Developing a Sense of Humor: Congruence Between Humor Type and Brand Personality

Abstract

Humorous ads grab the attention of viewers and are a go-to approach for many advertisers. Funny ads can have a positive effect on brand recall, purchase intentions, and attitude toward the ad and brand. However, the use of humor does not always produce positive results for brands. Humorous ads often fall short of connecting with the brand’s target audience, leaving them feeling confused, disappointed, or offended. One possible explanation for these failures is that the type of humor used in the ad is a poor match to the brand personality dimensions developed by marketers. This paper proposes a conceptual framework to assist advertisers in choosing a type of humor that is suitable, or congruent, to the personality dimensions portrayed by the brand. This framework forms a bridge between Speck’s (1991) Humorous Message Taxonomy and Aaker’s (1997) Brand Personality dimensions and is designed to be useful for advertising practitioners and a step forward for advertising and humor theory. Application of the framework and future research possibilities are also discussed.