Cultural values and aging in Chinese television commercials

This study examined commercials (N = 141) featuring older adult(s) shown on three Chinese TV stations (i.e., national, provincial, and local) in the fall of 2005 to uncover the dominant value themes, the major product categories, and the association between value themes and product categories. Content analysis results revealed that three dominant value themes (i.e., health/life, product effectiveness, and family) appeared frequently in the Chinese television commercials featuring older adults, in which some major product categories such as food/drink, food/health supplements, and medicine were promoted. Results also indicated that the value of health/life was presented frequently in commercials for medicine and food/health supplements and that the family value appeared frequently in food/drinks commercials. Altogether these results demonstrated the importance of health and a lack of emphasis of modern values in Chinese television commercials which feature older adults, indicating a mixed view of aging (i.e., passive and negative). Findings are discussed in the context of the Chinese culture, aging, and television advertising.