How Much are Health Websites Inﬂuenced by Culture? Content...

Journal of Promotion Management, 16:331–359, 2010Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 1049-6491 print / 1540-7594 onlineDOI: 10.1080/10496490903294703

How Much are Health Websites Influenced byCulture? Content Analysis of Online DietPrograms in the United States, the United

Kingdom, and Korea

JAY (HYUNJAE) YUSogang University, Seoul, South Korea

KAREN WHITEHILL KINGUniversity of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA

HYE JUN YOONSouthern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, USA

This study investigates the content of diet websites in the UnitedStates (US), United Kingdom (UK), and Korea from a cross-culturalperspective using two cultural typologies: Hofstede’s individualism-collectivism and Hall’s low-high context. The results show a balanceof the universal features and culture specific characteristics in thewebsites. Interestingly, the UK was in the middle between the US andKorea in several features even though the UK and the US typicallyhad been generally included in the same cultural group in advertis-ing studies. It was also determined that neither Hofstede’s typologynor Hall’s high-low context is enough to explain the cultural rep-resentations found on the websites. The need for new typologies forexplaining or categorizing the cultural characteristics in advertis-ing is suggested.

KEYWORDS advertising, content analysis, cross-cultural, diet,health communication, individualism-collectivism, low-high con-text, online, promotion, websites

INTRODUCTION

“There are now more people suffering from obesity than from hunger.”(Louise Fresco, former Assistant Director-General, Food and Agri-

culture Organization [FAO] of the United Nations, 2006)

Address correspondence to Jay (Hyunjae) Yu, Assistant Professor, School of Communica-tion, Sogang University, 209 Gabriel Hall, Seoul, 121-742, South Korea. E-mail: [email protected]

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Numerous media reports and academic studies have indicated the neg-ative effects of obesity on people’s health (Tate, Wing, & Winett, 2001; USSurgeon General, 2001; Blackburn, 2002; Pontiroli, Pizzocri, Paroni, & Folliet al., 2006). The problem is widespread. According to a report from theAmerican Obesity Association (2006), about 127 million American adults(64.5%) are considered to be overweight with a Body Mass Index of 25 ormore. (Body Mass Index is calculated as weight in kilograms divided bythe square of height in meters.) The same report indicates an additional 60million adults (30.5%) are obese (with a BMI of 30 or more). The Centersfor Disease Control (CDC) has predicted that obesity will eventually replacesmoking as the number one cause of preventable death for the first time inUS history.

In this environment, many people have recently become more inter-ested in losing weight, and the diet industry has become prominent in theconsumer market. According to a report by the FTC (2003), American dietersannualy spend about $35 billion on diet products. In addition, about 1,000new products enter the market every year.

Money spent on advertising for diet programs and products toppedmore than $240 million in 2001—not including diet foods, beverages, orhealth club memberships—a substantial increase over the $190 million spentin 2000 (CMR/TNS, 2006), and the amount of the advertising for weight-loss products increases annually (FTC, 2003). Today, many advertisers viewwebsites as a major advertising medium for their businesses (Tate, 2001;Christ, 2005; Yu & King, 2005; Baek & Yu, 2007). Online advertising for dietproducts, specifically, is more important now than ever because consumersare becoming ever more dependent on the internet for obtaining diet in-formation (Knoop, Lovich, Silverstein, & Tutty, 2003). According to the PewInternet & American Life Project (Pew Research Center, 2006), 49% of Amer-ican internet users obtain diet or nutrition-related information through theinternet. On November 21, 2007, when the word “weight-loss” was typedinto a Google search bar, approximately 40,900,000 results were returned in0.16 seconds.

Obesity is an epidemic not only in the US (Cho & Cheon, 2005; Walker &Wadee, 2006), and diet websites have recently become very popular world-wide (Kim & Kang, 2002; Korean Society for Health Promotion and DiseasePrevention, 2003; Harper & Astrup, 2004) especially due to the universal ris-ing rate of obesity and general usage of the internet (Jung, Youn, & Chang,2005; Yu & King, 2005). Today, diet companies worldwide are meeting thedemand from consumers for services that are not available in offline adver-tising (Yu & King, 2005; Baek & Yu, 2007). However, websites from differentcultures tend to show a disparity in the actual content that they offer, eachreflecting the influence of a country’s specific culture (Okazaki & Rivas, 2002;Cho & Cheon, 2005).

Content Analysis of Online Diet Programs 333

The current study analyzes the content of diet websites from a cross-cultural perspective. In spite of the international popularity of internet adver-tising, there have been few studies researching the content of diet websites(Jung, Youn, & Chang, 2005) and even fewer studies researching websitecontent from a cross-cultural perspective (Okazaki & Rivas, 2002; Yu & King,2005).

In this study, advertising appeals presented in the verbal factors (i.e.,slogans, headlines, and copy) and visual factors (i.e., models, photos, illus-trations, and animation) will be analyzed and compared among diet websitesfrom three different countries. In addition, the specific cultural indicators ap-plied from Hofstede’s (1980) individualism-collectivism typology and Hall’s(1976) high-low context typology will be investigated. In order to obtain asample, this study selected diet websites from the US, the UK, and Korea; allthree countries have experienced a remarkable increase both in the rate ofobesity and internet use among people in recent years (Kim & Kang, 2002;Korean Society for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, 2003; Walker& Wadee, 2006).

POPULARITY OF DIET WEBSITES IN THE THREE COUNTRIES

According to a recent report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project(2006), approximately 80% of American internet users (113 million Americanadults) have searched for health or medical information online. Forty-ninepercent of internet users have searched for information about dieting, nu-tritional supplements, or weight control. Forty-four percent of internet usershave searched online for information about exercise/fitness. Further, the datashowed that 82% of female internet users have gone online for health in-formation, compared with 77% of male users. Also, as people’s income andeducation improve, the rate of using the internet to seek out health-relatedinformation increases (Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2006).

The UK and Korea are also regions where diet websites have been verypopular in recent years (Papadaki & Scott, 2005). According to a report in2007 from WeightWatchers.com, the UK is the second major market in dietmarketing after the US (Weight Watchers, 2007). There are not only UK-based diet companies online, but many US companies are also conductingmarketing among UK dieters (e.g., www.peak-nutrition.co.uk). Even thoughsome British researchers have warned consumers to be careful about thedeceptiveness of diet websites, the usage of diet websites has been onthe rise (Papadaki & Scott, 2005). Furthermore, effects of some online dietprograms have been proven by medical researchers (Kirk et al., 2003).

