The interactive effects of moral identity and humor on advertising evaluations: the mediating role of disgust

Abstract

Despite the potential of humour in increasing positive marketing outcomes, some consumers may negatively evaluate humour in advertising. This is because even though consumers perceive a humorous advertisement as funny, such content can also elicit negative emotions. Extending the literature in this area, the present research explores how consumers with high (vs. low) levels of moral identity react more negatively to a humorous advertisement. Further, this effect is driven by the emotion of disgust elicited by the humorous content. These predictions are tested across three studies. As such, the findings of this research offer theoretical and practical implications by highlighting the potentially negative role of moral identity in consumer evaluations of humorous advertisements.