Humor in Advertising

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Humor can be a very effective advertising technique.  However it can be a dangerous technique if used incorrectly.  To date, the most comprehensive work regarding humor in advertising is:

Gulas, Charles S. and Marc G. Weinberger (2006), Humor in Advertising:  A Comprehensive Analysis. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.

 

Some Other Selected Humor in Advertising Resources

Alden, Dana L. and Wayne D. Hoyer (1993), "An Examination of Cognitive Factors Related to Humorousness in Television Advertising," Journal of Advertising, 22 (June), 29-37.

Alden, Dana L., Wayne D. Hoyer, and Chol Lee (1993), "Identifying Global and Culture-Specific Dimensions of Humor in Advertising:  A Multinational Analysis," Journal of Marketing, 57 (April), 64-75.

Alden, Dana, Ashesh Mukherjee, and Wayne D. Hoyer (2000), "The Effects of Incongruity, Surprise and Positive Moderators on Perceived Humor in Television Advertising," Journal of Advertising Research, 29 ( 2), 1-13.

Antes, David L. and Charles S. Gulas (1993), "The Use of Humor in Health Care Advertising: A Planning Model," in Advances in Health Care Research, Ronald Hoverstad and H. Lee Meadow eds. Madison, WI: American Association for Advances in Health Care Research, 56-60.

Altsech, Moses B., Thomas Cline, and James Kellaris (1999), "Can Humor Enhance the Impact of Strong Message Arguments," Proceedings of the Society for Consumer Psychology, San Antonio, Texas, J. Inman,

Bauerly, Ronald John (1990), "Humor in Advertising:  Does the Product Class Matter," Proceedings of The Atlantic Marketing Association, Boston, Rustan Kosenko and Robert Baer, 6, 9-13.

Chung, Hwiman and Zinshu Zhao (2003), "Humour Effect on Memory and Attitude; Moderating Role of Product Involvement," International Journal of Advertising, 22 (1), 117-144.

Duncan, Calvin (1979), "Humor in Advertising:  A Behavioral Perspective," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 7 (No. 4), 285-306.

Duncan, Calvin, James E. Nelson, and Nancy T. Frontczak (1984), "The Effect of Humor on Advertising Comprehension," Advances in Consumer Research, Provo, UT, Thomas C. Kinnear, Vol. 11, 432-437.

Gelb, Betsy D. and Charles M. Pickett (1983), "Attitude-Toward-The-Ad:  Links to Humor and To Advertising Effectiveness," Journal of Advertising, 12 (2)34-42.

Gelb, Betsy D. and George M. Zinkhan (1985), "The Effect of Repetition on Humor in a Radio Advertising Study," Journal of Advertising, 14 (4), 13-20, 68.

Gulas, Charles S. and Marc G. Weinberger (2003), "Humor," in The Advertising Age Encyclopedia of Advertising, John McDonough, ed. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn. 824-828.

Kelly, Patrick J. and Paul J. Solomon (1975), "Humor in Television Advertising," Journal of Advertising, 4 (3), 31-35.

Lammers, H. Bruce (1991), "Moderating Influence of Self-Monitoring and Gender Responses to Humorous Advertising," Journal of Social Psychology, 131 (1), 57-69.

 Lammers, H. Bruce, Laura Liebowitz, George E. Seymour, and Judith E. Hennessey (1983), "Humor and Cognitive Responses to Advertising Stimuli:  A Trace Consolidation Approach," Journal of Business Research, 11 (2), 173-185.

Madden, Thomas J. and Marc G. Weinberger (1982), "The Effects of Humor on Attention in  Magazine Advertising," Journal of Advertising, 11 (3), 8-14.

Madden, Thomas J. and Marc G. Weinberger (1984), "Humor in Advertising:  A Practitioner View," Journal of Advertising Research, 24 (4), 23-29.

Spotts, Harlan E., Marc G. Weinberger, and Amy L. Parsons (1997), "Assessing the Use and Impact of Humor on Advertising Effectiveness:  A Contingency Approach," Journal of Advertising, Vol. 26 (No. 3), 17-32.

Weinberger, Marc G, and Harlan E. Spotts (1992), "Differences in British and American Television and Magazine Advertising:  Myth or Reality (forthcoming)," Proceedings of the Association for Consumer Research:  European Summer Conference, Gary J. Bamossy, and W. Fred van Raaij,

Weinberger, Marc G. and Leland Campbell (1991), "The Use and Impact of Humor in Radio Advertising," Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 31, 644-652.

Weinberger, Marc G., Leland Campbell, and Beth Brody (1994), Effective Radio Advertising. New York: Lexington Books.

Weinberger, Marc G. and Charles S. Gulas (1992), "The Impact of Humor in Advertising:  A Review," Journal of Advertising, 21 (December), 35-59.

Weinberger, Marc G. and Harlan Spotts (1993), "Differences in British and American Television and Magazine Advertising: Myth or Reality?," European Advances in Consumer Research, Rotterdam, W.F. Van Raaij and G.J. Bamossy, 1, 176-181.

Weinberger, Marc G., Harlan Spotts, Leland Campbell, and Amy L. Parsons (1995), "The Use and Effect of Humor in Different Advertising Media," Journal of Advertising Research, 35 (May/June), 44-56.

Weinberger, Marc G. and Harlan E. Spotts (1989), "Humor in U.S. vs. U.K. TV Commercials:  A Comparison," Journal of Advertising, 18 (2), 39-44.

Weinberger, Marc G. and Harlan E. Spotts(1989), "A Situational View of Information Content in TV Advertising in the U.S. and U.K.," Journal of Marketing, 53 (January), 89-94.

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