• Linguistische Treffen in Wrocław •

Nowadays, many international companies advertise their products and services on social media to reach diverse target audiences. To achieve successful communication with potential customers, companies need to adapt their advertising messages to the target audience’s cultural values and communication styles. This research explores the linguistic solutions in advertisements of two car companies: Germany-based Volkswagen and Italy-based Fiat, targeting German and Italian customers. The study examines how these companies align their advertising strategies with the cultural values of their respective markets and how this influences online engagement from potential car buyers. In order to explore this relationship, the collected advertisements are analyzed from the semiotic perspective. Discourse and semiotic analysis demonstrate which cultural values (based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory) and brand-related qualities the companies render in their advertising through engagement language and various advertising strategies (such as celebrity endorsement and green advertising). The analysis of online customers’ engagement (number of likes and comments) allowed for exploring the pragmatic effect of the linguistic and advertising solutions of Volkswagen and Fiat. The results revealed similarities and differences in the language and focus of the two companies’ advertising. Both companies refer to specific cultural values (for example, long-term orientation). However, each company renders these values through different linguistic and advertising instruments. As for the pragmatics of the advertising language, specific linguistic and advertising solutions (such as engagement language and user-generated content) increased user activity. The research proves the importance of cultural sensitivity in international advertising, demonstrating that tailoring language and content to the preferences of the target audience is crucial for successful intercultural communication.