Marc G. Weinberger

The Impact of Humor in Advertising: A Review

Abstract The use of humor has become common practice in advertising; yet our knowledge about its impact has not been updated since the last major review almost twenty years ago. In the interim, a great deal of humor research has been conducted. The outcome of this research only partially supports earlier conclusions and highlights the need to apply humor with care. Humor is by no means a guarantee of better ads, but its effect can be enhanced with careful consideration of the objectives one seeks to achieve as well as the audience, situation, and type of humor.

Assessing the Use and Impact of Humor on Advertising Effectiveness: A Contingency Approach

Abstract Every year billions of dollars are spent on advertising that uses humor to sell products. How is that spending decision made? Despite much research examining humor effects in advertising, many advertisers make the decision on faith. Many past studies lack a clear conceptual focus to guide the investigation of humor effects in advertising. The authors examine humor effectiveness by using a conceptual framework adapted from Speck along with a product-contingent focus. The resulting approach affords a clearer understanding of the appropriate use of humor through the examination of (1) the humor mechanisms employed, (2) the intentional relatedness of humor to the ad or product, and (3) the type of product advertised. The descriptive results of the study indicate that current practice for many advertisers is to employ incongruity-based humor in a humor-dominant context. That practice is contrasted with others to examine the influence of humor on the effectiveness of print advertisements for different ...

The effects of humor on attention in magazine advertising.

Abstract It was the objective of this investigation to determine whether humor in advertising heightens attention levels and whether the potential heightening of attention is moderated by audience confounds. The study utilized Starch readership scores obtained for humorous liquor ads which appeared in magazine issues surveyed by Starch from 1976–1979. The results indicate that humorous ads tended to out perform magazine ad norms and that these effects are moderated by gender and racial audience composition differences.

Humor in U.S. versus U.K. TV Commercials: A Comparison

Abstract A study of the use of humor in U.S. and U.K. television advertising was developed by surveying ad agency executives in the two countries and then by conducting a content analysis of television commercials. The survey of executives revealed a more accepting attitude toward the use of humor, and a broader view of the potential uses of humor among the British agencies. The content analysis showed a significant increase in the use of humor in the U.S. since the last major benchmark study, but less humor than in the U.K. sample of advertising. An examination of the content analysis data using the Foote, Cone and Belding (FCB) planning matrix revealed a situational use of humor in both countries, with humor most often used with low involvement/ feeling products and least often used with high involvement/feeling and thinking products. For the most part, the views of agency executives reflect the incidence and use of humor in their respective countries.

A Test of Ad Appeal Effectiveness in Poland and The United States - The Interplay of Appeal, Product, and Culture

In this research we extend previous literature by analyzing responses to different ad appeals designed for different product types in Poland and the United States. We found that in the United States, responses to appeals can be predicted based on consumer cultural and product characteristics. For Polish consumers, reactions to ads depended only on product characteristics. The results of the study also show that when targeting consumers in both countries, marketers may standardize ad appeals by using functional appeals (which stress product attributes) across different product types. Finally, the study implies that some marketing models used in Western studies may not be transferable to some Eastern European countries, and therefore more research in this area is needed.

The Impact of Negative Marketing Communications: The Consumers Union/Chrysler Controversy

Abstract Negative publicity about products and companies has become increasingly problematic for many firms. This study took the Chrysler/Consumers Union controversy concerning the alleged handling problems of the Plymouth Horizon and Dodge Omni automobiles into the laboratory to examine its effects. Original videotapes of the negative news story, the companys reply, and product advertisements were obtained and edited to form experimental conditions reflecting the actual news story and potential company response strategies. Measurements obtained immediately and two weeks after exposure indicate that the detrimental effects of the news story suggested by depressed market shares can be replicated in the laboratory. The use of public relations replies and product advertising are assessed as possible response strategies.

The Impact of Perceived Humor, Product Type, and Humor Style in Radio Advertising

Abstract This study extends the existing humor research by exploring the connection between perceived humorousness, humor style and product type on consumer perceptions of radio ads and brands advertised. Radio ads were tested using either incongruity or incongruity-resolution (humor type) with higher and lower risk products. The results show that incongruity-resolution was seen as humorous by significantly more respondents than incongruity. However, the perceived humorousness overwhelmed the type of humor tested and product risk for important dependent measures. To gain a positive impact on attitude toward the ad and brand; the ads must be perceived as humorous. Though this result seems obvious, there have been few studies that have explicitly tested its importance. In fact, the results suggest that humor findings previously attributed to product factors may be artifacts of perception of humor. Further audience response analysis provides insight to the advertising dimensions associated with perceived humor. The research reveals the risks associated with failed humor and the need to pretest and monitor humor perceptions among varied key audiences.

Negative product safety news: Coverage, responses, and effects

N egativity in marketing communication is a dangerous phenomenon, the antithesis of the goal of the firms marketing program--especially good public relations and advertising. Despite the increased prominence of negativity in the marketplace, knowledge about its effects is very limited. The interest here is to learn what impact negative product information has and how it can be dealt with more effectively. This article examines the sales and market share effects of six of the major negative publicity incidents in the automotive industry that have occurred during the past 25 years.

A Difference In Informational Influences: Services vs. Goods

The literature provides little insight as to whether a difference exists between the marketing of services and goods. Most textbooks do not address the issue of possible differences. Their neglect of the topic would seem to indicate a working hypothesis that services and goods do not differ in any meaningful way. Authors of articles and books that do address the service issue typically dwell on implied differences between goods and services. Wyckham (1975) has concluded that “in terms of marketing, services are not different from products (goods).” Wyckham’ argument and most of the other services literature, however, is non-empirical and provides little guidance as to whether a difference between goods and servicesactually exists.

The impact of negative product news

Marc G. Weinberger is an associate professor and director of the Management Research Center, and Jean B. Romeo is a doctoral student, both in the Department of Marketing, School of Management, at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. This marks their first appearance in Business Horizons. Negative publicity about a product almost always leads to a loss in market share. But the company can make the long-term effects less severe with quick and competent action.