Swedes’ Understanding of Printed Ads in English : A Study of How Well Swedish Adults Understand the Message of Printed Ads in English

Abstract: Advertising in English is becoming more and more common in Sweden, as well as in other non-Anglophone countries, and not all previous studies agree on how well these ads are understood by the local population. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to achieve a broader understanding as to how well the message of printed ads in English are understood by the Swedish adult population. Moreover, this study aims to establish whether there are any common tendencies or patterns in the levels of understanding between the five ads chosen for this study, and how these relate to the personal and demographic characteristics present within my sample. The findings of this study indicate that 60% of the printed ads in English are properly understood by most people. Moreover, this study found that the reason for not understanding an ad in English most often is that the ad is drawing on a myth that could not be recognized as something natural by the reader. However, as only 12 subjects were included in this study, no generalizations could be made for the whole Swedish population, and a more extensive research study is thus encouraged.