General language use, language proficiency and language attitudes as predictors of consumer response to the use of Spanish and English in advertising in Chile and Mexico

Abstract

There are indications in the literature that consumers’ response to ads in their mother tongue and English as a foreign language may be influenced by their general language use, language proficiency and language attitudes, but empirical evidence is scarce. This experiment tested to what extent these three factors predicted Chilean and Mexican consumers’ response to the use of English and Spanish in advertising. An experiment with 176 participants showed that perceived symbolic value of Spanish (as an aspect of general language attitudes) and general use of Spanish predicted consumer response to Spanish ads. In contrast, general use of, proficiency in and attitudes towards English did not predict consumers’ response to English ads. These findings indicate that there is a positive relation between consumers’ general use of their mother tongue and the symbolic value they attach to it and their response to ads in their own language.