment media is not a new phenomenon. It first emerged on the radio in 1922 with a ten minute spiel for apartments in Jackson Heights (Turner 2004). By 1929 55% of the programmes on radio were not just sponsored by advertisers, but were created by advertisers and advertising agencies (Turner 2004). The emergence of television as the new mass medium in the 1940s and 1950s drew wholesale from the radio, including programmes, stars, and a means of revenue: advertising (Turner 2004). By 1957 over one third of television programmes were controlled by the advertising agencies (Turner 2004). The foundations had been set for brand placement to emerge as a major promotional tool.

The early use of brand placement in Hollywood movies was a relatively unsophisticated process. Karrh (1998) illustrates this with the example of a typical auto-manufacturer who might have sent a fleet of cars to a Hollywood movie studio with very little control over how or even if the cars would be used in the movie. Brand placement in Hollywood movies intensified over the 1930s when studios started to send advertising agencies shot by shot scripts with the 10

promotional opportunities clearly highlighted (Galician and Bourdeau 2004). The potential of Hollywood movies for advertisers was truly recognised when undershirt sales plummeted following the 1934 release of It Happened One Night in which film idol Clark Gable removed his dress shirt revealing his bare chest and the absence of an undershirt (Galician and Bourdeau 2004). By 1939, the first placement office had been established by a Hollywood movie studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The first documented brand placement occurred in 1945 in the film Mildred Pierce when Joan Crawford drank Jack Daniels Whiskey (Nebenzahl and Secunda 1993). Brand placement grew slowly until the 1960s when several directors started using brands for an enhanced sense of realism. The movie studios latched onto this trend and encouraged brand placement as a source of revenue (Galician and Bourdeau 2004). However, the full commercial impact of brand placement was not realised until the release of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial in 1982. The placement of Peanut Butter candy Haresheys Reeses Pieces increased in sales by 65% within a month following its placement in E.T. (Gould and Gupta 1997).

It is not surprising that as movies and the advertising industry have developed the use of brand placement has become much more organised and sophisticated. Today placements will usually occur through one of two channels, placement agents or the movie studios. Agents function as an intermediary between the advertising agency and the movie producer. It is now common place for a movie studio to have their own brand placement department to coordinate brand placement opportunities (Karrh 1998). Advertising agencies do not typically have a major role in brand placements as the market has become dominated by the brand placement agents.

The development of the brand placement industry and the popularity of Hollywood movies has seen the cost of the placements rapidly increase. For example, for the film Mr. Destiny, the

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producers (Walt Disney) provided a brand placement price list for the film of $20,000 for a visual product display and $60,000 for an actor to use the product in the movie (Magiera, 1990). In 1989 the producers of Licence to kill were paid $350,000 to place a Lark cigarette in the mouth of James Bond (Gould and Gupta 1997). Brand placement has become a major sector of the advertising industry.

2.1.3 The growth of brand placement in movies as a promotional tool

In 1998 Karrh published an article entitled Brand Placement: A Review. Despite the decade that has passed since, it is still the most useful article for information on brand placement as a whole. There has been no article since which covers a range of topics in the same depth. However, it is worth mentioning that the article does not address the potential false associations between real brands and how they are used in movies. This point is explored in more detail in the Ethics of brand Placement section of this literature review.

Karrh (1998) states that brand placements are used with increased frequency and are becoming increasingly important to advertisers. A number of reasons have been suggested for the growth of this sector of the advertising industry. Brand placement in movies allows advertisers to take advantage of the movies shelf life as consumers are likely to view the movie, and therefore the advert, over a number of years from the cinema to television viewing (Karrh 1998).

Hollywood movies allow the advertiser to have an almost global reach which is particularly important when advertisers are attempting to convey a global brand image. Kaarh (1998) illustrates this point with the example of the Heineken Larger advertising campaign which used a fully integrated plan around James Bond Tomorrow Never Dies as its first major global

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promotion. However, Karrh (1998) does not question the appropriateness of global brand promotion. This is an important point which needs to be investigated further. It is discussed in detail in the Cross Cultural Element section of this literature review.

Movies can carry a strong consumer persuasive power which has in part raised questions as to the ethicality of brand placement. Morrison (1994) studied movie going audiences through a series of in depth interviews. Her results revealed that the primary motivations for watching movies tended to be learning or entertainment/escape. From this she concluded that movie audiences were generally eager to become highly involved in the stories and that this powerful response can be transferred to the brand placement.

Reijmersdal et al. (2007) conducted a survey on the effects of brand placement on brand image. Their survey took the form of an online questionnaire which attracted 655 respondents. They suggest the context the brand is placed in can further help develop connotations of the brand. They state that brands are placed in advantageous, natural, and credible contexts that offer advertisers a unique opportunity to add favourable associations to their brands (Reijmersdal et al. 2007, p. 404). Thus brand image changes in the direction of the program. This article suggests the brand placement- brand image association is a reason why brand placement has become a popular promotional tool for advertises. However, Reijmersdal et al. (2007) fail to mention the ethical implications of the study. Their findings should be perceived negatively by consumers as emotions attached to the programme are shifted over to the brand. This may mean the brand is shown in a false light which constitutes a form of deception (Wenner 2004). This idea is very important for the brand placement stakeholders to be aware of and seems to have been completely ignored by Reijmersdal et al. (2007). The concept of deception of brand

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placement is looked at in greater detail in the Ethics of Brand Placement chapter of this literature review.

Nelson (2003) suggests brand placement is important to advertisers as it allows them to keep pace with the media and technological evolution. It helps them to overcome budget constraints, fragmented media audiences, and technological advances which allow consumers to zip-zap and circumvent advertising (Nelson 2003, p. 204). One example of a technological advancement that has enabled consumers to avoid advertising is Sky Plus which allows the viewer to fast forward through adverts. Consequently advertising companies are forced to develop new ways of effectively reaching the consumer. By placing a brand into a movie the advertiser makes the consumption of the advert unavoidable. Again, there is a strong ethical implication related to this concept that has been overlooked by Nelson (2003). Nelson (2003) has suggested brand placement has grown as a promotional tool because it does not allow the consumer to avoid the advert. This has raised debate within the brand placement literature as it conflicts with the consumers freedom of choice (Schmitt et al. 2007). The advertising is imposed upon the consumer and they may even be unaware that they are being exposed to advertising of any form (Nebenzahl and Jaffe 1998). This point should be mentioned by Nelson (2003) as it has implications with respect to the success of brand placement. As articles are published and consumers are alerted to the unethical traits of brand placement, this form of promotion will become less effective. This point is further developed in the Ethics of Brand Placement chapter of the literature review.

A large proportion of the brand placement literature to date has focused on how successful it is as a marketing tool. This tends to be measured in two ways: brand recall and consumer attitudes towards the brand and brand placement. For example Reijmersdal et al. (2007) studied

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the affect brand placement had on brand image. They found that the integration of a brand into the editorial content of a programme had a significant affect on brand image. They also found that brand image and brand memory, the second major research topic were not related. Work on brand recall has revealed that the degree to which the brand is integrated into the plot can play a crucial role in brand recall (Babin and Carder 1996). Research on the ethics of brand placement represents a relatively small portion of the brand placement literature. Reijmersdal et al. (2007) have been criticised here for not mentioning the ethical implications of their findings. The next stage of this literature review sheds light on what work has previously been done on the ethics of brand placement and identifies areas in need of further research.

2.3 Brand Placements and Ethics

It has been mentioned in the previous section that several pieces of work (e.g. Reijmersdal et al., 2007, and Nelson 2003) have failed to mention the ethics of brand placement. It is important for a promotional tool to be perceived to be ethical by consumers otherwise it will be more likely to damage the image of a brand than improve it. This section of the literature review explores what work has been done on the ethics of brand placement and identifies the gaps in the literature.

It is first necessary to develop an understanding of what is meant by ethics. Dictionary.com defines ethics as That branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions. From a brand placement perspective ethics is concerned with what is morally deemed to be right. If there is the possibility of harm to the consumer as a result of the brand placement then the placement is considered to be unethical.

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For businesses to survive in todays fiercely competitive marketplace they must be aware of how their actions are interpreted by consumers. Central to this understanding is the concept of corporate responsibility and the perceived ethicality of the business. Advertising is often pinpointed by consumers as being one of the most unethical business functions. This may in part explain why advertising ethics has been such a mainstream topic in advertising research (Hyman et al. 1994). In Dobschas 1998 (p. 2) study of consumers he revealed that advertising continues to be the most criticised marketing function and was categorically criticised for its fallacious nature.

2.3.1 The Deceptive Nature of Advertising and Brand Placement

Many of the questions surrounding the ethics of advertising arise when it is deemed to be deceptive in nature. Research has shown that many consumers believe that advertising strategies are often sleazy and purposely designed to subtly deceive consumers (GrahamAusitin et al. 2005). Graham-Austin et al. (2005) researched anti-commercial consumer rebellion (ACR) and conducted a scale development to measure ACR in the general population. They concluded that marketing managers have to be both proactive and reactive in ensuring honesty in their business practices in order to engage customers in todays marketplace. They also suggested that the capitalist system of today facilitates businesses manipulation of consumers thoughts, feelings and behaviours, implicitly sanctioning less than ethical marketing tactics in order to generate sales. Companies must be seen to be functioning in an ethical manner and must be open about their business practices. Brand placement is a form of advertising that is frequently accused of being deceptive in nature. The hidden but

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paid (Javalgi et al. 1994) nature of placements makes them ideally placed to be deceptive in terms of how the information is processed by the consumer (Barbour and Gardner 1982).

Deception is a major issue within the topic of advertising and brand placement and represents an area of the literature which would greatly benefit from further research. It is debatable whether some degree of deception from brand placement is unavoidable. Wenner (2004) suggests there is a catch 22 within the brand placement industry in that if a brand placement is done sensitively and blends into the entertainment, it isnt flagged as a placement and thus falls below the threshold of perception. If the brand is not perceived to be an advertisement, the message is misinterpreted and thus deceives. John Barnard, CEO of the UKs largest placement agency, New Media Group has said you are trying to sink messages into consumers minds subconsciously, if you are too obvious, the danger is that an audience may feel it is being plugged, or just see the deal (Cowlett, 2000, p.29). The alternative is to be more subtle, however, this again raises the issue of deception.

