Is it necessary to adapt advertising appeals for national audiences in Western Europe?

Previous studies have documented cultural differences in responding to advertising appeals. In the majority of these studies, the responses of US students to different value appeals were compared to those of Asian students. As a result, the type of value appeals studied is limited to appeals to individualistic and collectivistic values. In this study, two experiments are reported on in which the students come from a number of Western European countries (Belgium, the United Kingdom, German, the Netherlands and Spain) and in which appeals to different values are used (Modesty, Success, Adventure, Safety). The results revealed clear preferences for the Modesty and the Adventure appeals regardless of the participants’ nationality. The results raise questions about what would make participants from different cultures respond differently to different value appeals and whether adaptation of values is necessary in Western Europe.