ASSESSING THE USE AND IMPACT OF HUMOR ON ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESS - A CONTINGENCY APPROACH

Every year billions of dollars are spent on advertising that uses humo r to sell products. Hour 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 focu s to guide the investigation of humor effects in advertising. The auth ors examine humor effectiveness by using a conceptual framework adapte d from Speck along with a product-contingent focus. The resulting appr oach affords a clearer understanding of the appropriate use of humor t hrough the examination of (1) the humor mechanisms employed, (2) the i ntentional 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-ba sed humor in a humor-dominant context. That practice is contrasted wit h others to examine the influence of humor on the effectiveness of pri nt advertisements for different product groups. Study results indicate that current advertising practices may not be the most effective in t erms of advertisement performance.