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Abstract
Humour is frequently used in advertising, but its effects on an audience and effectiveness as an appeal are not well understood. This thesis proposes a model of the use of humour in cross cultural advertising which accounts for the effects of culture and individual differences in need for cognition (NFC) and need for humour (NFH). The model is developed based on a comprehensive review of the literature on humour, culture and psychological differences at the individual level.
The research examines the influence of national culture on advertiser choice of humour as an advertising appeal, comparing the frequency of its use in the United States, the People's Republic of China and Australia. Content analysis indicated that the USA and China had similar proportions of humorous television ads; however, the use of humorous appeals was significantly higher in Australia than in the other two countries. Results also provided support for the theory that the incongruity resolution mechanism of humour is universal.
Responses to humour vary based on individual differences including individual-level cultural values and psychographics. The influence of these responses on measures of effectiveness of humour in advertising has been tested extensively within a national context, but little work has been published on the use of these measures in a cross-cultural context. Thus, an experiment conducted in three distinct cultural environments examined the influence of individual differences on response to a set of standardised humorous advertisements.
Neither national nor individual-level culture generally had significant impact on audience response, but results indicate that idiocentrics perceive more humour in aggressive themed ads than in non-aggressive themes. The personality dimension of NFH moderates the influence of perceived humour on attitude to an ad but does not significantly impact on attitude to brand or purchase intention for unfamiliar brands. NFC was not a significant influence on the relationship between perceived humour and measures of ad effectiveness.
This thesis provides support for advertiser belief that humorous appeals in television advertising can have a positive influence on consumer responses. Additionally, it is shown that standardised humorous communications can be used across national borders to target global consumer segments.