Analysis of advertising appeals and execution styles of cosmetic television commercials aired in China: Take examples of 12 cosmetic brands

Abstract

This research aims to examine the core advertising appeals and execution styles used in cosmetic television commercials aired in China during 2009 and 2019. Using the theoretical framework of advertising appeals and execution styles explained by Belch and Belch (2007), a content analysis of 72 cosmetic television commercials from 12 brands which belonged to different cosmetic brand segments (high-end, middle-end, and low-end) was conducted. The findings suggest that emotional appeals and imagery execution styles are the most frequently used in commercials. The appeals and styles complement each other to yield emotional images. From the perspective of cosmetic brand segments, high-end and middle-end brands greatly capitalize on emotional appeal as well as imagery execution, while low-end brands typically utilize rational/informational appeals and straight sell style are mostly found in commercials by brands that belong to low-end segment. For international brands, both imagery and demonstration execution styles are commonly used in commercials by either global standardized advertising strategy or localized strategy.