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3.1   A typological examination of effective humor for content marketing¹

James Barry and Sandra Graça

Introduction

This chapter examines the effectiveness of applying various types of humor to advertising and social content from a derived typology of ten humor types. Interest in this subject stems from the fact that marketers are recognizing the power of connecting with their social audiences through storytelling, heartfelt inspiration, provocation and humor. In particular, humor in advertising dominates entertainment in spot television advertisements and social videos as social media metrics attest to its high performance in attention and engagement.²

Yet despite centuries of studying what makes a narrative funny, the complex nature of humor leaves questions as to its formula for success. Of the attempts to create useful typologies of humor for more concentrated research, most studies to date lack a foundation in which to appropriately categorize humor in line with well accepted theories. Attempts to categorize humor often result in an unmanageable number of humor techniques suggested for skit storyline manipulations and character portrayals.³ Finally, a number of studies suffer from subjective measurement results and other sampling challenges related to pre-Internet experiments that depended on unwieldy methods for capturing advertisement content. Today, however, the statistics compiled on YouTube-posted advertisements provide a mechanism with which to measure audience engagement more efficiently.

Method

From a search of YouTube recasts of humorous TV advertisements, 2,135 videos were identified as having content intended to be humorous. Only advertisements featured over the past decade and with more than 50,000 views on YouTube were included in the sample. The advertisements were then defined and sorted into categories of comic devices that dominated the advertisement. Up to three comic devices were recorded for each advertisement. These devices (e.g., exaggerated stories, miscast personality, exaggerated performance, elderly acting out, etc.) were then consolidated in accordance with the cognitive, emotional and physiological aspects of humor, culminating in a typology that is aligned with three theories of advertising humor widely discussed in the literature: incongruity theory, superiority theory (disparagement) and relief theory (arousal–safety).⁴

Grouping humor types from comic devices and theory

First level consolidation of the comic devices was based on the face value discovery of in-group conceptual similarity and distinctiveness across groups. Further refinements to these humor category assignments were then made to reflect comic device categories discussed in the literature.⁵ Finally, examination of Speck’s⁶ humorous taxonomy identified additional humor categories derived from the combination of theory-derived concepts (e.g., full comedy comic devices resulting from the combined effects of incongruity, superiority and relief). As explained further, this led to a final list of ten humor types illustrated in Figure 3.1.1.

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Theories of humor

1: Incongruity theory

The theory of incongruity attributes humor to the appearance of something seen as “out of sorts.” Often referred to as comic wit, this humorous response to a cognitive shift takes on many forms. Our own examination of high performing humorous advertisements (videos with >50,000 views) shows that comic wit is most often manifested in the way we see or reflect upon anomalies in our surroundings. In this case, laughter is expressed in the form of an “Ah-Hah.” Specifically, this research discovered that anomalies trigger comic wit primarily through audience detection of logical discords, odd behaviors and visual aberrations.

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Researchers of comedy and humor have also discovered a number of incongruity mechanisms that consistently produced these anomalies. In particular, hyperbole, ironic juxtaposition, puns, surprise and perceptual displacement have been used to arouse laughter for centuries.⁷ With the exception of puns, this research validates the popularity of these incongruity mechanisms for comic wit skit manipulations.

Figure 3.1.2 shows a distribution of comic wit videos by popularity (views) when examined across incongruity mechanisms and anomaly manifestations. These groupings were inductively derived from 64 comic devices recorded in Table 3.1.1 as attributes of humor associated with each video. Results show an even distribution of anomaly manifestations across visual aberrations, odd behaviors and logical discords. Among the incongruity mechanisms proposed in the literature, hyperbole stands out as the most effective, while puns were rarely used in any of the high performing videos.

Staying consistent with four of the five devices discussed in the literature (i.e., minus puns), these research findings propose a comic wit typology of the following types:

2: Superiority theory

The superiority theory suggests that we laugh in response to disparaging others usually after witnessing a well-deserved putdown; the enjoyment of others’ misfortune; or awkwardness that relieves us from experiencing the same discomfort. This process starts with a mockery mechanism like sarcasm, outwitting, parodies and paybacks. When seen as well-deserved or innocent, the mockery mechanism often results in sensations of sudden glory that make us laugh. In this case, laughter is expressed in the form of a “Hah-Hah.” Consistent with Speck’s definition of satire, this sudden glory combines elements of incongruity and mockery. For example, we may delight in witnessing a celebrity featured in an unusual setting (incongruity) through a stereotyping parody that humbles the celebrity (mockery).