One of the primary ways advertising can be deceptive is through disguised advertising (Nebenzahl and Jaffe 1998). This may occur when the advert is not perceived as being sponsored because it is presented as editorial material rather than an advertisement. The possibility of a misinterpreted message raises an ethical concern. Nebenzahl and Jaffe (1998) give the example of a movie with a fast food restaurant whose name is prominently displayed while being frequented by the actors in several scenes. If the consumers are unaware that the advert is sponsored, they may lack the ability to filter the brand placement (MacInnis et al. 1991). The disguised advert is deceptive and thus violates the consumers right to know who is communicating a particular message to them.

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Obtrusive advertising is another main way brand placement can be deceptive in nature. This is similar to disguised advertising and consists of messages that are secondary to more prominent stimuli (Nebenzahl and Jaffe 1998). The advert hides the fact that it is sponsored to give the impression of publicity rather than a commercial message. It is commonplace for an advert to be the primary stimuli whereby the message and intent of the advert is clear and received consciously by the consumer (Nebenzahl and Jaffe 1998). The majority of advertising is communicated in this way, for example billboard print adverts or commercial breaks on the television or radio. Obtrusive advertising is background to other stimuli. A typical example is that of a sports arena where the sports match is the primary stimuli allowing advertising at the side of the arena to be the secondary stimuli. Consumers may catch a glimpse of the advert and thus consume the advert subconsciously (Nebenzahl and Jaffe 1998). Nebenzahl and Jaffe (1998) suggest that this consumption of the advert at the sub-attentive level can actually be more effective than at the attentive level. Brand placement is a form of obtrusive advertising in that the brand or product is embedded within the movie and is not the primary stimuli. Many studies have found brand placement to affect brand choice through consumption at the sub attentive level (e.g. Nebenzahl, 1997). It is thus argued that brand placement is a form of obtrusive advertisement and that it violates consumer autonomy and privacy.

Nebenzahl and Jeffe (1998) developed a framework for determining the ethicality of disguised and obtrusive advertising such as brand placement. They suggest that there is a need to know whether disguised and/or obtrusive advertising violates the consumer autonomy, privacy and right to know. They also suggest that consumer attitude is but one indicator of the ethics of this sort of promotion. However, it is easier to answer whether a company is perceived to be acting ethically than whether it is actually acting ethically. This may also be more important to a company/brand whose reputation is often the key to their business success. Whilst Nebenzahl

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and Jaffe (1998) do develop a formula they do not gather any data to support their suggestions. Their article does reveal a lot of useful information, but it is questionable whether their suggestions for future research are unfounded. There is clearly a real need for some useful data on deception and consumer attitudes towards the topic is a justifiable place to start.

It has recently been suggested that a new height of advertising deception is on the brand placement horizon. Ethical issues are heightened when brand placement becomes brand (product) integration. This refers to when products or brands actually become part of the show or movie. Wener (2004) raises alarm suggesting that integrated advertising might also become a slippery slope in which greedy networks and their corporate owners couldnt resist making every show an infomercial, packed with product plugs at the expense of storyline and character development. She argues that it may eventually reach a point whereby the consumers cant tell the show from the advert. Sceptics may argue this is an exaggerated claim, however, with films such as Transformers (2007) being released which cram in every brand name known to man, from e-bay to Xbox (Empire Magazine, 2008) this new height of brand integration may become reality. As the brand placement industry evolves, further studies on consumer attitudes are necessary to develop the consumers understanding of the ethics of brand placement.

2.3.2 The Freedom of Choice

The potential for brand placement to be deceptive in nature has raised ethical concern because it has been linked with the cause of harm to the consumer. Schmitt et al. (2007) found that brand placement disrespects the principle of separation between advertising and editorial content. Thus the consumers freedom of choice is jeopardized as they can avoid the advertisement only by choosing not to view the whole programme or movie. Brand placement

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has consequently been linked with the invasion of the consumers privacy (Rotzoll 1986). Whilst most adverts, such as those in newspapers or on the television, allow the consumer to choose whether they want to view the advert, disguised or obtrusive advertising, such as brand placements, are not always voluntarily consumed (Lippke 1998). The advertising is imposed upon the consumer and they may even be unaware that they are being exposed to advertising of any form (Nebenzahl and Jaffe 1998).

A second reason why deceptive advertising, such as brand placement, is perceived to be unethical is because it violates the consumers right to know who is sending them a particular message. In the US in the 1960s President Kennedy attempted to strengthen consumer protection via a message to the US Congress which contained the basic rights of the consumer (Nebenzahl and Jaffe 1998). One of these rights was termed the right to be informed which includes the right to know whether a message is sponsored or merely part of an editorial content (Nebenzahl and Jaffe 1998). Brand placement has been the subject of criticism due to its inability to sufficiently inform the consumer. Jacobson (1988) stated that audiences are never told that they are the object of a uniquely insidious and deceitful form of advertising. This violation of the consumers right has further enhanced the ethical ambiguity surrounding placements.

A common counterargument offered by those involved in the placement industry is that many academic surveys have revealed that consumers are aware of brand placement as a promotional tool. However, Wener (2004) argues that this does not mean that once the lights go down in the movie theatre, the consumers defences remain up over the course of the film. As Morrison (1994) has suggested, consumers go to watch a movie to escape and be entertained and there is

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thus a high involvement with the move. The consumers are likely to become less aware that an advert may be sponsored.

2.3.3 The Promotion of Ethically-Charged Products

The promotion of potentially harmful products, such as cigarettes and alcohol, has raised ethical concern within the field of advertising. The issue is further sensitised when the advertising is deemed to be deceptive, as is often the case with brand placement (e.g. Gupta and Gould 1997, Nebenzahl and Jaffe 1998). In 1991 it was investigated whether brand placements of cigarettes in movies should require health warnings (Rothenberg 1991). However, in the same year the tobacco industry volunteered to stop paid placement of its products in movies. Gupta and Gould (1997) suggest that this incident, in conjunction with research on other potentially harmful products, indicates that the ethical concern over placements in movies differs according to the product. They term the potentially harmful products ethically-charged products.

There has recently been a large body of research on the attitudes of consumers towards product placement in the movies, much of which focuses on the concept of ethically-charged products. For example, Hudson et al. 2004 provided the first examination of parental attitudes towards placement in movies. Some examples of ethically-charged products they highlighted were: Pepsi and Pizza Hut in Back to the Future II; Burger King and Coors Beer in Gremlins; and Pepsi, Dos Equis, Burger King and Corona in The Fantastic Four. Studies have shown that consumer attitudes towards brand placement are strongly affected by the type of product being advertised (e.g. Gupta and Gould 1997, Hudson et al. 2004). Gupta and Goulds (1997) study revealed that cigarettes, alcohol and guns were the main objects of controversy.

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One of the most frequent arguments in favour of brand placement is that it offers a sense of realism to the media. However, Wenner (2004) argues that this is a fallacious claim as products or brands are almost without exception, positively cast. Many harmful products are frequently placed into Hollywood movies but are never connected with the cause of harm. For example, the Lark Cigarette smoked by the James Bond character in Licence to Kill has connotations of debonair and cool, however, in reality this is often not the case as the real associations may be closer to poor health and sadness. In reality branded products such as automobiles, cigarettes and fast food restaurants do not correlate with health, safety or happiness (Wenner 2004).

There has been a lack of research on the idea that brand placements tend to be falsely cast. Gould and Gupta (1997) researched consumer perception of the ethics of brand placement. They found that ethically-charged products are perceived as less acceptable placements in movies than less ethically-charged products. However, they overlooked the issue of certain products been cast in a false light. This is likely to be a major determinant of consumer attitudes towards brand placement as it strongly associated with the ethics of the promotional tool. It is necessary to develop an understanding about how consumers react to different products and whether they perceive movies to cast certain products in a false light.

2.3.4 The Consumer Effect

Recent work on consumer attitudes towards brand placement has revealed there is a consumer effect (Hudson et al., 2007, and Schmitt et al., 2007). This means that attitudes towards brand

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placement depended on both the characteristics of the consumer being interviewed and the target consumer of the given movie. Ethical concern tends to be much greater when the placement is featured in a movie directed towards children. The study by Hudson et al. (2007) highlights this point with movies such as Fantastic Four, a comic book based movie, being clearly targeted at children. It is suggested that brand placement of certain brands in this movie may be less ethical as it is aimed towards children.

Schmitt et al. (2007) found that marketing strategies targeting children put pressure on parents as they would have to counteract their childrens desires for unhealthy food choices. Their survey revealed that three quarters of parents believed that advertising aimed at children makes it difficult to insist on healthy nutrition and resist the promoted unhealthy options. Research supports this viewpoint as brand placement has been found to contribute to childhood diseases in that it often promotes junk food, soda pop and alcohol (Story and French 2004). Karrh (1998) suggests that one of the main brand placement research justifications is the social and legal implications it carries. It has been the subject of various legal challenges and calls for constraint, particularly when these more vulnerable audiences are involved.

This issue has been well researched and there is now a lot of up-to-date data. However, as this study is taking a holistic look at the topic of the ethics of brand placement, it is still necessary to discuss it. Whilst it is accepted that the study is unlikely to yield new data on the consumer effect, it is an important sub-unit of ethics and must therefore be built into the interviews. It is also necessary to develop a firm understanding of how the two different cultures differ or coincide in their views on this matter.

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2.4 The Cross Cultural Element

Cross-cultural studies provide an insight into the varying attitudes of consumers across cultures. They are often used to examine the reputed convergence of consumption patterns and tastes across nations (Karrh et al. 2001). Brand placement, a potentially global promotion tool, needs to be investigated across cultures.

