The joint impact of humor and argument strength in a print advertising context: A case for weaker arguments

Cline, Thomas W.; Kellaris, James J.

doi:10.1002/(sici)1520-6793(199901)16:1<69::aid-mar5>3.0.co;2-9

Cited by 55 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Consistent with dual process theories of attitude formation and change, this condition of high cognitive load may subsequently reduce cognitive resources available to scrutinize message arguments. This logic is somewhat consistent with the notions of ''humor as distraction'' proposed in advertising and marketing studies (Cline & Kellaris, 1999;Lyttle, 2001;Sternthal & Craig, 1973), but it also seems to contradict the assumptions of Schmidt (1994Schmidt ( , 2001 and Wyer and Collins (1992) that humor comprehension requires enhanced cognitive elaboration.…”

Section: Youngsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…However, across the fields of advertising, education, and psychology, research findings on humor and persuasion, largely performed under the rubric of dual process theories of attitude change like the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) (Petty & Cacioppo, 1981, have not been consistent. Advertising and education researchers have found that humor reduces persuasion through distraction (Sternthal & Craig, 1973) and that its effects on persuasion are contingent on argument strength (Cline & Kellaris, 1999;Smith, 1993) and audience characteristics (Zhang, 1996). Meanwhile, research in psychology suggests that humor not only fails to reduce cognitive elaboration-but actually requires it-resulting in increased message recall (Schmidt, 1991(Schmidt, , 1994(Schmidt, , 2001(Schmidt, , 2002Wyer & Collins, 1992).…”

Section: Humor's Impact On Persuasion and Recall: Ambiguous Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Privileged Role of the Late-Night Joke: Exploring Humor's Role in Disrupting Argument Scrutiny

2008

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Section: Youngsupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Humor's Impact On Persuasion and Recall: Ambiguous Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Privileged Role of the Late-Night Joke: Exploring Humor's Role in Disrupting Argument Scrutiny

2008

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“…This trait is closely related to the idea of "sense of humor," but defines a construct more extensive than sense of humor alone, with each of its four dimensions (internal-humor, external-humor, internalwhimsy, and external-whimsy) playing a role in defining an individual's overall need for levity. Following Cline (1997), we focus on NFL's two humor dimensions, a subscale hereafter referred to as "need for humor" (NFH).…”

Section: Individual Differences and Boundary Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This emphasis is consistent with Punj and Stewart's suggestion (1983) that the interplay of situational and individual variables (rather than just main effects) is more diagnostic in delineating the processes affecting consumer behavior. Recent research by Cline, Machleit, and Kellaris (1999;Cline 1997) suggests that consumers' need for humor should influence the extent to which humor is appealing to them. It follows that ads with higher (versus lower) levels of humor will more positively affect attitudes among consumers who have a higher (versus lower) NFH.…”

Section: Individual Differences and Boundary Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Each ad contained a brand name, a headline, a product picture, two cartoon figures, brand claims, and a tagline. Following Krishnan and Chakravarti (1994) and Cline (1997), the headline was used as the primary manipulation of humor strength. The nonhumorous headline stated: "Coffee Doesn't Have to Taste Like 'The Ground' Just Because It's Made in the Morning."…”

Section: Stimulus Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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When Does Humor Enhance or Inhibit Ad Responses? - The Moderating Role Of The Need For Humor

Cline¹,

Altsech²,

Kellaris³

2003

Journal of Advertising

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143

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A superiority–inferiority hypothesis on disparagement humor: The role of disposition toward ridicule

Hatzithomas

Voutsa

Boutsouki

et al. 2021

J of Consumer Behaviour

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The present paper adopts and substantiates a superiority-inferiority hypothesis on disparagement humor generation and appreciation. Two between-subjects (identification with a character acting as victimizer or victim) experiments address disparaging humorous advertising effectiveness, providing a novel perspective on very old questions. Perceived superiority and inferiority autonomously mediate the relationship between a disparaging advertisement and perceived humorousness. Individuals with high superiority motivation (i.e., high-katagelasticists) experience increased humorousness and an improved attitude toward the brand when they identify with a character acting as victimizer in the disparaging ad. People with a motivation to avoid inferiority (i.e., high-gelotophobes) experience reduced humorousness and lower positive attitudes toward the brand when they identify with a character who is victimized in the disparaging ad. Gelotophiles are not driven by feelings of superiority or inferiority and experience increased humorousness as well as more positive brand attitudes irrespective of the ad's victimization focus. | INTRODUCTIONA woman enjoys a Reese's Take 5 bar. Being asked by one of her colleagues, she describes the product, but to her amazement he has never heard of it. The woman scornfully asks him "have you been under a rock?" which proves to be true. As all her colleagues seem to be unaware of the well-known snack, the woman sarcastically confronts them with expressions like "were you raised by wolves?," or "you have your head stuck in the sand?" implying that the only way to not know Reese's Take 5 bar, is if these phrases are literally true.At the closing scene, an awkward looking discomfited colleague asks in resentment "none of us has heard Reese's 5, so who looks stupid now?" ending up to literally strengthen her claim.Aired in 2020, Hershey's Super Bowl commercial for Reese's Take 5, is addressing people's low awareness of the brand. Adopting a superior stance, the key character verbally abuses her colleagues for their stupid, unnatural ignorance. The creative element in the ad is disparagement humor "that disparages, belittles, debases, demeans, humiliates, or otherwise victimizes" (Zillmann, 1983, p. 85). Being often described as "idiosyncratic" humor (Weinberger, Swani, Yoon, & Gulas, 2017), it holds the capacity to instigate extreme positive and negative emotions (Weinberger & Gulas, 1992) and a feeling of superiority (Newton, Wong, & Newton, 2016). Over the past two decades, longitudinal analyses of Super Bowl humorous commercials have underlined a significant rise in the use of disparagement (Gulas,

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The joint impact of humor and argument strength in a print advertising context: A case for weaker arguments

Cited by 55 publications

References 18 publications

The Privileged Role of the Late-Night Joke: Exploring Humor's Role in Disrupting Argument Scrutiny

The Privileged Role of the Late-Night Joke: Exploring Humor's Role in Disrupting Argument Scrutiny

When Does Humor Enhance or Inhibit Ad Responses? - The Moderating Role Of The Need For Humor

A superiority–inferiority hypothesis on disparagement humor: The role of disposition toward ridicule

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