According to a recent study, the obesity rate in Korea is the fastestgrowing among all Asian countries (Yoon et al., 2006). Today, about 32%of Korean adults are categorized as obese. The study also found that female

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college students in Korea were more likely to be on a diet than femalecollege students from anywhere else in the world. In addition to the increaseof obesity in Korea, easy access to the internet has been another reason forthe popularity of diet websites (Baek & Yu, 2007). Korea has been a longtimeglobal leader in the rate of subscriptions to high-speed internet access (WallStreet Journal, 2006). On June 25 in 2007, www.Google.co.kr return 1,850diet websites by entering the word the Korean word for “weight-loss.” Yu and King (2005) reported that most Korean diet websites containcontent that might have been influenced by western culture. For example,they found frequent usage of Caucasian models and advertising messagesusing the English language for foreign diet products.

CROSS-CULTURAL CONTENT ANALYSIS OF WEBSITES

To date, most cross-cultural content analyses in advertising have examinedtraditional advertising media: TV ads in general (Cho, Up, Gentry, Jun, &Kropp, 1999), magazine ads (Han & Shavitt, 1994), or newspaper ads (Paek,Nelson, & McLeod, 2004). Other studies have focused on a particular typeof ad, such as political ads (Tak, Kaid, & Lee, 1997), beer ads (Caillat &Mueller, 1996), or corporate ads (Cho & Cheon, 2005). Studies have alsoanalyzed how cultural differences relate to specific creative strategies likesex appeal (Nelson & Paek, 2005) and celebrity endorsement (Choi, Lee,& Kim, 2005; Paek, 2005). However, cross-cultural research that examineswebsites is significantly lacking (Taylor & Miracle, 1997).

Okazaki and Rivas (2002) conducted a cross-cultural comparison of cor-porate websites applying traditional advertising content study techniques.They examined information content, cultural values, and creative strategieson multinational corporations’ product-based websites in Japan, Spain, andthe US. The results showed that cultural values were significantly differentamong the three countries’ websites. Collectivistic values were not presenton Spanish and US websites, but only on Japanese websites. By contrast,regardless of the countries and cultural differences, the level of informa-tion content (e.g., price, quality, and performance) and the use of creativestrategies tended to be similar across the countries. Based on their find-ings, Okazaki and Rivas argued that traditional eastern and western culturaldimensions are, in fact, reflected in web marketing communications, butalso that universal characteristics should be applied when developing thewebsites.

Cho and Cheon (2005) examined to what extent varying levels of in-teractivity are related to unique cultural characteristics on different western(US and UK) and eastern countries’ (Japan and Korea) corporate websites.Using Hofstede’s (1980) (individualism/collectivism and power distance) andHall’s (1976) (high/low context) cultural value frameworks, the researchers


found that the websites from Asian cultures had more interactive functionsin terms of consumer-consumer interactivity. Therefore, the first two dimen-sions of interactivity (consumer-marketer, consumer-message) were foundmore frequently on western countries’ websites, but the consumer-consumerdimension was more popular on Asian countries’ websites.

Yu and King (2005) compared the advertising appeals and informationcontent of diet websites between the US and Korea. The results indicated thatthe health/nutrition appeals (i.e., focusing on the health benefits resultingfrom weight-loss activities mentioned on the website such as “I’m not worriedabout type II diabetes anymore!”) were the major advertising appeals inboth countries. But they found that some visual features such as usage ofanimation/caricature were more prevalent on Korean websites. The reviewsof past cross-cultural studies of websites suggest that unique features of theinternet such as interactivity and specific content may vary across cultures,while others may also converge regardless of cultural differences.

CROSS-CULTURAL STUDIES IN ADVERTISING AMONG THE THREECOUNTRIES

Cross-cultural studies of advertising comparing western and eastern coun-tries have generally used the individualism/collectivism typology suggestedby Hofstede (see Table 1, 1980; and Gudykunst & Ting-Toomey, 1988; Choet al., 1999; Moon & Chan, 2005). Further, the typology has played a ma-jor role in creating better advertising strategies, especially for multinationalcompanies that want to do business in foreign markets (Yu & King, 2005).Some advertising researchers have applied Hofstede’s (1980) typology notonly to identify cultural distinctions between eastern and western cultures,but also to examine differences within the same culture (e.g., Nelson & Paek,2005).

Another major typology for cultural comparison is the high/low contextdistinction. According to Hall (1976), the people in low-context cultures uselanguage primarily to express thoughts, feelings, and ideas as directly andlogically as possible. The majority of information is conveyed in explicitmessages and self-oriented expressions (“I” or “You”). On the other hand,

TABLE 1 Hofstede’s Five Dimensions for the US, U.K and Korea

IndividualismPower

Distance MasculinityUncertaintyAvoidance

Long-termOrientation

US 91 40 62 46 29UK 89 35 66 35 25Korea 18 60 39 85 75

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people in high-context cultures use indirect expressions. Therefore, in manycases, the style of expression is very subtle, and sometimes ambiguous. Thecountries from low-context cultures include the US, Canada, and NorthernEuropean countries such as the UK. Most Asian countries belong to high-context cultures (Adler, Rosenfeld, & Proctor, 2004).

Regarding the US and Korea, there have been several studies indicat-ing the differences across diverse aspects of advertising. For example, Hanand Shavitt (1994) found that individualistic appeals (e.g., individual benefitsand preferences, personal success, independence, and hedonism) are usedto a greater extent in American ads than in Korean ads. They also foundthat collectivistic advertising appeals, such as in-group benefits, harmony,and family integrity, are more frequently seen in Korean ads. Cutler, Javalgi,and Lee (1995) also confirmed that Korean advertising is more likely to in-clude celebrities, a portrayal of an international audience, and status appealscompared to that of western countries.

However, Wolburg and Kim (1998) found that Korean advertising oftenuses individualism appeals, contrary to the expectations of many researchers.According to their findings, most sample ads from both Korean and Americancultures had product claims that emphasized individualism. A total of 88%of the Korean ads and 93% of the American ads included claims for makingthe individual more attractive, healthy, and efficient. The products advertisedincluded cosmetics, hair coloring, clothing, and diet programs. In weight-lossproducts specifically, Korean ads mainly appealed to attractiveness, but theAmerican weight-loss ads predominantly emphasized health itself (Wolburg& Kim, 1998).