Whilst there is a lack of cross-cultural studies into brand placement, there have been various investigations of this kind in the wider advertising topic. Chen and Allmon (1998) surveyed Taiwanese, American and Australian business students regarding their perceptions of various forms of mass media. Their results showed there to be little difference between the American and Australian students, a big difference between them and the Taiwanese students. The Taiwanese students were found to hold more positive views of print based media and more negative views of electronic media when compared to the Western Students. Cheng and Schweitzer (1996) researched Chinese and American television commercials to give an insight into how the Eastern and Western cultures are likely to differ in their views of advertising. Strong differences between the advertising strategies in the two countries may indicate that global advertising strategies which incorporate methods such as brand placement are less likely to be successful. The dominant values found in the Chinese television commercials were family, tradition and technology, whilst the dominant values found in the American television commercials were enjoyment, individualism, economy, modernity and youth. The disparity between the two countries is likely to have an affect on the views held by the two different cultures with respect to advertising. Cheng (1997) has commented on the array of crosscultural studies in Advertising which emerged throughout the 1980s suggesting that although Americanisation was clearly increasing in Eastern advertisements, deep rooted Eastern cultural

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values still remained strong. He argues this may suggest a global advertising strategy such as brand placement may be perceived differently by different cultures.

Cross-cultural studies on brand placement tend to have focussed on Western audiences (e.g. Rossler and Bacher 2002) and have neglected the comparison of Western and Eastern consumers. One of the only cross-cultural studies to have compared Western and Eastern audiences on brand placement to date has been conducted by Karrh et al. (2001). They compared American and Singaporean consumers and recorded several differences between the two cultures. Singaporean respondents were less likely to perceive brand placements as paid advertisements and they were noted to have greater concern regarding the ethics of brand placements. Karrh et al. (2001) stated that advertisers frequently assume that by building an association with popular Hollywood movies they can reinforce brand image across national and cultural boundaries. However, research suggests this assumption may be false as consumers from some cultures may have a less positive view of brand placement than is typical in the West. This is an interesting suggestion which would clearly benefit from further research. In particular it is worth focussing on how the consumer attitudes towards ethics are likely to differ across cultures.

There is a real need for more in depth cross-cultural studies on brand placement to provide an insight into macro factors that might mediate placement impact (Karrh 1998). As is pointed out by Karrh (2001) the brand placement research to date has been and remains to be dominated by investigations focussing on Western audiences. More research on the attitudes of Eastern cultures would be of great benefit to the brand placement literature. Consumers from different cultures are very likely to react differently towards brand placements. With the emergence of global media vehicles, agreements among nations for common advertising regulations, and the

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implementation of global advertising strategies (Karrh et al. 2001), it is vital to understand how different cultures react to the same advertising.

Since the 1960s there has been a belief that economic development would lead to the convergence of needs and tastes which would facilitate global advertising (De Mooij 2000). Ted Levitt, a Harvard Professor published an article in 1983 entitled The Globalization of Markets which suggested that world tastes would become homogenised. However, this idea has been met with much scepticism. De Mooij (2000) argued that although there is evidence of the convergence of economic systems, there is no evidence of peoples value systems. He suggests that the contrary is actually true as higher incomes give people more freedom to express themselves. He concludes that the phenomenon of the strengthening of value differences makes it increasingly important to understand values of national culture and their impact on consumer behaviour. Thus cross-cultural studies such as this one are important in developing an understanding of the different values held across cultures.

Despite the idea that cultural values may be strengthening there is still data supporting the global brand. Holt et al. (2004) conducted a global brands study which aimed to find out how consumers in different countries value global brands. They argued that smart companies manage their brands as global symbols as that is how consumers perceive them. A potentially global advertising strategy such as brand placement in Hollywood movies would certainly support the development of a global symbol.

It is questionable whether the beliefs of consumers from different cultures are really converging in sync with global advertising. If advertisers use brand placement based on the possible false assumption of converging world attitudes many global promotional strategies

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will fail (Karrh 2001). For this reason a cross-cultural study into the consumer attitudes towards the ethics associated with brand placement would benefit both the academic and business arenas.

2.4.1 The Chinese Culture One key to understanding similarities and differences in responses to brand placement is to understand the traditions of the culture and the consequential values held by the population. The English culture will only be briefly looked at as the majority of work in this area has focussed on Western audiences. Eastern audiences have received less attention and thus their views on advertising are less understood.

The main research that will be looked at is the work of Geert Hofstede. In YEAR he conducted a large scale study in over fifty countries. He interviewed workers in the local subsidiaries of one large multinational corporation IBM. He states that from one country to another they represent almost perfectly matched samples: they are similar in all respects except nationality, which makes the affect of national cultural differences in their answers stand out unusually clearly. From his work he concluded that there were four dimensions that defined national culture: power distance; individualism; masculinity; and uncertainty avoidance. Following another survey a fifth dimension was later added, long term orientation. This is a graph showing how China ranked in the five dimensions. (www.Geert-Hofstede.com)

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China was ranked the highest in the world for long term orientation which suggests that their culture today is strongly influenced by the traditional values of the past. These set of values have loosely been termed Confucianism (Redding 1999). In his 1997 study of Chinese marketing Cheng emphasised the importance of Confucianism as an influence on present day Chinese Culture. Redding (1999) has described ethnic Chinese people as old fashioned in that Chinese tradition permeates their everyday life. He suggests that the Confucian tradition has shaped the modern day values and beliefs of much of the Chinese population.

The following are the key principles of the Confucian teaching (Hofstede 1994):

1. The stability of society is based on unequal relationships between people. Confucius distinguished the wu lun, the five basic relationships: ruler subject, father son, older brother younger brother, husband wife, and senior friend junior friend (Hofstede 1994). This idea has survived as a guideline for proper behaviour of Chinese people to this day. 2. The family is the prototype of all social organizations. A person is not primarily an individual; rather he or she is a member of a family. Harmony is found in the maintenance of ones dignity, self respect and prestige. Social relations should be conducted in such a way that everybodys face is maintained. 3. Virtuous behaviour towards others consists of not treating others as one would not like to be treated oneself. 4. Virtue with regard to ones tasks in life consists of trying to acquire skills and education, working hard, not spending more than necessary, being patient and preserving. Moderation is enjoyed in all things.

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The second point which suggests a person is not primarily an individual supports Hofstedes low individualism score which can be seen on the graph. China has thus been described as a collectivist culture as issues may be considered in terms of the group, organizational unit or even society at large (Hofstede 1994). This means that the Chinese may be less concerned with how something may affect them as an individual and more concerned with how it affects the whole of society.

Closely linked the collectivist characteristic of the Chinese population is the idea of the holistic perspective (Kirkbride et al., 1991). Kirkbride et al. (1991) state that this perspective has a strong influence on the Chinese thought process. This means that the Chinese population may relate a particular issue to the total situation and consider issues in the wider context.

The graph also shows China to have a high power distance index which describes the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions, such as the family, accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. Hofstedes (1994) typical characteristics of a large power distance population for general, family, school and workplace are shown on the next page.

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Large Power Distance Less powerful people should be dependent on more powerful people Parents teach children obedience Children treat parents with respect Teachers are expected to rake all initiatives in class Inequalities among people are both expected and desired Teachers are gurus who transfer personal wisdom Students treat teachers with respect Both more and less educated persons show almost equally authoritarian values Hierarchy in organizations reflects the existential inequality between higher up and lower downs The ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat or good father and centralization is popular Privileges and status symbols for managers are both expected and popular

Chinas high power distance index has been linked with Confucianism and the creation of the wu lun, the five basic relationships: ruler subject, father son, older brother younger brother, husband wife, and senior friend junior friend (Hofstede 1994). This idea has survived as a guideline for proper behaviour of Chinese people to this day. Redding (1999) stated that paternalism is the central pillar of the Confucian design for social order. The large power index is likely to have a significant affect on the present day values held by the Chinese population.

There is a moral quality and trust that exists within the tradition of the Chinese culture. Cheng and Schweitzer (1996) found these traditional set of values to be present in the world of advertising. Examples of traditional Chinese values evident in Chinese advertising were group

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consensus, veneration of the elderly, tradition and oneness with nature (Cheng and Schweitzer 1996). The Confucian tradition is even likely to affect modern day business issues, such as marketing and advertising.

It is, however, worth mentioning that Cheng and Schweitzer 1996 found that Chinese advertising had adopted certain Western values, such as modernity and youth. Thus they described Chinese advertising as a semi-traditional melting pot. This adoption of both Western and Eastern values in Chinese advertising makes it difficult to predict how Chinese cultures are likely to respond to brand placement in Hollywood movies.

The English culture is far less rooted in the traditions of the past. The graph below shows how the United Kingdom ranked for each of Hofstedes five dimensions.

Taken from www.Geert-Hofstede.com

The UK scored much higher than china for the Individualism dimension. This suggests that the population is more concerned with the individual than the team. Everyone is more likely to

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consider how something affects them themselves as an individual, as oppose to the rest of society (Hofstede 1994).

This investigation is comparing the views held by ethnic Chinese and ethnic English students. These two countries have been chosen for a number of reasons. The cross-cultural element is fulfilled most effectively by the comparison of Western and Eastern audiences. Both ethnicities and traditions are also likely to influence the views of people in different ways. China is a major socialist country and England is a capitalist country. The social realities for advertising in these two countries are quite different. This may have an affect on the views held by the two populations with respect to advertising. In a supposed age of global advertising it is necessary to understand whether the same promotion is interpreted in the same way by different cultures.

2.5 Summary

There have been numerous studies (Nebenzahl and Secunda 1993, Gould and Gupta 1997, Karrh et al. 2001, Hudson et al. 2007, Schmitt et al. 2007) that have focussed on the attitudes of consumers towards brand placements. This may include several subtopics with the issue of ethics usually being included as one of these subtopics. However, there are various issues within the topic of ethics of brand placement which justify the entire attention of a research study. This dissertation solely focuses on the consumer perceptions of the ethicality of brand placement in Hollywood movies.

