The Effect of Humor in Advertising on Consumer Attitude toward the Product

...........................................................................................................................................4 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................5 Literature Review.............................................................................................................................6 Methods..........................................................................................................................................11 Results ............................................................................................................................................12 Discussion ......................................................................................................................................14 HUMOR IN ADVERTISING AND CONSUMER ATTITUDE 4 THE EFFECT OF HUMOR IN ADVERTISING ON CONSUMER ATTITUDE TOWARD THE PRODUCT Daniel English Department of Communication Dr. Tracy Worrell BS, Advertising and Public Relations The use of humor in advertising is a popular subject of study and discussion with past research creating a better understanding of how this humor affects recall, understanding and brand attitudes. But, little has been explored in terms of what these advertisements do to the viewer’s attitudes toward the actual product being promoted. This study seeks to investigate the difference between humor in advertisements and the consumer’s attitudes toward the product after viewing the ad. Drawing upon previous research, this study evaluates self-reported attitudes and purchase intentions in response to viewing a television advertisement to better understand the effect humor has on consumers. The results give insight into the practical applications of humor in advertising messages for marketers and companies to consider in their campaigns. HUMOR IN ADVERTISING AND CONSUMER ATTITUDE 5 Advertising is a dominant part of our world’s culture. In 2007, a person living in a city saw an average of 5,000 advertisement messages per day, compared to 2,000 thirty years ago (Story, 2007). Ads are placed on everything now, from t-shirts to food packages and from stickers on lampposts to posters on the street. And of course they are still extremely prevalent in media ads are most commonly associated with – magazines, television and the Internet. Advertising on television continues to be a dominant form of selling to consumers. Over $72 billion was spent on television advertising in 2011 – a number that actually increased by 4.5 percent from 2010 (Report, 2008) – and companies are still shelling out top dollar for their ads to run on TV. All types of products and services compete for the attention of consumers. So how do they get that attention? One way to grab attention is to make the audience laugh. Approximately 25 percent of television advertisements use humor (Shrimp, 2010). But, does humor actually make consumers like the product being advertised? Marketers and advertisers desire to have their products push to the forefront of a consumer’s mind, but if they are using humor to connect to audiences, will the humor actually affect attitudes toward the product or product category. This study investigates the interaction between viewing television commercials with or without humor and consumer attitude toward the promoted product. This study builds upon previous research that has explored humor in communication, and more specifically, persuasive communication. In the past, research has looked at humorous advertising’s effect on memory recall and brand recognition (e.g. Chung & Zhao, 2011). The present study goes beyond this and focuses on the actual product being advertised, asking if the humor has any similar effect on how consumers feel about it after viewing the video. The present study would also be helpful in analyzing persuasion and humor in advertising and HUMOR IN ADVERTISING AND CONSUMER ATTITUDE 6 communication overall, similar to how past research has used findings to explain certain techniques in communicating with audiences. While there is research that has already been presented in the areas of humor and communication, looking at attitudes toward products based on how humorously the communication is presented, can alter how we look at the effectiveness of these persuasive messages. If consumers are less likely to buy because of a lack of humor, or vice versa, companies can adjust their strategies accordingly. In terms of social aspects, the present study is important because it examines how humor is used in communication and the results can show how to effectively use it in a beneficial manner. For example, Public Service Announcements (PSAs) are a form of advertising communication that is not selling a product, but persuading the audience to accept an idea. Using the results of this study, the creators of PSAs can increase the effectiveness and persuasiveness of these messages by incorporating certain levels of humor in the ad to reach viewers better. Such examples of practical applications can benefit many different groups in enabling them to be better persuasive communicators and using resources, like the use of humor, more effectively and appropriately.