Direct marketing works in most countries, to most social groups, in both business and leisure contexts. Time after time I listen to self-important businessmen who tell me that of course businessmen are far too busy to read those long, boring letters, or play with those little stamps on mailings. Or particular nationalities claim that direct marketing won't work with their fellow countrymen. Happily, I have had the opportunity to see my copy run in many countries, and appeal to many groups of people over the years since I first got into international direct marketing with the Bullworker.
People everywhere respond to the same motivations.
For the most part they respond to the same copy. The same appeals worked everywhere. There are clearly products and services likely only to work in particular countries, because of national peculiarities. For instance, one of the biggest sellers in Japan for some time now has been a cooker which will prepare your rice for you while you are out at work. In Britain and the United States, the general population do not eat rice every day.