The brand placement industry lacks the consumer protection which tends to be in place in the majority of industries. As the US law takes a hands off approach to brand placement in

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Hollywood movies and the EMAs code of conduct does not address consumer protection, there is a need to highlight the ethical implications of brand placement.

This literature review has identified and examines three major research projects (Nebenzahl and Secunda 1993, Gupta and Gould 1997 and Karrh at el. 2001) that have focussed on the attitudes of the consumer to brand placement. In 1993 Nebenzahl and Secundas study entitled Consumer Attitudes Towards Product Placement in Movies surveyed 171 college. Whilst the study touched on the consumer perception of the ethics of brand placement it did not explore the topic in sufficient detail. In 1997 Gupta and Gould conducted a larger scale study of 1,000 students which had a greater focus on the consumers perception of the ethics of brand placement. Karrh (1998) suggested that the body of work on brand placement was in great need of a cross-cultural study. The studies by Nebenzahl and Secunda (1993) and Gupta and Gould (1997) had only surveyed Western audiences and had attempted to draw conclusions for a potentially global promotional tool.

In 2001 Karrh et al. built on the work of Nebenzahl and Secunda 1993 and Gupta and Gould 1997 with their comparison of USA and Singaporean audiences. This study again focussed on the broader topic of consumer attitudes towards brand placement and did not isolate the ethics of brand placement as a research topic. This dissertation provides a cross cultural study of consumer perception of the ethics of brand placement.

This literature review has explored the work by Nebenzahl and Jaffe (1998) which describes the ethical dimensions of advertising, focussing largely on brand placement. Their work is in need of a study to investigate the validity of many of their conclusions. For a global

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promotional tool such as brand placement it is necessary to compare and contrast across cultures.

It is important for the views of the consumer to be understood across cultures. This study will therefore also benefit the industry as brand placement is essentially a global promotional tool. Globalisation has encouraged the use of global advertising which communicates the same message to different cultures. It is highly questionable whether this is an effective marketing technique as different cultures may hold very different views and as such they may interpret and react to the same message differently (Karrh et al., 2001).

This research study has focussed solely on brand placements in Hollywood movies. For a cross-cultural study of this type a product must be chosen that both the ethnic Chinese and ethnic English are likely to have seen. Hollywood movies are not far away from a truly global product, and with insufficient media substitutes they are ideally placed for a comparison of this type. Also as the USA is often described as the advertising capital of the world (Cheng and Schweitzer 1996) it comes as no surprise that Hollywood movies contain more brand placements than any other form of media.

Although various studies have been conducted on consumer attitudes towards brand placements in movies, Galician and Bourdeau (2004) suggest that research must be constantly updated as consumer attitudes can greatly change from decade to decade. Galician and Bourdeau (2004) researched how brand placements had changed over three decades. They recorded all brand placements in the top fifteen grossing Hollywood movies of 1977, 1987 and 1997. They suggest that the survey provided a reliable reflection of changing societal conventions over the three decades. They illustrate this with the example of liquor placements

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which decreased from fifteen in 1977 to six in 1997. This shows how advertisers and movie studios are forced to consider how consumers respond to different products. It also suggests that consumers are likely to respond to different products in different ways and that they may change their views over time. In the ever evolving world of advertising with the ambiguity over global marketing it is necessary to have a reliable and up to date understanding of consumer attitudes.

The purpose of this research study is to provide up-to-date research on the attitudes of consumers across cultures to brand placement in Hollywood movies, a supposed global promotional tool. This literature review has identified the following subtopics within the ethics of brand placement:

Ethically-charged products Casting products in a false light Consumer awareness of brand placement in Hollywood movies Deception of brand placement Jeopardising the consumers freedom of choice

This dissertation will explore these subtopics across two cultures which will contribute to the understanding of brand placement as a global promotional tool. It will thus benefit both consumers and the brand placement industry.

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Chapter 3 - Methodology

3.1 Introduction

This study aims to develop an understanding of the ethics of brand placement in Hollywood movies. This is done through the exploration of consumer perceptions of brand placement as a promotional tool. This research aims to produce in depth data which can be used to produce a number of propositions for future research. It is thus suggested that qualitative research is most appropriate as it allows the researcher to gain detailed insights and discover consumer beliefs and attitudes (Malhotra and Birks, 2003).

This chapter begins with an explanation of why qualitative data as oppose to quantitative data has been selected. The type of interview being used for the study is then explained in detail. The advance materials given to the respondents are then described. An outline of the Interviews is given which details the basic structure and topics to be covered. This discussion is followed by a brief explanation of the sampling technique used. Ethical considerations for the research study are also discussed. Finally a loose framework for how the data will be analysed is explored.

Many things need to be considered when forming a methodology, such as the speed with which insights are needed, the budget, the issue being studied, and researchers skill and preferences (Cooper and Schnider 2006).

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3.2 Data Collection

3.2.1 Qualitative Research

Put quite simply qualitative research aims to achieve an in-depth understanding of a situation (Cooper and Schindler 2006). It is the most appropriate form of data collection for this study as it will unveil consumer beliefs and attitudes to a particular situation. This type of data is very difficult to obtain through quantitative research (King 2004). Qualitative data collection has a lower degree of structure than quantitative methods which allows the research method to be highly flexible (Malhotra and Birks 2003). This allows the researcher to adjust the method to suit the research participant.

The purpose of qualitative data is based on researcher immersion in the phenomenon to be studied, gathering data which provide a detailed description of events, situations and interactions between people and things, thus providing depth and detail (Cooper and Schindler, 2006, p. 198). In this case depth and detail is needed to give as clear an image as possible on the interaction between people and brand placements Hollywood movies.

3.2.2 The Interviews

Interviews with ten ethnic Chinese students and interviews with ten ethnic English students was considered sufficient enough for detailed data to be gathered. This number of interviews was also in fitting with the time constraints and limited resources of the investigation.

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3.2.3 Individual Depth Interview

Each interview took the form of an Individual Depth Interview (IDI) in that they consisted of the interviewer and interviewee only. This was considered to be the most effective way of yielding valuable data as the subject matter being discussed was of a sensitive nature. Respondents are often unwilling to report honestly or accurately on sensitive issues for egodefensive reasons (Fisher 1993). If focus groups were chosen as the main method for gathering data respondents may feel pressured to conform to what is deemed to be ethically right (Chatzidakis et al. 2007). As a result the data may be biased towards this viewpoint. This phenomenon is termed social desirability bias and has been found to occur in virtually all types of research (Fisher 1993). It is vital to be fully aware of this concept as it can potentially lead to misleading research. In an attempt to prevent this form of bias it will be made clear to the participants prior to the interview that their identity will be held strictly confidential and that they can retract any comment at any time. An IDI also allowed the researcher to focus on one individual and thus delve deep into the participants thoughts.

There are various advantages and disadvantages of interviews which are worth being aware of to ensure the potential of the research is maximised and the limitations are minimised. The main advantages and disadvantages are listed below.

Advantages: An interview allows the researcher to give a more detailed explanation of the research topic than a cover letter alone (Oppenheim 1992).

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An interview allows the interviewer to actually talk to this person and to record a real set of responses at a given time and thus limit any possible misunderstandings (Oppenheim 1992).

An interview can be adjusted quickly to suit the participant. An interview can range from structured to unstructured a allowing the researcher to adjust the method to suit their research requirements.

Disadvantages: The interviewer can purposefully or accidently exert bias on the investigation (Oppenheim 1992). Interviews are potentially very time-consuming and costly as travel and other arrangements must inevitably be made (Oppenheim 1992). The sample size chosen may not be a true representation of the actual population. The skill of the interviewer in forming a dialogue with the participant and probing for the right information is of utmost importance.

These disadvantages have been carefully considered and whenever possible steps have been made to ensure they are kept to an absolute minimum.

The gain of the interviewer and the interviewee are not equal. The interviewer gains data whilst the interviewee is asked to give up time, thought, privacy and effort. Openheim (1992) suggests that anything to make the transaction less unequal will be very useful. In this case a copy of the finished research project will be made available to any participants should they wish to see how they have contributed to the study.

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3.2.4 Advance Materials

The interviewees were provided with advance materials. These consisted of a cover letter and several examples of brand placements which were sent to them several days before their scheduled interview date via email (see appendix 1). These were then discussed prior to the interview to ensure the participant fully understood exactly what a brand placement was and the purpose of the research study. This was also necessary to ensure tat the interviews were conducted in an ethical manner and that the participant fully understood what they were being asked to do.

3.2.5 Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI)

The interview also took the form of a computer assisted personal interview (CAPIs) as technology was used to provide audio and visual aids (Cooper and Schnider 2006). This took the form of a brief introductory video which featured a number of brand placements, both obvious and obscure. The clips shown were all from Hollywood movies and in some cases would be discussed in the interview. A screen shot illustrating one of the examples revealed to the respondents is shown below. This clip features a brand placement of Coca Cola and is taken from the film Juno (2008).

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This was done to further enhance the understanding of the interviewee and to encourage them to think more clearly about Hollywood movies they may have seen and brand placements.

3.2.6 Semi-structured Interview Design

A semi-structured interview design was used (Cooper and Schnider, 2006) whereby participants were directed towards certain topic areas but were also given freedom to explore their own views. The amount of freedom given largely depended on how useful the participants views were likely to be to the overall research project. However, it was important to ensure the research participant did not feel too constrained and unable to express their views. Oppenheim (1996, p. 81) suggests that open ended questions are important in allowing the respondents to say what they think and to do so with greater richness and spontaneity. The probes used by the interviewer had to be flexible yet standardised to ensure data was gathered which allowed a detailed comparison of the respondents.

3.2.7 Interview Outline

An outline of the purpose of the dissertation was given to each interviewee which included the information shown below.

