Decoding Thai Humor in China: A Visual-Semantic Analysis of Cross-Cultural Advertising Reception

Abstract

Background and Aim: With the development of globalization and digital media, cultural differences have become the main obstacle to the cross-border dissemination of humorous advertisements. Due to its unique cultural connotations and visual narrative techniques, Thai humorous advertisements present a "novelty-empathy-humor" dissemination path in the Chinese market. This study aims to explore how the cultural connotations incorporated into Thai humorous advertisements affect narrative construction and interact with the cultural identity and empathy mechanism of Chinese audiences during the dissemination process.

Materials and Methods: This study adopts a qualitative grounded-theory approach, conducting semi-structured in-depth interviews with 10 Chinese participants. Following grounded-theory procedures, the interview guide addressed visual-clue interpretation, cultural-symbol recognition, and humor acceptance. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and subjected to systematic Grounded Theory analysis in NVivo 12, encompassing open, axial, and selective coding to generate core categories and clarify the underlying communication mechanisms.

Results: First, in the absence of a language barrier, the audience mainly relies on "visual cues" such as actions, expressions, and symbol placement to complete information transmission, experiencing a cognitive path of "misunderstanding-interpretation-understanding" from confusion to interpretation and then to understanding; secondly, deep cultural metaphors such as Buddhist karma and Sanuk spirit are activated under the framework of Frame Semantics, successfully triggering the cultural empathy of Chinese audiences and establishing a preliminary emotional connection; finally, the differences in the audience's experiences at home and abroad lead to different ways of adjusting their identity boundaries, which in turn affects their preference and acceptance of direct humor and hidden humor.

Conclusion: Thai humorous advertising shows that cross-cultural emotional resonance and identity reconstruction arise when visual narration is foregrounded through exaggerated bodily gestures, distinctive colour palettes, and sequential close-ups, and when multilayered cultural symbols, such as Buddhist karma and Sanuk motifs, are mapped onto frames familiar to Chinese audiences. The study therefore advises international advertisers operating in high-context markets to prioritise rigorous image design (camera rhythm, symbol placement, chromatic contrast) and to curate culturally congruent metaphors that balance novelty with recognisability, thereby strengthening empathy, sustaining attention, and enhancing brand identification across cultural boundaries.