Laughing Away the Tension: Humor’s Effect on Dissonance in Advertising We live in a digital age. Communication is becoming increasingly more prominent on electronic mediums. The average American prefers texting to face-to-face communication (Shropshire, 2015). With the increase of electronic communication, there is an increase in digital marketing and advertisements. According to an eMarketer Report, of the roughly $158 billion spent on advertising in the US in 2015, nearly $125 billion was spent on online or digital advertisements and that number is expected to rise. Vast amounts of money, time and other resources go into finding out what will be most effective in reaching out to consumers. In this paper, I will describe humor in advertising,
…show more content…
Other studies have examined humor in advertising and it’s effectiveness on different genders and cultures. Humor is often paired with violence in the marketing sense. One study examined the effect that the violent humor had on different genders. It was found that high-intensity humorous violence in advertising was more effective on men than women (Swani, Weinberger, & Gulas, 2013). The use of humor also changes from society to society. Many studies examine the effectiveness of humor in American advertising, however when compared with other cultures the results vary. Toncar (2001) found that American advertising used more direct humor than British culture. Toncar attributes this to the high volume of advertisements in America and the desire to be noticed amongst all the competition. Toncar also found that the use of humor in advertisements is also on the rise at much faster rates than other cultures such as the …show more content…
Research has shown that cognitive dissonance before purchase, affects the likelihood that a consumer will be satisfied with a good or service (Korgaonkar & Moschis, 1982). This means that if humor can reduce the cognitive dissonance of the consumer before purchase, it will positively affect the consumer’s evaluation of the product. This can even be as simple as internal conflict on whether to spend more for the higher quality product or save money for the lower quality product. Either way, dissonance is created. There has been research on humor and its effect on cognitive dissonance that has found that it reduces the dissonance. Humor works as a cognitive reframing tool that reduces incongruity and tensions (Latta, 1999). The use of humor could help reduce cognitive dissonance when consumers have internal tensions concerning the product/service. When a consumer is debating whether to purchase a product, they feel tension and discomfort on whether or not purchasing will be wise decision. This dissonance can come from concerns regarding budget, competition, etc. As Meyer (2000) states, “Communicators take advantage of humor, often at the beginning of their remarks, to defuse a potentially tense situation. Often tension results from dissonance people experience after making a decision or sensing the approach of incompatible and undesirable thoughts or actions. Because people desire and find it pleasing to reduce dissonance, speakers who do so can create
Other studies have examined humor in advertising and it’s effectiveness on different genders and cultures. Humor is often paired with violence in the marketing sense. One study examined the effect that the violent humor had on different genders. It was found that high-intensity humorous violence in advertising was more effective on men than women (Swani, Weinberger, & Gulas, 2013). The use of humor also changes from society to society. Many studies examine the effectiveness of humor in American advertising, however when compared with other cultures the results vary. Toncar (2001) found that American advertising used more direct humor than British culture. Toncar attributes this to the high volume of advertisements in America and the desire to be noticed amongst all the competition. Toncar also found that the use of humor in advertisements is also on the rise at much faster rates than other cultures such as the …show more content…
Research has shown that cognitive dissonance before purchase, affects the likelihood that a consumer will be satisfied with a good or service (Korgaonkar & Moschis, 1982). This means that if humor can reduce the cognitive dissonance of the consumer before purchase, it will positively affect the consumer’s evaluation of the product. This can even be as simple as internal conflict on whether to spend more for the higher quality product or save money for the lower quality product. Either way, dissonance is created. There has been research on humor and its effect on cognitive dissonance that has found that it reduces the dissonance. Humor works as a cognitive reframing tool that reduces incongruity and tensions (Latta, 1999). The use of humor could help reduce cognitive dissonance when consumers have internal tensions concerning the product/service. When a consumer is debating whether to purchase a product, they feel tension and discomfort on whether or not purchasing will be wise decision. This dissonance can come from concerns regarding budget, competition, etc. As Meyer (2000) states, “Communicators take advantage of humor, often at the beginning of their remarks, to defuse a potentially tense situation. Often tension results from dissonance people experience after making a decision or sensing the approach of incompatible and undesirable thoughts or actions. Because people desire and find it pleasing to reduce dissonance, speakers who do so can create