THE SENSE OF NONSENSE - JAPANESE TV-ADVERTISING

Various explanations for the well-known ''soft-sell'' style adopted in Japanese TV ads are examined. The common culturally based explanation is found wanting, as is an alternative explanation based on a theory of the persuasive role of social factors in Japan. A more complete exp lanation draws upon the peculiar institutional arrangements which exis t in the Japanese agency world and the economic function played by adv ertising in the Japanese marketplace.