Compared to the amount of studies dealing with a comparison of west-ern and eastern countries such as the US and Korea, cross-cultural researchanalyzing the features of British ads has been less popular (Cutler & Javalgi,1992a; Toncar, 2001). Generally, several aspects of the UK have been con-sidered to be similar to those of the US due to the shared language andsimilar cultural origin (Cho & Cheon, 2005). Actually, several studies groupthe UK and the US together as representative countries of the western world(Frith & Sengupta, 1991; Cho & Cheon, 2005), which is consistent with thesuggestion from Hofstede (1980). For example, Toncar reported, throughhis content analysis of primetime ads on major network channels in the USand UK, that there were no significant differences in the proportion or thetype of ads that employ humor. Cho and Cheon also indicated that the char-acteristics of the corporate websites are similar between the two countries.Visual components in the two countries’ ads have been known to have manysimilarities based upon Cutler and Javalgi’s (1992b) study as well. Interest-ingly, British ads were more similar to that found in the US rather than thatof France. Even though France and the UK are closer geographically, thetwo countries have been considered very different in many aspects (Boote,1982; Whitelock & Chung, 1989). In addition to the content analyses, a study


investigating people’s responses to ads has also indicated a similarity be-tween the US and the UK. Huang (1998) found that people from the twocountries showed similar responses to ads using emotional appeals (e.g.,happiness, love, and sadness).

However, there have been contradictory indications as well regardingthe two countries’ advertising. Nevett (1992) observed that US ads often em-ploy hard-sell messages, while British advertising more frequently uses soft-sell and idiosyncratic expressions. This hard-sell/soft-sell distinction has alsobeen used by several other researchers as an important difference betweenthe two countries’ advertising (Bernstein, 1986; Garrett, 1986; Weinberger& Spotts, 1989a). Nevett also confirmed, through the investigation of TVads, that there is less informational content and more intention to entertainthe viewer in UK commercials (1992). The study also examined the generalopinions of the two countries’ audiences, finding that the American audienceis less favorable to advertising than British viewers. Despite also conduct-ing research on humor in advertising, Weinberger and Spotts (1989b) gotcompletely different results from those of Toncar (2001) that are explainedpreviously. They reported a significant difference between the two countriesin terms of humorous content in advertising. According to their study, com-mercials from the UK had much more humorous content than those fromthe US Studies discussing cultural influences in advertising among the threecountries chosen for this study have produced varying results and implica-tions (Paek, Nelson, & McLeod, 2004; Moon & Chan, 2005; Sung & Tinkham,2005; Yu & King, 2005). Based upon this diversity of results from previousstudies, the current research will employ six research questions rather thanhypotheses to guide the inquiry.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Since there have been conflicting results and different suggestions from sev-eral cross-cultural studies in advertising among the three countries (Cutler& Javalgi, 1992b; Nevett, 1992; Toncar, 2001), the researchers decided to in-vestigate the characteristics of diet websites in an exploratory manner ratherthan by setting up hypotheses.

The first research question aims to compare the three countries’ dietwebsites in terms of verbal factors (slogans, headlines, and copy). Threeverbal factors were analyzed using advertising appeals and compared amongthe three countries’ websites.

RQ 1: What are the differences, if any, in verbal appeals among the threecountries’ diet websites?

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The next two questions explore the characteristics of visual factors foundon the diet websites of the three countries. Analysis will cover several charac-teristics of models (number of models, gender, race, role, vocation, clothing,and pose) and non-model visual factors (pictures, animations, illustrations,tables, and graphs) on the websites.

RQ 2: What are the differences, if any, in the characteristics of modelsdepicted among the three countries’ diet?

RQ 3: What are the differences, if any, in the visual characteristics (pic-tures, animation, illustrations, tables, and graphs) among the three coun-tries’ diet websites?

The fourth research question deals with the other informational contenton diet websites. All menus, interactive features, and other miscellaneous in-formation elements (e.g., privacy statements) will be analyzed and comparedamong the three countries’ diet websites.

RQ 4: What are the differences, if any, among the three countries’ dietwebsites in the use of informational content (menus, functions, and in-teractive features)?

In addition, any culture-specific indicators that could be found wereinvestigated. As the specific indicators reflecting cultural influences on thethree countries’ diet websites, the items from the two theoretical frameworkswere used: Hofstede’s (1980) individualistic-collectivistic distinction and low-high context typology by Hall (1976). Through a total of 12 indicators, thecultural aspects being applied on the three countries’ diet websites wereexamined and coded. All cultural indicators from the two theories are seenin Table 2.

RQ 5: What differences, if any, exist among the three countries’ dietwebsites in the use of collectivistic-individualistic cultural characteristics?

RQ 6: What differences, if any, exist among the three countries’ dietwebsites in the use of low-high context cultural characteristics found onthe websites?

METHOD

Sampling

The sample consisted of 300 diet websites (100 per country, see examplesof websites in Figures 1, 2, and 3). The Yahoo search engine (Yahoo.com/Yahoo.uk/Yahoo.co.kr), specific to each country, was utilized to obtain the


FIGURE 1 Example of U.S. diet website.

FIGURE 2 Example of Korean diet website.

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TABLE 2 Operationalization of Cultural Indicators

Individualism“Enjoy being unique”: Featuring a person enjoying being unique.“Benefits to oneself”: Addressing benefits to oneself.“Doing something by oneself”: Featuring a person doing something by oneself.Collectivism“Conversation among people”: A conversation among people.“People in harmony”: Featuring people in harmony with one another.“Working together”: Featuring people working together.Low Context“Product features”: Emphasis on product features.“Utilitarian needs”: Addressing utilitarian aspects of the product.“Use of numbers”: Use of numbers.High Context“Emotion and mood”: Emphasis on emotion and mood.“Use of metaphor”: Use of metaphor.“Aesthetic expression”: Use of aesthetic expression.

Cho et al., 1999.

sample. When the word “weight-loss” was typed into the search bar of theAmerican Yahoo website (Yahoo.com), a list containing approximately 53.1million websites were generated (accessed on Oct. 13, 2006). Among thewebsites listed, the researchers selected only the first 100 for inclusion in thesample because the websites that are ranked high have recent popularity

FIGURE 3 Example of UK diet website.


