The Handbook of International Advertising Research

9

New Media and International Advertising

Ran Wei

Introduction

International advertising is evolving at an unprecedented pace and scope thanks to the forces of globalization in the past two decades. We have witnessed the advent of global megabrands, which speaks to the growth of marketing and advertising branded products around the world.

Business Week ranks the top 100 global brands annually. Coca-Cola has claimed the top spot for seven years between 2003 and 2010. These brands are everywhere, huge in terms of marketing power and in the size of the markets that they attract. For instance, Apple has firmly entrenched itself as a dominant global brand as iPhone fever swept the entire world. The presence and wide acceptance of global brands across the world showcase the pinnacle of international advertising.

The era of global megabrands was made possible largely because of the trend of globalization, which integrates major economies in the world into a new model of mutually dependent economy systems. The vision of Levitt’s (1983) “one world” as a “single homogenous market” (p. 2) is truer than at any other time in the history of international marketing. This seemingly borderless world for the flow of products is jointly created by multinationals and policy makers in the industrialized countries – led by the United States – who believe that the economic benefits of free trade would benefit all participants in the global market.

On the other hand, international advertising as an economic ...