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Although a number of mockery mechanisms have been used as a disparaging or aggressive form of humor, most can be categorized as putdowns or malicious joy. The latter is often referred to as schadenfreude or the “feeling of enjoyment that comes from seeing or hearing about the troubles of other people.”⁸ Malicious joy is normally situationally driven where the mockery is not necessarily directed at a certain stereotype. Putdowns, on the other hand, are directed toward certain personalities that audiences love to disparage.

Figure 3.1.3 shows a popularity distribution of high performing videos when examined across incongruity and mockery mechanisms. These groupings were inductively derived from 36 comic devices recorded in Table 3.1.2 as attributes of humor associated with each video.

Results show that putdowns and malicious joy represent about two-thirds and one-third, respectively, of the views associated with disparagement. This leads us to the following additions to our humor typology:

Of the supporting incongruity mechanisms, hyperbole performs the best in accentuating mockery. Irony performs especially well for malicious joy by setting the stage for the opposite expected (irony) consequences, but well-deserved mishaps suffered by those we loath.

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3: Relief theory

Finally, the relief theory attributes humor to the tension released in the form of aggressive liberation, sexual allusion or fear/anxiety relief. According to this theory, humor is used mainly to overcome sociocultural inhibitions or other suppressed desires often vicariously imagined through fantasized rule breaking, dream exploits or unruly outbursts. Unlike the cognitive and emotional forms of humor represented by the incongruity and superiority theories respectively, the relief theory assumes humor is derived from a physiological state.⁹ It follows an arousal–safety narrative, where laughter in the form of an “Ahhh” results after a fearful situation is resolved.

This research found that certain arousal mechanisms can lead to laughter as we imagine our own naughtiness or otherwise inappropriate behaviors. In particular, this research found that the injection of anxiety, taboos or acts of infantilism into a skit creates the best opportunity for this tension release. However, the form of humor varies in aggression. At one extreme are wild outbursts or unruliness that tend to shock viewers. The other extreme relates to a milder form of humor where audiences vicariously live out innocent fantasies. This is often referred to in the literature (e.g., Speck’s typology) as sentimental humor leading us to the following typology additions:

Table 3.1.3 shows a classification of 28 comic devices across both arousal–safety extremes and narratives employing anxiety, taboos and infantilism. Figure 3.1.4 shows that skits manipulated for anxiety perform the best. Taboos, on the other hand, work especially well for sentimental humor.

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When combined with disparagement, these acts of tension relief create an additional form of humor that is emotional and physiological in nature. The combination of disparagement and tension relief leads to what Speck calls a full comedy. For example, we may laugh from outwitted censorship, slapstick or social order deviancy as we witness someone mocking society (disparagement) while releasing tension by breaking the rules (tension relief).

Two combinations of disparagement and arousal especially work well in creating laughter. Table 3.1.4 shows how the combination of taboos as an arousal mechanism and society satire (putdown) as a mockery mechanism creates laughter. Another combination involves the use of embarrassment as an arousal mechanism and unlucky happenstances (malicious joy) as a mockery mechanism. This adds the following to our typology:

Resulting typology

Consistent with the literature previously mentioned and video examinations, the study results show that humor is derived from three distinct theories. Using inductive reasoning, this was demonstrated by assigning attributes to video narratives that epitomized the tenets of each theory. A total of 160 comic device attributes were compiled from the evaluations after screening each attribute for high usage (combined video views) and grouping them into sets of common characteristics. High order classifications were then made to reflect aspects of theory leading to a distinct, complete and parsimonious set of ten humor techniques.

The resulting typology suggests that humor theories are not mutually exclusive. Videos exhibiting aspects of comic wit and mockery, for example, give credence to both theories of superiority and incongruity. Similarly, videos displaying social order deviancy exemplify elements of all three theories. In effect, an incongruity is expressed in the form of irony or hyperbole to portray a social situation that seems out of order. The intended mockery of social rules is supported by the theory of superiority. Finally, the outburst is seen as an innate desire to unleash social restraints as suggested by the relief theory.

Perceptual displacement

Perceptual displacement represents a form of comic wit that was detected in 11% of the examined video episodes which, collectively, accounted for 20% of the total sample video views. But instead of showing extremes like that of hyperbole, perceptual displacement shows us something out of touch. Stemming from the theory of incongruity, this concept entertains us by contrasting what we see with what is routinely expected.¹⁰ Mentally, we are asking ourselves: ‘Did I see that correctly?’

This perceptual displacement can be realized in the form of visual anomalies like bizarre substitutions as well as unusual personifications, nonsense and misrepresented content. In each case, the audience detects a mismatch with common perceptions. In the case of unusual personifications, the audience laughs at the innocence of children or animals acting as adult humans. Witnessing the character contrast, the laughter is created by a harmless cognitive shift where the audience often imagines an underdog putting others in their place.