(Yu & King, 2005; Baek & Yu, 2007). More than 90% of users click on aresult within the first three pages of search results (CMR, April 27, 2006).However, if a website was developed just for personal use, such as a blogor private site that tends to be accessed by an extremely limited group ofpeople, it was not included in the sample. Also, websites that were solelydesigned for selling diet products (e.g., Catalog AjaFit.com phentermine,www.ajafit.com/top-phentermine) were eliminated from the sample becausethere was not enough information for the analysis. Those websites werereplaced with the next website from further down the list. All three searcheswere conducted using the same method, the only difference being that aKorean word which translates to “weight-loss” in English, wasused for the Korean search. The 300 websites, 100 websites per each country,were selected and hard copies were printed out on one single day by oneof the researchers (May 23, 2006).

Coders and Coding Scheme

Two coders were recruited for this study. Both coders were mass commu-nication graduate students in the US who are originally from Korea andproficient in both Korean and English. They were trained to code the adver-tising appeals, information content, and cultural indicators based upon theguidelines for coding (Table 3). Several examples were used in the trainingsessions in order to ensure that the coders coded from a unified perspective.Each item for coding was thoroughly discussed among the two coders andthe authors using real examples on the sample websites. After the trainingsession, the two coders coded the websites independently.

As there have been only a few content analytic studies for diet websitesto date, several coding schemes from indirectly-related literature on the topicof diet were referenced to develop the current coding scheme. The literaturereferenced for developing the coding scheme included the study of advertis-ing messages of food ads (Klassen, Wauer, & Cassel, 1991), thematic analysisof diet product ads (Bishop, 2001), cross-cultural study of advertising appeals(Jeon, Franke, Huhmann, & Phelps, 1999; Adler et al., 2004; Moon & Chan,2005), category of advertising appeals for recent diet products (FTC, 2002;Kaiser Family Foundation, 2002), and characteristics of models (Ford, Voli,Honeycutt, & Casey, 1998).

For the criteria of analyzing informational content (menu, functions,and interactivity), a coding scheme for DTC pharmaceutical websites wasapplied (Macias & Lewis, 2003). Finally, the coding sheet for this studyconsisted of four sections: (a) models (gender, number, race, pose, andclothing); (b) non-model visual factors (photos without human models, an-imations, tables, and graphs); (c) verbal characteristics (advertising appealsin slogans/headlines and copy); and (d) cross-cultural comparison (cultural

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TABLE 3 Advertising Appeals on the Weight-loss Websites

Appeals Definition Examples of words

Appearance &Looks

Trying to get attention by focusingon the appearance benefitsresulting from weight-lossactivities mentioned on thewebsite. For example, “Before &after” pictures are used very oftenfor this appeal. Statementsmentioning body shape, slimness,etc. are commonly found.

Good (nice, great, bad, etc)looking/fashion/bodyline/sexy/beautiful/slim/glamorous/gorgeous/handsome/hot, etc.

Health &Nutrition

Trying to get attention by focusingon the health benefits resultingfrom weight-loss activitiesmentioned on the website.

Low incholesterol/nutritious/disease/names of diseases (cancer,cardiovascular, diabetes, etc)/heartproblems/the symptoms ofobesity/blood pressure/energy/etc.

For example, “I’m not worriedabout type II diabetes anymore!”

“Blood pressure? Excellent!”, etc.Emotional &

PsychologicalTrying to get attention by focusing

on relationship benefits oremotional benefits resulting fromweight-loss activities mentionedon the website.

Colleagues/friends/husband/company/work/friendly/relationship/neighbor/gloomy/confident/happy/guilty/fear, etc.

For example, a working womantestifies about the comparisons ofattitudes toward her bycolleagues or friends beforeweight-loss and after; orstatements such as “I amconfident now!”, “I enjoy my lifenow!”, etc.

Quantitativechange

Trying to get attention by focusingon the change of weight itself.

Lbs/come off/per week/won’t gain/reduce body fat/up to 2pounds/unwanted 48inches/achieve weight loss, etc.Mainly about a change in weight.

For example, statements such as, “Ilost 120 lbs”, “Pounds come offslowly but steadily!” etc.

Authority Trying to get attention by focusingon evidence from research or aprofessional. For example,statements such as “Dr. K provedthat this diet pill has . . . “,“According to research, mostusers of this product . . . “, etc.

Prove/research/testament/Dr’srecommendation/Accordingto/Based upon research/university,etc.

Threat Illustrating undesirableconsequences from certainbehaviors or situations, such asdisease, being isolated fromfriends, losing boy/girl friendsdue to serious obesity.

Consequence/illness/damage/failure/regret/isolation/increasingrisk/health problem/diagnosis/names of diseases (cancer,cardiovascular, diabetes/highblood pressure).

Klassen, Wauer, & Cassel, 1991; Bishop, 2001; FTC, 2002; Kaiser Family Foundation, 2002; Adler et al.,2004; Moon & Chan, 2005; LaTour & Rotfeld, 1997.


indicators from individualistic-collectivistic typology and low-high context ty-pology). Regarding the cultural characteristics on the websites, coders wereasked to answer yes/no to the questions about the presence of specificcultural indicators such as “harmony in group,” “co-fulfillment,” or “self-reliance” based on the definitions of each cultural indicator. Coders madea decision about the presence of cultural indicators by scanning not onlythe texts (copy) of each website but also the visual components. The otherinformational content on each website (menus, attributes for interactivity,and privacy statements) were coded by the yes/no distinction as well.

The First Stage of Coding

The first stage of coding was used to check inter-coder reliability as wellas the quality of the coding sheet. Many studies have noted the absoluteimportance of inter-coder reliability for content analytic research (Lombard,Snyder-Duch, & Bracken, 2002; Yeon, Choi, & Kiousis, 2005). The size of thesample for the pilot study was set at 40% of the total sample based on a previ-ous study that used similar percentages (Neuendorf, 2002). Therefore, a totalof 120 (40 per each country) websites were chosen and independently codedby the two coders. All websites from the sample were printed as hardcopiesfor the analysis. Although some research has suggested coding websites us-ing a computer monitor, the authors decided to print them because thereis no significant difference between the two methods and the hardcopiesallowed coders to code site information from the same day thereby avoidingpossible changes in the websites. This method gave them the ability go backto the hardcopy of the website to gauge coding discrepancies.

The two coders used a preliminary draft of a coding sheet for the pilotstudy. To calculate inter-coder reliability, the Program for Reliability Assess-ment with Multiple Coders (PRAM) was utilized. Results revealed an averageof 76% (0.7625) agreement (global) as inter-coder reliability. However, somevariables attained poor agreement between the two coders. The authors andcoders decided to pursue higher inter-coder reliability as recommended byprevious research (Neuendorf, 2002). Approximately four hours of the sec-ond training session was conducted and some minor changes were made tothe coding sheet. Finally, coders achieved acceptable inter-coder reliability(87% global agreement, 0.8775). After the pilot test, the two coders coded therest of the websites (180 websites per coder) in the sample independently.

