In Japan, more and more video ads with same-language subtitles on websites and social media are viewed by not only native speakers but also non-native speakers. So many studies have revealed the same-language subtitles effects in educational contexts, however, little is known about the effects of the same-language subtitles in advertising contexts. This study reveals the perspective of non-native Japanese speakers toward the subtitled video ads in Japanese. Depth interviews were conducted among Chinese participants in Japan, whose mother language is not Japanese, but with advanced level of Japanese. According to the results, it turned out same-language subtitles can be expected to enhance ad content comprehension and the engagement of the video ads. When the ads with same-language subtitles are highly relevant to viewers, the attitudes toward the ad and the brand could be positively influenced. Moreover, adding subtitles could draw viewers’ attention to the video ads which are low relevant to the viewers themselves. During this situation, the quality of the visual aspect of the subtitles (such as font, size, the display position) and how easily subtitles could be decoded can influence the attitudes toward the ad and the brand. However, when the ad content is difficult to understand or the visual quality of subtitles is low, it is difficult to keep viewers’ attention.

This study contributes to the advertisers who are making video ads targeting not only local people but also non-native speakers.