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Humour in Advertising

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Humour in Advertising
Humour in Advertising

Introduction

The Encyclopedia Britannica defines humor as a ¡§form of communication in which a complex, mental stimulus illuminates, or amuses, or elicits the reflex of laughter¡¨. Many marketers use humor in advertising as a way of appealing to consumer¡¦s emotions. These positive emotions can potentially lead to cognitive processes that entice the consumer to purchase the related product. Doing it right means not only engaging the prospect but getting them to remember the product. However, that depends, among others, on Social and psychological factors, How a person has been socialized may affect there judgment of humorous advertising. Humorous advertising can be found in variety of forms including TV, radio, print media and online.
What Is Humour?
There is a rather large amount of terms standing in context with humour already, this indicates that there cannot be one single definition but rather a whole field concerned with this topic. Semantically, Attardo (1994) has built up this field in the following way:

Advantages

There are many different advantages for using humor in advertising. People will tend to pay more attention to a humorous commercial, than a commercial that is a factual or serious one, opening themselves up to be influenced. They will actually look for your ads as they are easier to remember and talk about them if they are good. People like funny things; they relax and pay attention when they perceive that there is humor in the advertisement. It can help to put them into a good mood and helps to create a more comfortable atmosphere, which enables a more positive image and a more approachable product to the consumer.

Advertising humor is at its most effective when it is being used with established and frequently purchased goods. This is because a more established company has a stronger brand identity and is already well known to the consumer. Some good examples of these are the Bundaberg Rum campaigns, the

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