The First Page

The first page of each website was considered for the analysis. As notedby previous studies, the first page of a website serves as a type of front

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TABLE 4 Appeals of Verbal Factors (Slogans, Headlines, Copy)

US U.K KOR X2 df P-Value

Appearance & looks 35% 50% 65% 18.00 2 P ≤ .01Health & nutrition 96% 94% 84% 10.44 2 P ≤ .01Emotion &Psychology

71% 48% 51% 12.73 2 P ≤ .01

Quantitative change 35% 20% 30% 5.74 2 n.sAuthority 59% 25% 32% 27.18 2 P ≤ .01Threat 10% 4% 16 8.00 2 P ≤ .05

Base: (300); n.s = not significant.

gate (Ha & James, 1998; Bucy, Lang, Potter, & Grabe, 1999). Generally, awebsite’s front page should get people’s attention and motivate them to stay.Therefore, companies usually try to include the most important informationthey want to communicate to consumers on this page (Yu & King, 2005). Ifa website does not capture people’s attention on the front page, there is adecreased likelihood of consumers remaining there (Chan-Olmsted & Park,2000). In cases where websites used the first page solely for catching the eyeof the consumer (e.g., visual catcher using a flash technique or a greeting),the next page was chosen for the analysis.

RESULTS

Verbal Appeals (RQ 1)

Most of the websites contained more than one appeal. The health and nu-trition appeal was found most often on all the websites and was used onalmost all the websites from the US and the UK (96% and 94%). As shownon Table 4, emotional and psychological as well as authority appeals werealso found frequently on US websites (71% and 59%) and at significantlyhigher levels than on the websites for the other two countries. Appearanceappeals were significantly more likely to be found on Korean websites (59%)than on US websites. While threat appeals were not commonly used on theweight-loss websites, they were more commonly found on Korean websites(16%) than on US (10%) or UK sites (4%).

Human Model Characteristics (RQ 2)

Human models were present on most of the diet websites in each of thecountries. There were no significant differences (p ≤ .05) found betweenthe number of websites containing human models and the country of origin(US = 77%, Korea = 69%, UK = 65%).


TABLE 5 Model Characteristics

US UK KOREA X2 df P-Value

Model presence 77% 65% 69% 3.57 2 n.sMale 37% 33% 30% 16.34 16 n.sFemale 71% 61% 60% 35.42 20 p ≤ .05White model 72% 61% 26% 63.90 18 p ≤ .01Black model 12% 5% 0 18.40 6 p ≤ .01Asian model 1% 0 57% 136.67 20 p ≤ .05Model alone 71% 62% 63% 25.84 20 n.sModel group 27% 29% 22% 25.11 20 n.s

Model’s RoleSpokesperson 25% 13% 34% 24.97 14 p ≤ .05Participant 6% 5% 16% 20.71 14 n.sDemonstrator 23% 20% 25% 11.61 12 n.sEngage in activity 21% 16% 13% 19.22 14 n.sNon-activity image 43% 46% 38% 14.47 18 n.s

Model’s VocationCelebrity 5% 1% 19% 25.80 12 p ≤ .05Famous athlete 15% 0 0 2.00 2 n.sMedical specialist 5% 2% 16% 19.32 8 p ≤ .05Diet specialist 16% 5% 8% 11.07 8 n.sAverage people 66% 61% 54% 22.14 20 n.s

Model’s clothingSports wear 30% 28% 39% 18.78 18 n.sCasual wear 53% 38% 40% 26.94 20 n.sMedical attire 5% 0 13% 17.11 8 p ≤ .05Formal clothing 10% 9% 13% 12.79 8 n.sNude 2% 4% 4% 2.69 4 n.s

Base: (211/ Websites with Human Model); n.s = not significant.

Female models were used about twice as often as male models in allthree countries and models were depicted most often alone rather than ingroups (see Table 5). Not surprisingly, there were differences found betweenthe websites in terms of race of the models depicted. US and UK websitesdepicted white models most often whereas Korean websites included Asianmodels most frequently. However, many Korean websites also showed whitemodels (26%).

There were few significant differences in the roles of models on thewebsites between the three countries (p ≤ .05). The most common roleof the models was “posing non-active image” across the three countries’websites (43% of US, 46% of UK, and 38% of Korean). There was a significantdifference in frequency of using spokespersons on the websites by country(p ≤ .05). Models were spokespersons/endorsers most frequently on Koreanwebsites (34%). A demonstrator model (e.g., a before-and-after picture) wassimilarly popular among all three countries’ websites (23% of US, 20% of UK,and 25% of Korean).

In terms of the vocation depicted of the models, “average people” wereshown most often by a wide margin (66% of US, 61% of UK, and 54% of

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Korean). Celebrities were found significantly (p ≤ .05) more frequently onKorean websites (19%). Famous athletes were not popular on any of thewebsites; only one case was shown on an US website. Medical specialists(a medical doctor or a nurse with a uniform/lab coat) were shown morefrequently on Korean websites (16%) (p ≤ .05). Casual wear was the mostcommon clothing worn by human models overall (53% of US, 38% of UK,and 40% of Korean) followed by sportswear (30% of US, 28% of UK, and39% of Korean). Medical attire (e.g., gowns) was shown significantly moreon Korean websites (13%) (p ≤ .05). Nudity was rarely shown on any of thewebsites.

Visual Characteristics (RQ 3)

Photos were the most common visuals on the three countries’ websites;however, they were most common on US and Korean websites. Photos thatdepicted health/nutrition were most common (US = 45%, UK = 29% andKorean = 30%), but they were more likely to be found on US websites. Mostphotos categorized as health/nutrition appeal were photos of food or otherfood supplements. In Korean websites, the appearance/looks appeal (e.g.,a photo of a mannequin wearing a bikini swimsuit) was more frequentlyfound (27%, p ≤ .01) (see Table 6).

Illustrations were found more frequently on Korean websites (30%, p ≤.05). Also, animation was another item indicating the significant differencebetween Korea (48%) and the two western countries (p ≤ .01). Only sixwebsites in the US and seven websites in the UK used animation. Koreanwebsites were also more likely to include photos, illustrations, and anima-tion emphasizing appearance. For example, several Korean websites hadanimated drawings of women emphasizing a slim body. Tables and graphswere scarcely seen on the weight-loss websites overall.

