There was a time when the State Department had a budget for promoting American "high culture" abroad. Low culture likely never needed any help. I've read articles complaining that the US government no longer has a program to actively spread American culture, so maybe the government is actually no longer involved and it just happens through economic forces.
Somebody mentioned American style Halloween, which I think is a rather interesting case due to its recent, extremely rapid spread. Halloween is like catnip for youth, because it combines three enticing things -- goodies, costumes, and sanctioned convention-breaking. The spread of Halloween has been very controversial, even in some Western countries, but I think it's unstoppable unless the receiving culture has something at least as appealing to compete. I attribute the rapid spread in this generation to the internet.
I’d point out every culture has promoting their local culture abroad. I’d point to the Goethe-Institut as a specific and well known example.
Halloween is just a lot of fun. No one can avoid fun from spreading. American style Christmas is also a heck of a lot more fun than traditional European style. In Thailand, one of the most non-Christian countries out there, during Christmas there are American Christmas themes everywhere with music and green and red and people who are born Buddhists exchanging gifts on Christmas morning.
American culture is broadly appealing because it’s generally appealing to human beings that are individuals, and mixes in materialism and consumerism and a little bit of greed and violence. It’s not an insidious plot - it’s an outgrowth of liberal humanism and specifically 1960’s philosophy packaged for resale in the 1980’s and marketed aggressively internationally in the 1990+‘s. Mix in the fact American culture was created by mixing cultures from around the world, the fact that most middle class in the global society at least know someone who moved to America and comes back bringing the culture on visits, it’s totally unsurprising it has broad influence and appeal. And since the influence and appeal translates into expanded consumer markets American companies relentlessly market and make available to consume everything American.
But I’d also note in my travels I’ve not observed the export being specifically one way or crushing. I’ve seen elements of every culture I’ve experienced mixed into American culture as I’m used to it as an American. I see Japan, China, Korea, Germany, France, Mexico, Africa, even Polynesia influence. Likewise in those places their adoption of American culture is distinctly an interpretation based in their local culture.
This is in contrast to say French colonialism in modern Polynesia where the schools only teach French language and history and have traditionally proscribed Polynesian tattooing in school and work institutions.
The flexibility and adaptability of American culture to local cultural interpretation and lack of “force” make it an easy to consume culture without pervasive resentment.
Somebody mentioned American style Halloween, which I think is a rather interesting case due to its recent, extremely rapid spread. Halloween is like catnip for youth, because it combines three enticing things -- goodies, costumes, and sanctioned convention-breaking. The spread of Halloween has been very controversial, even in some Western countries, but I think it's unstoppable unless the receiving culture has something at least as appealing to compete. I attribute the rapid spread in this generation to the internet.