Using Lacuna Theory to Detect Cultural Differences in American and German Automotive Advertising

This study addresses the standardization and adaptation of advertising campaigns in the context of the auto industry and their televised campaigns in America and Germany. It sets out to investigate how lacuna theory can be used to show that advertisements reflect a specific cultural communication and they are interpreted by a specific cultural understanding. Lacuna theory will be used to discover the perceptions of auto commercials by Germans and Americans to discover if differences in cultural communication and cultural understanding exist in advertising creative strategies. The study will find out how these differences, if present, can be identified and understood so that advertising creatives can begin to either implement standardized commercials that are functional for the auto industry in Germany and America or else adapt their campaigns to better target consumers in each country.