The definition of brand placement in movies as a promotional tool given by Gould and Gupta (1997, p. 37) - Incorporating brands into movies in return for money or for some promotional or other consideration. As mentioned the interviewees were also shown several examples of brand placements in Hollywood movies on a recorded video to improve their understanding and to help them visualise the topic. A brief discussion then took place to ensure they fully

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understood the concept of brand placement and they were given the chance to ask any questions about anything they did not understand. They were also informed of the fact that the dissertation referred explicitly to Hollywood movies so when answering the questions they should only recall the relevant examples.

The issue of ethics was then discussed in some detail. It was important for a relatively simple definition to be put forward to ensure the interviewee fully understood and also to give them freedom to talk around the topic. The definition put forward by Dictionary.com was discussed to ensure a common understanding was gained by each interviewee:

That branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions. (Dictionary.com)

For the purpose of brand placement in Hollywood movies it was assumed that unethical behaviour was closely linked the potential cause of harm to the consumer.

The interview outline shown below was based on the literature and was designed to aid the analysis section of the dissertation.

Ethically Charged Products:

Is the placement of some brands/products more or less acceptable than others? If no, why do you think all brands/products are acceptable to the same degree?

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If yes, what brands/products do you think are less ethically acceptable (ethically-charged) as brand placements?

Are some brands/products shown in movies cast in a false light? Why are some brands/products less acceptable than others?

*An attempt would then be made to explore this line of questioning in some detail.

The consumer effect:

Do you think that the acceptability of a brand placement in a movie varies in anyway with the movies target audience?

The interviewees were then given some examples of ethically-charged products in movies which tend to be targeted at a relatively young audience: Pepsi and Pizza Hut in Back to the Future II; Burger King and Coors Beer in Gremlins; and Pepsi, Dos Equis, Burger King and Corona in The Fantastic Four.

Do you think it is acceptable for these brands to be placed in these movies? Why/Why not? Do you think the acceptability of brand placement varies in anyway with the movie?

Brand placement and deception:

A clear explanation from the literature was given on how advertising can be deceptive. It was explained what was meant by deception and disguised and obtrusive advertising was discussed.

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The argument for brand placement being deceptive in nature was also discussed in detail. The interviewees were then given the chance to ask any questions to aid their understanding.

Do you choose to view the advert or do you merely view the placement as part of the movie?

If the interviewee reveals that they only view it as part of the movie Do you think this acceptable? Please explain your answer.

How much control do you feel you have over the consumption of a brand placement advert?

Do you think this level of control is acceptable? Bearing in mind the understanding of deception that has been discussed, do you think brand placements can be deceitful in nature? Please explain your answer.

If so, how are brands deceitful? Please relate to your own experience. Is some degree of deception unavoidable/acceptable?

Disguised advertising:

Before this interview how aware were you of the existence of brand placement in movies and their use in advertising?

Does your level of awareness remain constant throughout a cinema experience? (for example would you be more likely to see a brand placement and recognise it as an advert, or would you be too engrossed in the movie to realise there has been any promotion at all)

Do you think you are consciously aware when a brand is being used in a move? When you see a brand in a movie, do you know whether it is a paid advert or merely part of the editorial content used to add realism?

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3.2.8 The Interviewer as the Research Tool

The skill requirement of the interviewer has been mentioned as one of the main disadvantages of the interview method. However, being fully aware of this potential drawback is the first step to overcoming it. Oppenheim (1996) states that the interviewer must be able to gauge the participants interest and attention, to create and maintain a rapport at just the right level and to leave the participant feeling that something useful and pleasant has been accomplished. Cooper and Schnider (2006) suggest this can be done via the development of a dialogue between the interviewer and participant. They also suggest the interviewer must be skilled in achieving greater clarity and elaboration of answers wherever necessary. This has been mentioned earlier as one of the main advantages of the interview and is integral to ensuring data is collected which is as reliable as possible.

3.2.9 Sampling

The investigation employed a purposive sampling technique whereby participants were chosen for their specific characteristics (Cooper and Schnider 2006). The participants required were twenty Nottingham University Business School students, ten ethnic Chinese and ten ethnic English. As many students at Nottingham University fall into these two categories a sample within these two populations was required. Due to time constraints and a lack of willing students, participants were chosen on a purely convenience basis. This means whoever was willing to participate in this research study was chosen. Given greater time and resources each participant would have been interviewed prior to the research interview to assess their specific

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characteristics. For example, it would have been useful to have had an equal number of heavy movie goers from both the ethnic Chinese and ethnic English populations.

The use of university students is justifiable as 18 to 24-year-olds are the primary audience for film-makers and many television producers (Dortch, 1996). In the US 34% of people aged 18 24 report going to watch a movie at least once per month compared with 20% for the rest of the US adult population (Karrh 1998). The 18 24 year olds are also more than twice as likely as the rest of the population to have seen specific movies within the last six months (Karrh 1998). This means they are not only likely to be more interested in movies and brand placement but are also likely to be the primary targets of the brand placements. Their views on the matter are likely to be strong and most applicable to the subject matter.

3.3 Ethical Considerations

As with any research study careful consideration must be give to ensure everything is conducted in an ethical manner. The basic ethical principle governing data collection is that no harm should come to the respondents as a result of their participation in the research (Oppenheim, 1992, p. 83). If some questions seem to be upsetting the interviewee for any reason that line of questioning or whole interview should be abandoned. It was also necessary to get informed consent from each participant whereby the details of the interview were agreed upon and the confidentiality of the participants data was ensured.

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3.4 Data Analysis

To analyse the data common themes were identified for both the English and Chinese cultures. The data from the interviews was used to explore the similarities and differences between the two cultures. To aid cross-cultural comparison previous work on cultures will be used, in particular the cultural elements proposed by Geert Hofstede. The literature review was used to form a framework and to divide the data into manageable sections for analysis. This framework is outlined below:

Ethically-charged products Casting products in a false light Consumer awareness of brand placement in Hollywood movies Deception of brand placement Jeopardising the consumers freedom of choice

The Chinese participants have the letter C. and the English participants have the letter E. They have then been assigned a random number in place of their name to ensure their identity is confidential.

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Chapter 4 Analysis

4.1 Ethically Charged Products

All twenty of the English and Chinese students stated that certain products were more acceptable as brand placements than others. Two responses, one from a Chinese student and one from an English student are shown below.

Respondent 4E: Yeh, it definitely depends on what the product is. If it can be bad for someone then its obviously not as acceptable as something that wont harm anybody.

Respondent 2C: I think some products can have a negative impact on someones life so these are not as acceptable. I dont think, like a toothpaste would be bad as it wont damage anything, if anything it could be a positive thing [laughs]

The answer from respondent 4E is typical of most of the answers from both cultures. It was firmly believed that the type of product advertised affects the acceptability of the placement. Respondent 2C develops this idea further suggesting that whether a placement is bad or not can solely depend on the type of product being advertised and how much harm it can possibly cause. This answer illustrates the importance of the type of product being advertised.

None of the respondents believed all products were acceptable to the same degree. These findings definitely support the theory of ethically-charged products in that some products/brands are more acceptable as brand placements than others (Gupta and Gould 1997). The concept of ethically-charged products is highly plausible and thus seemed to be quite

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obvious to the students. Once they fully understood what brand placement was the idea that that the promotion of harmful products was less acceptable than harmless products seemed to follow and make sense.

For both cultures the most ethically charged product was cigarettes. When respondents were asked to justify there answer a common theme seemed to emerge. The answer from respondent 1E shown below illustrates this point.

Respondent 1E: Well some products are much worse for you than others. They can be really bad for your health which makes advertising them less ethical. I personally smoke, but I always hear about how bad the health effects are which is why I said it was probably the worst placement there can be.

Interviewer: How do you always hear about the health effects?

Respondent 1E: Its always on tele on the news and stuff.

Several of the English and Chinese respondents referred to negative media input regarding specific products. The harm caused by cigarettes is highly publicised in both Western and Eastern cultures and is thus likely to be at the forefront of the respondents minds. There has been a relatively recent (2007) smoking ban in public places in England, and China has experienced severe debate over a possible smoking ban, particularly surrounding the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Also for a cigarette to be placed in a movie it normally has to be used by one of the actors, whilst other supposedly ethically-charged products must simply be present in the movie. Thus cigarettes are potentially more obvious when they are in a movie.

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The responses from the Chinese and English students were very similar for this section of the interview. However, the second most ethically charged product was found to be different for the two cultures. The Chinese students believed it to be alcohol, whilst the English students believed it to be fast-food. Obesity has been publicised as a serious issue in the UK for longer than in China. Whilst Chinas figures are rapidly increasing it has not been covered in the media to the same extent as it has in England. Current World Health Organisation (WHO) figures reveal that 25% of the adult Chinese population are obese or overweight compared with 46% for the UK.

The two cultures appear to differ subtly in what they consider to be the most ethically charged products. It is suggested here that this may be affected by the level of media attention a potentially harmful product has received. This carries implications with respect to how ethical certain placements are perceived to be by different cultures. The more negative media attention a product has received the more likely it is to be perceived as harmful and the less acceptable brand placement of that product will be. It is important for global advertisers to develop a good understanding of how different cultures react to the same advertising message.

4.2 Casting Products in a False Light

The respondents were asked whether they believe products/brands are cast in a false light in Hollywood movies. The responses from the two cultures were remarkably different. Two of the responses from the English students are shown below:

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Respondent 4E: They will be a bit, but the film is fiction. There are ways that certain products are used which make the character look cool or whatever. Say if the character is necking a bottle of beer or something. This would also benefit the beer company as it would associate them with the character. But companies will obviously do that to make their brand look good

Respondent 9E: Well I dont think companies would want their product to be cast in a bad light. McDonalds would be unlikely to want a huge obese guy drinking a McDonalds milkshake, theyd obviously much rather be associated with something that puts them in a good light

The majority of the English students did seem to think that brands/products were cast in a false light. However, this generally did not seem to concern them. There seemed to be a common belief that advertisers would not be doing there job if they did not cast there brand/product in a very good light. They also seemed to think it was acceptable in films as they are often fictitious in nature. The typical responses from the Chinese students were somewhat different. Whilst they agreed with the English students that movies did tend to cast brands/products in a false light, they disagreed in their acceptance of this practice. The two quotes below illustrate the concern which was stressed by many of the Chinese respondents.