Information Content (RQ 4)

Several significant differences were found between the websites for the threecountries in the information content of menus and functions on the diet web-sites. US websites had nutrition information (54%), and privacy statements(52%) with over half of all the websites containing at least some of theseitems.

Korean websites were the most likely to contain opportunities to accessinformation in a second language (67%). Information about specific diseasespossibly caused by obesity was mentioned in about one fourth of the sampleon both the US and Korean websites (25% and 24%, respectively). However,the UK websites scarcely included information about diseases (7%).


TABLE 6 Visual Characteristics


Photo present 60% 49% 69% 8.31 2 p ≤ .05Appearance 5% 17% 27% 17.75 2 p ≤ .01Health & nutrition 45% 29% 30% 7.09 2 p ≤ .05Emotion 2% 6% 6% 2.39 2 n.sQuantitative 9% 12% 11% 0.49 2 n.sAuthority 5% 0 2% 5.55 2 n.sThreat 1% 0 0 2.00 2 n.s

Illustration present 16% 12% 30% 11.45 2 p ≤ .01Appearance 1% 4% 6% 3.58 2 n.sHealth & nutrition 9% 6% 7% .068 2 n.sEmotion 1% 1% 4% 3.06 2 n.sQuantitative 4% 2% 7% 3.05 2 n.sAuthority 2% 2% 1% 0.40 2 n.sThreat 0 0 0 — — n.s

Animation present 6% 7% 48% 70.91 2 p ≤ .01Appearance 2% 4% 37% 62.92 2 p ≤ 01Health & nutrition 3% 0 7% 7.65 2 p ≤ .05Emotion 0 1% 9% 15.10 2 p ≤ .01Quantitative 0 0 4% 8.10 2 p ≤ .05Authority 0 0 0 — — n.sThreat 0 0 0 — — n.s

Table present 2% 1% 0 4.04 4 n.sGraph present 4% 1% 1% 3.06 2 n.s

Base (300); n.s. = not significant.

Information about medical specialists was mentioned more often onthe menus of Korean websites (22%). Information about eating habits (e.g.,“Please be awake for at least 3 hours after having a meal!”) appeared at asimilar rate on the US and Korean websites (43% and 39%, respectively),but on only 17% of the UK websites. It is interesting to note that informa-tion about dieting for a specific part of the body (e.g., thigh, neck, leg, orarm) was mentioned most frequently on Korean websites (28%) (p ≤ .01).Exercise-related information was seen at a similar frequency on all threecountries’ websites (35% of US, 34% of UK, and 31% of Korean). An exercisemachine was mentioned on 11% of UK websites, but only 1 website pro-vided information about an exercise machine on the US websites (p ≤ .01)(Table 7).

Interactivity applied on diet websites was also investigated. Requests forlogging-in or subscribing to a particular website were found most frequentlyon Korean (87%) websites than on the other two countries’ websites (56%of US and 45% of Korean) (p ≤ .01). Menus for chatting among the users orestablishing a community were more frequently found on Korean websites(55%). The functions for exchanging messages, or Q&A among customerswere seen on 80 Korean websites (p <.01). However, a newsletter was thetypical method for consumer-company communication on the US websites

348 J. Yu et al.

TABLE 7 Information Content (Menus and Functions)


Weight-loss camp 0 0 7% 16.29 4 p ≤ .01Second language 1% 3% 67% 156.02 2 p ≤ .01Scientific data 8% 6% 2% 3.69 2 n.sShort timedemonstration

27% 24% 24% 0.32 2 n.s

Disease from obesity 25% 7% 24% 13.48 2 p ≤ .01Medical professional 17% 3% 22% 16.11 2 p ≤ .01Health insurance 1% 1% 1% 0.00 2 n.sRecipe 59% 36% 39% 12.65 2 p ≤ .01Eating habits 43% 17% 39% 17.73 2 p ≤ .01Nutrition 54% 32% 38% 10.66 2 p ≤ .01Part of body 3% 4% 28% 38.87 2 p ≤ .01Exercise 35% 34% 31% 0.39 2 n.sDrugs 16% 19% 12% 3.95 4 n.sSupplements 28% 20% 27% 2.02 2 n.sExercise machines 1% 11% 5% 9.47 2 p ≤ .01Registration (Log-in) 56% 45% 87% 40.54 2 p ≤ .01Chat or community 41% 20% 55% 26.17 2 p ≤ .01Message boards (Q&A) 51% 40% 80% 34.84 2 p ≤ .01Newsletter 22% 12% 1% 21.41 2 p ≤ 01Search engine 29% 26% 16% 5.12 2 —Hyperlinks to other sites 45% 37% 11% 29.54 2 p ≤ .01Consulting/medicalspecialists

9% 3% 23% 20.44 2 p ≤ .01

Consulting/dietspecialists

33% 16% 63% 48.41 2 p ≤.01

Privacy statement 52% 21% 38% 20.67 2 p ≤ .01

Base: 300; n.s: not significant.

(22%) (p ≤. 01). A search function and a hyperlink to other related websiteswere both common on the US and the UK websites (Table 7). Consulting withmedical specialists/diet professionals was more popular on Korean websites(23%) (p ≤ .01). The privacy statement was a very popular element on theUS websites (52%), compared to the other countries’ websites (p ≤ .01).

Cultural Characteristics (RQ 5, RQ 6)

Individualistic/collectivistic characteristics represented on the websites wereexamined by six cultural indicators (Table 8). The indicator “benefits tooneself,” which is regarding the satisfaction for oneself (e.g., “This formula isexactly for you!”) was used on the US websites more frequently (83%) thanon the other two countries’ websites (70% of UK and 51% of Korean) (p ≤.01). Also, the indicator of “doing something by oneself” (e.g., “taming yourprimal appetite!,” “shape your abs. . .thighs. . .body!”) was shown on the USwebsites more frequently (94%) than other countries’ websites (82% of UKwebsites and 66% of Korean) (p ≤ .01).


