Advertising in the digital marketing era: legal, sociocultural, and linguistic aspects of Chinese advertising in Mainland China and Taiwan

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to examine the advertising phenomenon, considering its variations in Mainland China and Taiwan and providing the tools to understanding advertising in the age of digital marketing. The first chapter introduces the more general aspects of advertising, which are necessary to fully understand the function of this aspect of marketing, including its history, the communicative dimension, its typology, media, and trends. The second chapter introduces and discusses advertising in Mainland China, starting with the assumption that this phenomenon is closely linked to the country's economy and the policies in place, and then turns to a historical overview of advertising in China. Legal aspects of advertising and the most popular trends currently in use are analysed, and finally, an analysis of the linguistic peculiarities of digital advertising is given. In the third chapter, similar aspects are analysed by changing the reference context and introducing advertising in Taiwan. Finally, the last chapter will highlight similarities and differences between Taiwanese and Chinese digital advertising.