Respondent 2C: Yes I do think that movies paint products in a false light. The companies are always made to look good which isnt always the case. I dont think that it wouldnt make sense for like a cigarette to be associated with poor health in a film because this would be bad for the business, but I do think there should be guidelines about what is acceptable. The truth is that there are negative sides to many products and this should be considered

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Respondent 8C: Im not sure how right brand placement really is because the brands are always made to look good no matter how bad they can be for your health

The interviews from nearly all the respondents supported the claim made by Wener (2004) that brands/products are almost always positively cast. However, it is interesting that this seemed to bother the Chinese students significantly more than the English students. This can be linked with the Confucian ideals which still exist in the Chinese culture today (Redding 1999). Their strong belief in trust and honesty may mean they do not consider potentially false advertising to be acceptable. Respondents 8C and 2C are clearly far less at ease with the idea than respondents 4E and 9E

This section of the interview found another difference between the two cultures. The Chinese students were far less accepting of untruthful casting of brands than the English students.

4.3 The Consumer Effect

The majority of responses from both the Chinese and English students suggested that there was a strong consumer effect. These findings are consistent with the recent studies by Schmitt et al. (2007) and Hudson et al. (2007). Whilst the responses from both cultures were very similar, there were subtle differences. The tone of the responses from the Chinese students seemed to be slightly more concerning than that of the English students. One response from a Chinese student is shown below.

Respondent 5C: I dont think advertising in movies aimed at children should be allowed at all. You mentioned Fantastic Four as a childrens film, well if it is why would there be a beer

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placement in it? Children under eighteen are not old enough to drink alcohol and so there should be no use for it. If small children see a superhero with a beer they may want to try and copy him. To me this is not acceptable

Interviewer: Do you have any younger brothers or sisters?

Respondent 5C: I have an eleven year old brother

Interviewer: What would you think about him watching Fantastic Four?

Respondent 5C: Well I wouldnt mind him watching the movie, but I dont like placements such as beer being in it. He is far too young to drink, but is old enough to watch Fantastic Four. It is not acceptable for companies to advertise in this way because younger people are much easier influenced by adverts. I think because of this there should be restrictions

Interviewer: Do you think the restrictions should be on all products/brands?

Respondent 5C: I think, more on harmful products, like beer and cigarettes. These are things which children could think are cool and so decide to start having them. Some products it is not so bad because they wouldnt really harm the child

The tone of respondent 5C, a Chinese student, is one of concern. The respondent showed dissatisfaction with placements in movies aimed at children. He expressed specific concern at advertising to his younger brother. Six other Chinese students also expressed concern over advertising to a younger sibling, compared with a total of three English students. This reflects

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Chinas high power index which again has been linked with Confucian ideals (Hofstede 1994). The older brother younger brother relationship is one of the five wu lun basic relationships of Confucianism. Hofstede (1994) has stated that the wu lun relationships are still very important in todays Chinese culture. These responses do appear to support the Confucian values which are present in the Chinese society today.

The English students did not show concern over advertising to younger audiences to the same extent as the Chinese respondents. One response from an English student is shown below.

Respondent 5E: I would definitely say there is more potential for brand placement to cause harm when it is directed towards children. They are probably more easily influenced so there is more chance of a placement having an effect on them. But theres not that much cause for concern, my younger brother is fourteen and I wouldnt say he would get obese because he saw a Pizza Hut advert in Back to the Future. You know, I dont really think its likely to effect anything that much

Respondent 5E has expressed a degree of concern over placement targeted at children but the tone of his response is different from that of Respondent 5C. He doesnt believe that the placement is likely to have much of an affect on his younger sibling as Respondent 5C does. This seemed to be a general pattern which emerged from the interviews; the English students did not agree with placements targeted towards children, but did not show the same level of concern as the Chinese students. This pattern can be linked with Hofseteds Individualism scores for the two cultures. The United Kingdom scored very highly for the Individualism dimension, whilst China had a very low Individualism score. This suggests that the United Kingdom tend to be more concerned with the individual than the wider community. This is not

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to say that the English students care less than the Chinese students, but they may not consider different audiences to the same extent.

This pattern of responses can also be linked with the collectivist characteristic of the Chinese population (Kirkbride et al., 1991). The Chinese tend to take a holistic perspective which Kirkbride et al. (1991) suggest has a strong influence over their thought process. This means that the Chinese population may relate a particular issue to the total situation and consider issues in the wider context. Students from the UK may give less consideration to how advertising affects the wider society. A quote from another English student is shown below.

Respondent 3E: I honestly dont think it matters all that much to be honest. Just because a child sees something in a movie it doesnt mean they are likely to start having it. I mean there are beer adverts in television, would we need to ban those as well. I think its easy to get carried away with something like this, people are often just looking for someone to blame for something that goes wrong

All the respondents that did express concern over brand placements in Hollywood movies referred to products that were likely to cause harm to children. This further supports the idea of ethically charged products which was proposed by Gupta and Gould (1997) and discussed in the previous section. This concern does seem justifiable as research by Story and French (2004) found that brand placement contributes to childhood diseases in that it promotes junk food, soda pop and alcohol.

These findings do support the work by Schmitt et al. (2007) and Hudson et al. (2007) in that there is a strong consumer effect. Despite a slight difference between the responses from the

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two cultures the overall finding was that respondents did feel brand placement was worse when it was aimed at children. This tended to be because the chance of harm was higher because children are likely to be more easily influenced. This obviously raises ethical concern as the definition of ethics for this dissertation has been specifically linked with the chance of harm being caused to the consumer.

4.4 General Awareness to Brand Placements in Movies

This section of the analysis explores how alert consumers are to sponsored brand placements in movies. The findings raise several ethical issues which will be explored in more detail in the following two sections of the analysis.

All the respondents that were interviewed showed a reasonable awareness of brand placement in Hollywood movies. However, this was to be expected as one of the criteria for selection for the interview was that they must be a student at Nottingham University Business School. Although they all were aware of brand placement as an advertising tool, their general understanding was not in any great depth.

In all the interviews it was discussed in detail how aware the students were of brand placements in Hollywood movies. There was no notable difference between the two cultures. However, there were several common themes which could be identified from the sample of students as a whole. The majority of both the Chinese and English students did seem to think that they would be less likely to recognise a placement as an advert if they were more involved in the film. Two quotes, one from a Chinese student and the other from an English student are shown below.

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Respondent 7C: If I am watching a film and enjoying it more I will not be thinking of an advert if I see it, it will just be like part of the film. Like if the product is shown at the start of the film I would probably be more likely to pick up on it because I would not be really fixed on the story. In James Bond he would be driving a fast car, but I would not think that is an advert because I would just be watching and enjoying the film

Respondent 1E: The more I am involved in the film the less likely I will be to see the brand as an advert. But some placements are almost embarrassingly obvious so you will always notice them

Interviewer: Can you think of an example of a placement youve seen that is obvious?

Respondent 1E: Have you seen I Robot. Theres a blatant placement of Converse trainers by Will Smith, he just points to them and says it, its like an advert you would see on TV. Its pretty cringy

The above quotes are typical of the majority of the interviews. These findings support the idea put forward by Morrison (1994) that the more involved a person becomes with the film the less likely they are to recognise a placement as an advert. This means the movie watcher lets down their defences and may consume the advert subconsciously. Studies by Nebenzahl and Secunda (1993) and Gupta and Gould (1997) have found that students are able to recognise brand placements in movies. Whilst it may be true that if they are consciously looking for a brand placement they will notice it, if they are engrossed in a movie they will be less likely to

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recognise it as an advert. This carries ethical implications because if the consumer is unable to recognise the placement as sponsored, they may lack the ability to filter the advert..

Another theme to emerge from this section of the interview was that the alertness to a particular placement can vary with how obvious or obscure the placement is in the movie. Respondent 1E refers to the example of I Robot, a film with numerous obvious placements. If the brand name is actually spoken by the actor or actress, as is the case with I Robot, the placement is much more obvious and it is recognised as a paid advertisement. However, if the placement is very subtle the consumer may be less likely to notice it. The quote below, from one of the Chinese students interviewed illustrates this point.

Respondent 10C: Sometimes the camera will just go over a brand name quickly and you can quite easily miss it

This quote suggests that if a brand is subtly placed it can be missed by the consumer. This again raises the issue of subconscious consumption which will be discussed in detail in the following sections.

The majority of the respondents revealed that they were unable to tell whether a placement is used to promote a brand or whether it has merely been used by creative professionals. Five of the twenty interviewees suggested that if the brand placement was more obvious it was an advert and if it was less obvious it was part of the editorial content. A quote to illustrate this point is shown below.

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5E: Its obviously hard to know for sure, but if the placement is glaringly obvious its likely to be an advert and if it is more subtle its more likely to have just been used by the director

This point again raises the issue of how ethical a placement is. If a company just slots its brand name into the movie it may be perceived by the audience to just be a piece of editorial content when in fact it is a sponsored placement.

For this section of the interview no noticeable differences were found between the Chinese and English students. However, several common themes were identified from all the respondents. The level of involvement in the movie, as suggested by Morrison (1994), was a contributing factor to how likely the respondents were to recognise a placement in a movie. Another finding was that the level of obscurity of the placement was a major determinant of how likely the respondents were to recognise the placement as an advert. It also emerged from the interviews that the respondents could not easily tell whether a placement was an advertisement or simply part of the editorial content. These findings have various ethical implications which, as mentioned earlier, will be discussed in the following section.

4.5 Deception of Brand Placement

The issue of deception represents a common argument against the use of brand placement in advertising. The supposed deceptive nature of brand placement limits the consumers ability to filter the advert. This jeopardises the consumers freedom of choice which could potentially lead to harm to the consumer. This idea will be explored in the following section. This section analyses the interviewees responses to explore whether brand placement in movies is deceitful and explain how it can be deceitful.