TABLE 8 Cultural Characteristics (Individualism-Collectivism)

US UK KOREA P-Value

Indicators/IndividualismEnjoy being unique 39% 28% 44% n.s.Benefits to oneself 83% 70% 51% p < .01Doing something by oneself 94% 82% 66% p < .01

Indicators/CollectivismConversation among people 56% 68% 54% n.s.People in harmony 12% 27% 48% p < .01Working together 4% 3% 32% p < .01

BASE = (300)

Among the collectivistic indicators, the “conversation among people”was found in a very similar rate among the three countries’ websites (56%of US, 68% of UK, and 54% of Korean). The indicator of “people in har-mony” was found more frequently on Korean websites (p ≤. 01) than othercountries’ websites with about half of the Korean websites (48%) contain-ing expressions or scenes related to harmony. “Working together,” includingexpressions or scenes indicating cooperation among people for a diet, ap-peared more often on Korean websites (32%), almost ten times as often ason the other two countries’ websites (4% = US and 3% = UK) (p ≤. 01).

The low-context features can be found on Table 9. Product features(e.g., “A sustained release, Ephedra—Free product that finally works!”) wereused on the US and Korean websites (44% and 37%, respectively) at a similarrate; the UK websites were less likely to use product/service features on theirwebsites (22%, p ≤ 01). “Utilitarian needs” (e.g., “Slim Patch, peel off thepounds each time you peel off the patch!”) were more common on the USwebsites (47%) than on the websites of the UK and Korea (27% and 38%,respectively; p ≤. 05). Using numbers was more common on both the USand Korean websites (18% and 20%, respectively) than the UK websites (7%)(p <.05).

TABLE 9 Cultural Characteristics (Low-High Context)

US UK KOREA P-Value

Indicators/Low ContextProduct features 44% 22% 37% p ≤ .01Utilitarian needs 47% 27% 38% p ≤ .05Use of numbers 18% 7% 20% p ≤ .05

Indicators/High ContextEmotion and mood 55% 75% 61% p ≤ .05Use of metaphor 53% 70% 60% p ≤ .05Aesthetic expression 82% 93% 80% p ≤ .05

BASE = (300)

350 J. Yu et al.

The items for measuring high-context characteristics were “emotion andmood,” “use of metaphor,” and “aesthetic expression.” Emotion and mood(e.g., “Get ready for change!, Transform your mood from crappy to happy!”)was found on the UK websites more frequently (78%) than the other twocountries’ websites (55% of US and 61% of Korean) (p ≤ .05). The use ofmetaphor (e.g., “Post Holiday Scale Giving you the Blues?”) was less commonon the US websites (53%) than the UK and Korean websites (75% and 61%,respectively; p ≤. 05). Aesthetic expressions (e.g., “The magic answer toobesity problems”) were found on the UK websites more often (93%) thanthe other countries’ websites (82% = US and 80% = Korean)

DISCUSSION

Health Appeal versus Appearance Appeal

The results in this study showed that the health/nutrition appeal was com-monly used across the three countries’ diet websites, while several differ-ences between the Asian country and the western countries were also found.As an example of differences, the appearance/looks appeal was in many as-pects on Korean diet websites (e.g., slogan/headlines, copy, and visual fac-tors). Regarding some items (e.g., characteristics of photos and animations onthe websites), the appearance/looks appeals were found significantly moreoften on Korean diet websites than the other countries’ websites.

A recent phenomenon in Korean society, namely the obsession withthinner bodies among young Korean females (Choi, 2004), may be affectingthe frequency of the appearance/looks appeals on Korean diet websites.Among young Korean women, there has been a growing obsession withdiet (Yoon et al., 2006). Even though they may be of average weight forKoreans, many young women in Korea want to be skinnier, whatever thecost. Research has pointed out that such misconceptions about beauty havemade young Korean women try to abnormally lose weight by spending a lotof time and money on this endeavor (Kim, 1999).

This obsession with outward appearance among Korean females islinked to another surprising record: the highest rate of plastic surgery pro-cedures in the world, approximately 17% of all women (Chosun Ilbo, 2005).Also, according to a report from the BBC (2005), about 50% of Koreanwomen in their twenties have undergone cosmetic surgery. The findings ofthis study support the fact that, although concern about appearance/looksis likely to be common among people of all three countries, the obsessivedesire to be beautiful may be more prevalent for Korean consumers re-cently than those in other two countries. This perception not only results inthe popular usage of appearance appeal in advertising, but also results inseveral problems, such as eating disorders, among young Korean females(Hankyoreh Daily, 2006). Furthermore, many deceptive ads may be taking


advantage of this abnormal perception among young female consumers. Thecoders in this study found that there were many unreasonable ad messagesluring consumers such as “Get a perfect body in a month!” or “Lose 50 lbsin a week!”

The dominant advertising appeal of the US and UK diet websites washealth/nutrition. The frequent usage of a health/nutrition appeal could belinked to the major agenda related to obesity and dieting established recentlyby the media in the two countries. There are numerous studies and mediareports addressing the danger to national health from being obese in bothcountries (De Caires, 2002; Fujioka, 2002; Papadaki & Scott, 2005). For exam-ple, obesity has been frequently reported to have a positive correlation withcardiovascular problems, type II diabetes, osteoarthritis, and certain cancers(breast, ovarian, prostrate, and colon) in the US (Tate, Jackvony, & Wing,2003). According to a report from the US Surgeon General (2001), approx-imately 300,000 deaths per year in the US result from obesity. Numerousreports have also discussed health concerns originating from obesity in theUK (Tackling obesity in England, 2001; BBC News, 2006; United Press Inter-national, 2006). The Guardian (Giddens, 2006) reported that Britain has thehighest rate of obesity in Europe, and the health problems the epidemic ofobesity can bring are formidable in the society.

This dominant agenda in the two western societies might be affectingthe advertising messages on diet websites. Several diet websites use quotesfrom the media warning the danger of being obese alongside their dietsolutions (e.g., healthrecipes.com, weight-loss-tips-free.com). US and the UKdiet websites are applying health/nutrition appeals very often to persuadetheir consumers. According to Fujioka (2002), many western websites tryto make the audience see being overweight as a disease to be cured bythe companies’ products or services. Under this intention, the two countries’websites are marketing several “drug” products for losing weight rather thanactivity-related programs. Also, they provide healthy recipes and nutritionalinformation more often compared to Korean websites. In fact, a recent studypoints to thematic shifts in health/nutrition appeals in US TV ads for dietproducts (Bishop, 2001). The authors noted that the use of a health/nutritiontheme has been a very significant framing issue when making claims in dietads over the past decade. The many reports detailing the dangerous effects ofobesity have played an important role in this thematic change (Bishop, 2001).

