A cultural paradox in authority-based advertising Jae Min Jung International Business and Marketing Department, College of Business Administration, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California, USA Kawpong Polyorat Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand, and James J. Kellaris College of Business, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine an important exception to the “value congruity hypothesis,” which holds that advertising should be more effective when it is congruent with cultural values. It documents a paradoxical “reverse authority effect” among young adult consumers in traditionally high power distance (PD) countries. Design/methodology/approach – Two experiments were conducted using data from traditionally high (South Korea in Study 1, Thailand in Study 2) and low (USA in Study 1) PD countries. Data are analyzed by variance analyses (multivariate analysis of covariance, analyses of variance) and regression. Findings – Results show a reverse authority effect in Korea and attenuation of this effect in the USA (Study 1). Results also show a reverse authority effect in Thailand (Study 2), suggesting the generality of the effect across young consumers in traditionally high PD countries. It appears that a shift away from traditional cultural values has occurred in the course of modernization, as Western ideology gains popularity among young adult consumers in Eastern countries. Practical implications – Findings suggest that traditional national culture alone is not a good predictor of responses to authority-based ads. Rather, the extent to which a segment embraces or rejects traditional cultural values is more relevant. Originality/value – This paper documents a notable exception to the value congruity hypothesis, i.e. a negative effect of authority-based ads among young consumers in high PD cultures. It extends prior research and has implications for both theory and practice in global advertising. Keywords Advertising, Cross-cultural studies, Young adults, South Korea, Thailand, United States of America Paper type Research paper Recent studies have examined the role of culture in shaping responses to persuasive techniques used in global advertising (Aaker and Lee, 2001; Albers-Miller and Gelb, 1996; Fam and Grohs, 2007; Han and Shavitt, 1994; Okazaki and Mueller, 2007). For example, members of collectivistic cultures are more likely to be persuaded The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0265-1335.htm The authors greatly appreciate the editorial guidance of John Cadogan and the helpful comments of three anonymous reviewers. A cultural paradox 601 Received February 2008 Revised July 2008, January 2009, March 2009 Accepted March 2009 International Marketing Review Vol. 26 No. 6, 2009 pp. 601-632 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0265-1335 DOI 10.1108/02651330911001314