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Following on from the previous section the concept of deception has been linked with the alertness to the existence of brand placement. A general theme emerged from both cultures that the more obscure a placement was, the more likely it is to be deceptive in nature. The two quotes below, from an English student and a Chinese student illustrate this well.

Respondent 5C: Some placements you hardly see, there isnt a big thing made about them and they arent spoken about but they are just used like normal. Like if an actor drinks a can of Coke, you would just be watching him have a drink like a normal person, but theres a chance that could be an advert. But theres no way you could know this and you might not recognise it at all so I think that would be deceptive

Respondent 1E (referring to a placement she mentioned earlier in the movie I Robot): If they are like that they might look stupid, but I suppose youd have to be pretty stupid not to realise they are some form of advertising. He does clearly read the name out and point to his shoe. Theres nothing deceptive about it because its just like any other advert you would see on TV. But, if its more subtle and just used like a prop it probably is a bit more deceptive I suppose

In the example referred to by Respondent 1E the camera zooms in on the actors (Will Smith) shoe, a Converse Allstar, as he laces it up he says a thing of beauty. In this clip of the film the shoe is actually the primary stimuli and so the placement is obviously an advertisement. For this reason Respondent 1E does not perceive the placement to be deceptive in nature. However, when the placement is more obscure, as Respondent 1E and 5C both state, it becomes more deceptive. This supports the idea discussed by Nebenzahl and Jaffe (1998) in that obtrusive advertising is deceptive because it is secondary to other stimuli. They put brand

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placement forward as an example of obtrusive advertising. However, form these set of interviews, in particular the interview with Respondent 1E, it has become clear that brand placements may not always be obtrusive as they are not always the secondary stimuli. In the I Robot example the placement makes no attempt to hide the fact that it is sponsored and thus makes no attempt to deceive the consumer.

If a brand placement is too obvious it can potentially have a negative impact on the brand image as it is perceived as distasteful and tacky. In the previous section Respondent 1E refers to the I Robot shoe example as cringy. This raises the issue of whether some degree of deception is necessary if the placement is to have a positive impact on the consumer.

It is questionable whether some level of deception from brand placements is unavoidable. In the literature review a quote from John Barnard, CEO of the UKs largest placement agency was referred to in which he suggested brand placement is a catch 22. This was supported by several of the responses from the interviewees who suggested that if the placement is too obvious it is cringy but if it is less obvious it is more likely to deceive the audience. The respondents were asked whether some level of deception was both unavoidable and acceptable. There was a noticeable difference between the responses from the Chinese students and the English students. A quote from a Chinese student and an English student is shown below:

Interviewer: Do you think some form of deception is unavoidable and/or acceptable?

Respondent 2C: Maybe it is, I do think that the placement cannot be too obvious because this does look silly. The film can work better if the brand is not so obvious as then it looks more realistic and the audience will think it is better. But I dont think that this makes it

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acceptable.... It isnt right for the advertising to deceive the consumer in anyway whether it avoidable or not. If they think deception is unavoidable maybe they should not do brand placement

Respondent 5E I suppose it probably is unavoidable. The audience dont know when they are going to see a brand and so when it comes they might miss it. It cant be announced over a loud speaker in the cinema [laughs]. If it is to fit in with the movie it does have to be quite subtle and not too obvious. This probably does make it acceptable, I mean, what else could they do? Its not like the height of deception, personally I dont really mind it

The two responses are clearly quite different. They both agree that some level of deception is probably unavoidable but they differ in their acceptance of this deception. Respondent 2C does not think deception via brand placement is acceptable whilst Respondent 5E does not seem concerned. Following the line of questioning on the deception of brand placement seven Chinese students stated that they did not think it was acceptable compared with only three of the English students. Whilst this finding would greatly benefit from quantitative study, it does suggest that there may be a difference between the two cultures in their acceptance of the deception of brand placement. This may again be linked with the Confucian values which exist in the Chinese culture today. Redding (1999) has stated that Chinese Family Businesses often trade based on trust and often do not use contracts. It may be this same trust between the Chinese people that has led to their rejection of deception in brand placement. The English culture relies less on trust and more on the law to govern fair treatment. This is likely to have resulted in the difference between the two cultures views on the acceptance of brand placement.

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Seven of the English students and two of the Chinese students revealed that they did not have a problem with the current deception of brand placement in Hollywood movies. As mentioned earlier this is suggestive of a difference between the two cultures, with the English culture appearing to be more accepting of brand placements. Six of the English students actually went beyond the mere acceptance of brand placement stating that they actually prefer it to other forms of advertising. One quote from an English student is shown below to illustrate this point.

Respondent 3E: Well I dont really see much wrong with to be honest, I dont see how it would cause any harm. Its just a more entertaining way of advertising really isnt it. I mean I get sick of adverts on TV., theyre so slow and youve always seen them all before. When Im watching a film and a brand name comes on, I actually think its quite good. It can add something to a scene and advertise something in an interesting way, its much less tedious

Respondent 3E is clearly accepting of brand placement and favours it in place of other more conventional promotional tools. He suggests it is less tedious and so views it as a positive thing. The pattern from the English students supports early research by Nebenzahl and Secunda (1993) who studied Western college students and found most of their respondents to be tired of traditional commercials. However, the results from the Chinese students do not support this claim. This illustrates the importance of carrying out cross-cultural studies in order to develop the necessary understanding regarding global promotion.

The findings from this section have revealed that both the Chinese and English students did tend to think brand placement was deceptive in nature and that the level of deception largely rested on how obvious the placement was in the movie. However, the two cultures were found to differ in their level of acceptance of the deception of brand placement. The majority of

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Chinese students did not accept it, whilst the majority of the English students were accepting of it. Over half of the English students also stated that they preferred it to other forms of advertising with the main reason being because it was less tedious. The results from the English students have been found to agree with earlier research into Western audiences, whilst the responses from the Chinese students suggest cross cultural studies are necessary to draw conclusions on global promotions such as brand placement.

4.6 Jeopardising the Consumers Freedom of Choice

The two previous sections have explored the alertness of the consumer to brand placement and the issue of deception of brand placement. Both have previously been associated with the jeopardizing of the consumers freedom of choice (Rotzoll 1986, Lippke 1998, Schmitt et al. 2007, Nebenzahl and Jaffe 1998). From this section of the interviews three main reasons for the jeopardising of the consumers freedom of choice emerged. The consumer is either unaware they are being exposed to advertising or subconsciously consumes the advert because it is so subtle. The latter of these two is strongly associated with the issue of deception explored in the previous section. The third reason is because the consumer is already watching the movie and so does not have a choice over whether or not to consume the advert.

A common theme to emerge from the interviews for both cultures was that there is no real way of knowing whether a brand placement is an advert or simply a piece of editorial content. Whilst some students guessed how you could tell a placement was an advert, it was clear that no student could tell for sure. This was to be expected as there is no real way of knowing. Respondents tended to think that it was even harder to tell if the placement is less subtle. The quote from the following Chinese student illustrates this point.

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Respondent 9C: If I see a brand in a movie I never really think about it. I am just watching the film. I wouldnt really think Id notice it, unless its quite an obvious advert.

Interviewer: Do you think you would know whether a placement is an advert or just a prop used in the film?

Respondent 9C: Id like to think I could tell really, but unless it said in the credits, which Im not sure whether it does, theres obviously no way I could no

The final statement by Respondent 9C raises the issue of disguised advertising (Nebenzahl and Jaffe 1998). This suggests that the placement may not be perceived as being sponsored because it is presented as editorial material rather than as an advertisement. Respondent 9C also states that she may be more likely to interpret a placement as an advert if it is more obvious. This suggests that if the placement is more subtle she is less likely to see it as an advert. This section of the interviews has revealed that there may be a link between how obvious the placement is and whether it is perceived to be an advert.

The second reason the consumers freedom of choice may jeopardized is also linked to the subtlety of the placement. The issue of deception which has been discussed in the previous section has been linked with the possible cause of harm because the consumer does not choose to consume the advert, but may do it subconsciously. There was evidence of subconscious consumption of the advert from both the Chinese and English cultures. Some quotes which suggest this from both cultures are shown below.

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Respondent 5C: Some placements you hardly see, there isnt a big thing made about them and they arent spoken about but they are just used like normal

Respondent 10C: Sometimes the camera will just go over a brand name quickly and you can quite easily miss it

Respondent 7E: Yeh I dont always realise the brand placements are there to be honest. I watched the movie Transformers the other day and a few weeks after I read something about it having more adverts in that any other movie, I cant remember seeing one [laughs]

All three of the quotes above suggest that the consumers do not recognise the brand placement in the movie. Thus they have not consciously consumed the advert, but may have consumed it subconsciously. These three quotes, in particular the quote by Respondent 7E, raise the issue of obtrusive advertising. This means that the placements have hidden the fact that they are sponsored by being secondary to a more prominent stimulus, the movie itself. Respondent 5C, 10C and 7E all suggest that it is possible not to realise a placement is present in a movie. In such instances the possibility for subconscious consumption occurs. This form of consumption is argued to be unethical for two reasons. Firstly the consumer does not have a choice over consumption of the advert and secondly, as has been suggested by Nebenzahl and Jaffe (1998), consumption of the advert at the sub-attentive level can actually be more effective than at the attentive level.

It has previously been suggested that brand placement in movies affects the consumers freedom of choice in that they can only not consume the advert by retreating from the whole movie (Schmitt et al. 2007). In order to assess the validity of this claim it was necessary to

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develop an understanding of the extent to which the consumers felt their freedom of choice had been jeopardized. The general finding from both cultures was that the consumer had virtually no control over the consumption of a brand placement in a Hollywood movie. The predominant reason was that the consumer was never aware of when a placement was likely to occur. The two quotes below illustrate this point for both cultures.