Cultural Distinctions among the Countries were Vague

Regarding the individualistic-collectivistic paradigm, despite some significantdifferences in a few indicators, the results generally did not show manysignificant cultural differences between a website from a western countryand a website from an Asian country. Differing from the results of several

352 J. Yu et al.

cross-cultural studies analyzing the advertising of two different cultures (Han& Shavitt, 1994; Cho et al., 1999; Choi et al., 2005; Paek, 2005), similaritieswere found in diverse parts of the websites, ranging from verbal factors tovisual factors.

Few studies have indicated similar characteristics in advertising betweenAsian countries and the western world, reporting the same results as thatof this study. According to Wolburg and Kim (1998), the Korean ads theyanalyzed were actually in favor of individualism, as most sample ads fromboth cultures had product claims emphasizing individualistic characteristics.A total of 88% of the Korean ads and 93% of the US ads contained claimsfor making the individual more attractive, healthy, or efficient.

Regarding the similarities in ads among different cultures, Levitt (1983)already suggested the concept of “homogenization” for marketing commu-nications in a global market. Levitt suggested standardization of marketingon a global scale mentioning that travel and transport would be the primaryfacilitators of this situation as an analysis of trends and expectations beforethe debut of internet. Therefore, it is highly possible that the internet hascaused a more rapid expansion of globalization. The internet is the most ef-fective and powerful medium in history for the facilitation of people havingthe same experience (Samiee, 1998). Through the internet, people in manycountries can have the same experience at anytime, anywhere.

As another possible background for the similarities of several aspectson diet websites across the countries, the influences of western society onother cultures in the world can be discussed. In Korea, English is the mostfrequently used second language, and diverse multi-national franchises existthroughout the country (Ulgado & Lee, 1998). Also, the development ofsatellite TV has allowed people greater access to western lifestyles very easily.Korean people can watch western programs in their homes 24 hours a day.In addition to western programs, exposure to western advertising plays animportant role in standardization. Many international brands air commercialsmade for the global market. Furthermore, it is very common to find westernmodels and scenery in ads for Korean products. Under these circumstances,it is highly possible that standardization of many cultural aspects is occurring.

Communication strategies are decided by companies after analyzingmarket trends and the minds of target audiences. Frequent exposure to west-ern cultural elements can influence the attitudes and trends of the marketingenvironment. Similarities in advertising appeals are likely a reflection of thesituations indicated previously.

The US and the UK: A Shared Language, but Advertising Differences

Based upon several examples of cross-cultural advertising research usinghigh-low context (Cho et al., 1999; Paek, 2005), it was expected that thewebsites of the UK, one of the western countries, would show more


low-context characteristics than Korean websites. However, in this study,the UK diet websites showed the highest frequency in all three indicators forhigh-context. Furthermore, the indicators of “usage of emotion/mood” and“metaphor or aesthetic expression” were more frequently found on Britishsites than on the other two countries’ websites. Despite having been gener-ally referred to as a western country, the UK has shown several characteristicsrelating to a high-context culture. Therefore, internet advertising strategies inthe UK are different from the US based upon the results of this study, eventhough both countries have been categorized as part of the western worldhistorically.

There have been a small number of studies indicating the differencesbetween the UK and the US in the amount of information contained inads (Nevett, 1992); use of soft sell type of ad messages (Bernstein, 1986;Garrett, 1986; Weinberger & Spotts, 1989a); level of intention to entertainthe viewers (Nevett, 1992); general attitudes toward advertising (Nevett);and use of humorous appeals in advertising (Weinberger & Spotts, 1989b).Therefore, based on the results of this present study, another difference couldbe added to the literature. The UK weight-loss advertising on the internetcontains more high-context cultural features than US ads, such as usage ofemotion and mood, and metaphor and aesthetic expression.

Consequently, the results of this study are not identical with the notionsof Hall’s high-low context typology (1976) even though it has been consid-ered and used as a significant theoretical framework for cross-cultural ad-vertising research, along with Hofstede’s individualism-collectivism typology(1980). Actually, Hall’s description of high-context culture is virtually indistin-guishable from Hofstede’s collectivist dimension, so that the two typologieshave been used simultaneously as explanatory frameworks in several stud-ies (Gudykunst & Ting-Toomey, 1988; Taylor & Miracle 1997). Therefore,it could be said that the two major cultural typologies, low-high contexttypology and individualistic-collectivistic typology, may not be enough toexplain the results of this study. The need for new typologies for explainingor categorizing the cultural characteristics presented in advertising can be in-dicated. Actually, some researchers have pointed out that the applicability ofthe two traditionally popular typologies need to be re-evaluated (Fernandex,Carlson, Stepina, & Nicholson, 1997; Cho et al., 1999; Moon & Chan, 2005;Yu & King, 2005) because of their validity and generalizability (La Ferle &Lee, 2002; Moon & Chan, 2005). This study provides another reason why anew typology is needed for cross-cultural studies in advertising.

LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH

As in all research, there are some limitations to the current study. The firstwas the choice to analyze only a part of each website. Even though thefirst page has a lot of content, this made the analysis somewhat incomplete.

354 J. Yu et al.

Some sites used the first page only as an introduction. There were missionstatements, photos of the owner, and/or brief guides. All other content wasaccessible only through additional clicking. Another limitation involves thecoding of the advertising appeals. Coding was based primarily on looking forcertain keywords. Coders were limited to looking for those specific wordsthat meant or represented one of the appeals. This presents an issue ofinterpretation on the part of coders. Even if a word represents one appealin one context, it is possible for that same word to be used with a differentconnotation in another context.

The assumptions and analysis of this research are all derived from themost current websites of the three countries. A future longitudinal analysisof content would allow an understanding of the change in consumers’ needsand companies’ ad appeals, as well as the marketing environment of thetime among the three different cultures. Also, additional variables shouldbe studied. While the sample was being coded, some interesting variableswere found which were not accounted for. For example, an appeal to pricewas seen on many sites. Comparisons of the price of some products wereused frequently. Marketing/advertising partners can also be coded to un-derstand how diet businesses and other related businesses help each otherthrough their ads. There were banner ads for Subway and TGI Friday’s onthe Atkins Diet website. In sum, other possible directions for future researchremain. This pilot study has focused on the content of and appeals used bydiet websites. Future work incorporating some measurement of actual con-sumer responses or motivations would serve as an excellent complementto, and expansion of, knowledge regarding this increasingly popular onlinedestination.

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