Respondent 5C: Once you have gone to watch the film, you have left yourself with no choice but to see the placements because you cannot tell when one will come

Respondent 6E: I dont really think you have much control, the brands are just used like props and can sometimes make the film better. Theyre not in every film so you dont know what will be in it when you go and watch something

It was clear from the interviews that the consumers felt they had very little control over the consumption of brand placements. However, this is not surprising given that this is one of the main reasons advertisers use this promotional tool (Nelson 2003). In order to better understand whether this constitutes unethical practice it was necessary to develop an understanding of how the consumer felt about this lack of control.

There was a clear difference between the Chinese and English students regarding their acceptance of a lack of control over the consumption of brand placement. This pattern virtually mirrored how accepting the students were of the deception of brand placement. Whilst the English students understood that they could not really choose whether or not to consume a brand placement, this did not seem to bother them. It has already been mentioned that six of the English students preferred brand placement to more conventional promotional tools. Although

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they may previously have given it little thought, by the end of the interview six Chinese students stated that they found the lack of control of consumption unacceptable. The quote from the respondent below shows a firm dissatisfaction with brand placement.

Respondent 5C: The person is meant to be able to decide what they want to do, it should not be right for companies to force their advert on the audience in this way. They have gone to watch a film and that should not have anything to do with adverts. I think the companies are just trying to take advantage of the audience

This point of view differs greatly from the point of view of the following English respondent.

Respondent 4E: You dont choose to watch the advert, but normally theyre just like props. Companies have to advertise to consumers somehow and brand placements are more interesting than many other ways. I dont really think its a big concern. Just because a person has seen a brand in a movie, it doesnt mean they have to buy anything, you know

Brand placement does appear to jeopardise the consumers freedom of choice. However, these series of interviews suggested that the English culture was far more accepting of placements in movies than the Chinese culture. The Chinese culture may perceive brand placement to be less ethical than the English culture which obviously has implications for brand placement as a global promotional tool.

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Chapter 5 Conclusion, Propositions and Limitations

5.1 Conclusion

The findings for this dissertation illustrate the importance of the cross-cultural study. Previous studies (Nebebzahl and Secunda 1993 and Gupta and Gould 1997) have attempted to draw conclusions for consumer attitudes towards brand placement based solely on responses from Western audiences. This comparison of Western and Eastern audiences has revealed several important differences which advertising companies must consider. Brand placement has been described as a global promotional tool (Karrh 1998) and as such it is important to understand how different cultures react to it. Despite the various differences between the Chinese and English students, there were various similarities in their responses which largely support the previous research in this area.

The results from this study strongly support the idea of ethically-charged products put forward by Gupta and Gould (1997). The responses from the English and Chinese students both suggested that the type of product being advertised had an affect on how acceptable the brand placement was. The placement was largely considered to be less ethical if the product could potentially cause harm. There was a subtle difference between what the Chinese and English students considered to be ethically charged and this was thought to be associated with the media attention a given product had received in that country.

The consumer effect found in previous research (Schmitt et al. 2007 and Hudson et al. 2007) was also supported by these findings. Both the English and Chinese students suggested that a brand placement was less ethical if it occurred in a movie targeted towards children. This idea

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was also found to be strongly linked with the concept of ethically-charged products as the least ethical placements were potentially harmful products placed in movies aimed at younger audiences.

The results largely supported the work by Nebenzahl and Jaffe (1998) in that brand placement is potentially deceptive. However, the in-depth data gathered from this study revealed various new insights. Several respondents suggested that placements were not deceptive if they were obvious and thus became the primary stimulus. This conflicts with the work by Nebenzahl and Jaffe (1998) who suggested that brand placement is deceptive because it is obtrusive advertising. The results from this study suggest that whilst this may be true, it is not always the case. The obscurity of the placement was also found to affect whether or not it was perceived to be disguised. Respondents were more likely to interpret the placement as an advert if it was more obvious.

Brand placement was found to jeopardise the consumers freedom of choice over the consumption of the advert. This was found to be strongly linked with the issue of deception as respondents stated that they were often unable to tell whether or not a placement was sponsored. Respondents were often found to miss placements in movies which raised the issue of subconscious consumption. The consumer is either unaware they are being exposed to advertising or subconsciously consumes the advert because it is so subtle. It was also found that the consumers freedom of choice was jeopardised because the consumer is already watching the movie and so can only not consume the advert by choosing to not view the entire movie. These findings again support the work by Nebenzahl and Jaffe (1998).

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The findings from the comparison of the English and Chinese students reveal why it is necessary to draw conclusions for a global promotional tool based on different cultures and not just isolate the study to Western audiences. This study identified several differences between the Chinese and English students regarding their perceptions of the ethicality of brand placement in Hollywood movies.

The English students tended to agree with the Chinese students regarding the negative characteristics of brand placement. Both cultures found brand placement often falsely cast products in a good light, they both perceived it to be deceptive and they both thought it potentially threatens the consumers freedom of choice. However, the two cultures greatly differed in their acceptance of these negative characteristics. Whilst they did not really seem to bother the English students, many of the Chinese students found them unacceptable. For example, seven of the Chinese stated that the deceptive nature of brand placement was unacceptable compared with only three of the English students. Six of the English students actually claimed that they preferred brand placement in movies to other more conventional forms of advertising.

The responses from the English participants do largely support previous work by Nebenzahl and Secunda (1993) and Gupta and Gould (1997), but the responses from the Chinese students conflict with much of it. Nebenzahl and Secunda (1993) found that most of their respondents were accepting of brand placement and preferred it because they were tired of traditional commercials. Because their study only focussed on Western audiences it overlooked the possibility of different views occurring in different cultures. Most of the English and Chinese students both stated that the consumer had no control over the consumption of the advert. However, the Chinese students were far less accepting of this lack of control.

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This dissertation has made a contribution to the body of work on the ethics of brand placement. There are several aspects of brand placement which have resulted in its status as a potentially unethical promotional tool. This dissertation has identified these aspects and developed an understanding of how consumers across cultures perceive them. It was found that both the English and Chinese Cultures perceived there to be unethical aspects of brand placement. Brand placement cannot be perceived by audiences to be unethical as this will potentially have a negative impact on brand image and the image of the movie in which they are placed. It is necessary for these aspects to be addressed if brand placement is to be perceived as a positive promotional tool.

The Chinese dissatisfaction with brand placement was believed to be rooted in the Confucian ideals that still exist in Chinese society today. The work by Geert Hofstede was used to explain several of the differences found between the two cultures. Chinas high power distance index was suggested to explain the Chinese students concern over brand placement in movies targeted at children. The UK has a very high individualism score whilst Chine has a very low individualism score. This reflected the difference between the Chinese and English students acceptability of brand placement, particularly its effect on the wider community. This is an important find because brand placement has been described as a global promotional tool. However, if it is perceived differently by different cultures it will not be effective on a global scale.

This study has highlighted the importance of a cross-cultural element to a study investigating a global phenomenon. It is inadequate to research brand placement in movies based on only Western cultures. There were aspects of brand placement which were perceived to be unethical

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by the consumers. These aspects need to be recognised by the brand placement industry and their affect on different cultures must be considered.

5.2 Propositions for future research:

From this research project a number of propositions have been put forward which warrant further research. This is a qualitative based study and as such the propositions would benefit from quantitative research to assess their validity. The propositions are shown below:

Ethically Charged Products

Different cultures differ in what they perceive to be the most ethically charged-products.

A cultures perception of how ethical of a product is for placement in a movie is affected by the national media. This point refers to differences between countries.

The perception of how ethically-charged a product is varies with how much negative media attention it has received.

The Consumer Effect

Placements are perceived to be more unethical when the movie is aimed at a younger audience.

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The Deception of brand placement

Western and Eastern audiences differ in their acceptance of the deceptive nature of brand placement.

Consumers are more likely to perceive a placement to be an advert if it is more obvious.

Eastern and Western cultures differ in their acceptance of the jeopardising of the consumers freedom of choice by brand placement.

5.3 Limitations of the Study

This study has been conducted by the researcher with every effort being made to adhere to generally recognised academic best practice. Given more time and resources more interviews would have been conducted to enhance the strength of the conclusions. As mentioned in the method, it would have been useful to conduct a preliminary interview with every respondent prior to their actual interview to explore their characteristics and ensure they are appropriate for the study. Respondents were generally unwilling to give up such a large amount of their time.

This study is based on qualitative research as the aim was to yield in depth data from which a number of propositions for future research could be drawn. The study would have greatly benefited from quantitative research to test the propositions that have been put forward.

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It is also necessary to note the role of the interviewer as a research tool. The interviewer had a lack of experience in conducting qualitative interviews. It is not unlikely that a more experienced interviewer could have gained a greater depth of data from the respondents.

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References

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Appendix 1.

Dear Respondent, My dissertation is investigating consumer perception of the ethicality of brand placement in Hollywood movies. Ten Chinese students and Ten English students from Nottingham University Business School will be interviewed. The aim of the dissertation is to produce a comparison of how ethical the Chinese and English students perceive brand placement in movies to be. The study will only focus on Hollywood movies. Brand placement is a supposed global advertising tool and as such it is necessary to develop an understanding of how different cultures interpret it. Brand placement has been frequently linked with the issue of ethics and as such this is an important point for comparison. It is necessary for you to familiarise yourself with the following definitions: Ethics: That branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions. Brand placement in movies: Incorporating brands into movies in return for money or for some promotional or other consideration The following photos are examples of brand placements in Hollywood moves. It is worth noting that they differ in how obvious they are. Please take a few moments to study each example. This placement is of Coca Cola. It occurs in the film Juno and features actress Ellen page

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This placement is of Pepsi and occurs in the movie Waynes World and features actor Mike Myres

This placement is of Fedex and occurs in the movie Castaway. It features actor Tom Hanks

This placement is of Nike and occurs in the movie Back to the Future II. It features actor Michael J. Fox

Please email me regarding anything you are unsure of. Many thanks, Oli Fawcett.

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