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Throughout the last decade, this concept has been played out with over-performances. Consider the babies in E-Trade and Evian that pose as adults. Several viral videos also feature animals going the extra mile to motivate themselves or their masters. A great example is the highly popular Nolan Cheddar video where a mouse driven by “Eye of the Tiger” musters up the energy to escape its trap (http://bit.ly/1s2NsFl).

Another technique used in perceptual displacement relates to our visualizing objects or scenes taken out of context. Some of the top viral videos show unconventional routines or unusual settings surrounding the highlighted activity. In other cases, the viral videos make the audience laugh when they imagine a human depiction of abstract concepts or literal interpretation of idioms. EDS’s portrayal of cowboys herding cats (http://bit.ly/1m2HW0y) exemplifies such a technique well. In this case, the attempt at humor is based on audience detection of a mismatch with what their minds see as a common practice.

A concept similar to misrepresentation involves the substitution of animals or objects with a bizarre alternative. One popular technique includes anthropomorphism, where human attributes are ascribed to abstractions. Allstate used this form of humor to depict the concept of “mayhem” through the careless habits of an unruly actor who exemplified the dire consequences of poor insurance coverage.

Finally, one comic device used in perceptual displacement relates to nonsense. As a cognitive exercise, this form of humor starts with the audience’s observance of something confusing and proceeds to a recognition of actor ineptitude or imbecility.

Ironic juxtaposition

Ironic juxtaposition represents a form of comic wit that was detected in 13% of the examined video episodes, which collectively accounted for 14% of the total sample video views. Much like any perceptual discord, irony is characterized by an outright contrast between expectations and reality.¹¹ It makes the audience laugh by showing the opposite or undesired intentions of someone’s actions. Mentally, the audience is saying to themselves: ‘I did not see that coming.’ Irony can be realized in the form of visual anomalies (e.g., unusual pairing, wrong personas and temperaments, hypocritical behaviors) or conceptual incongruities (e.g., wild coincidences, misunderstandings or something scripted out of place). In each case, the audience detects a mismatch with what they expect to see.

Visual irony, or the use of two or more images that do not belong together, works well especially in content marketing. An unusual pairing of well-known characters or scenes, for example, make the audience laugh at the imagined conflict. These inevitable battles were played out well in the 1970s show The Odd Couple. The series featured a neurotic neat freak pitted against an untidy, cigar-chomping gambler. Audiences laughed at how the two mismatched friends could possibly share an apartment following their divorces.

Other examples of visual irony include the casting of humans as animals or cyborgs as humans. In both cases, the irony is enjoyed as the audience witnesses the acting out of a certain mismatch. Similarly, an oxymoron like the living dead, friendly adversaries or a screaming mime create laughter as the audience envisions the inherent conflict.

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Another successful way to get laughter from irony is through the display of temperament anomalies such as the mellowing of cantankerous personalities (e.g., John McEnroe and Bobby Knight). This can also be accomplished through the juxtaposing of characters in contradicting or aberrant ways, such as a mother and daughter fiercely arguing over each other’s kind attributes as well as a beautiful woman admiring a man’s unattractive habits. A third technique used in irony involves the miscasting of character roles or intentions. This is often accomplished through the display of mistaken identities, adult-acting children or childish-acting adults or when the audience witnesses the least likely character as a hero figure. Finally, audiences often laugh over situational irony in which actions have an effect that is contrary to what was expected. They laugh at the unexpected scene or unorthodox routine such as when employees let loose in an office setting.

Hyperbole

What Speck and others refer to as exaggeration,¹² hyperbole is another approach to comic wit that was detected in 18% of the examined video episodes, which collectively accounted for 19% of the total sample video views. Dating back centuries as a comic device, it suggests that laughter results from seeing things blown out of proportion. Most people laugh when they witness over-the-top demos or exaggerated stories. Perhaps the most famous of viral videos in this area is the case of Blendtec. The founder, Tom Dickson, produced a series of videos that grossly exaggerated how iPads, golf balls and even a garden rake could be blended in his blenders (http://bit.ly/1k62WbE). After 186 videos, Blendtec’s retail sales increased 600%¹³ while its YouTube site enlisted 200,000+ subscribers and surpassed 200 million views. The preposterous demos were featured on The Today Show, The History Channel, The Tonight Show, and The Wall Street Journal.

An effective technique used in exaggeration taps into the audience’s emotional response to over-reactive behaviors. In this case, individuals laugh at how others take such extremes to make their point. Forceful demonstrations, for example, are often loaded with intensity so that the audience can appreciate the peculiar nature of others. In a similar vein, some of the top viral videos show scenes of extreme naiveté or over-protectionism where we shamefully find ourselves or close ones exhibiting these same fanatic behaviors.

Finally, many brands and small companies have capitalized on the visual side of exaggeration. Seeing the visual anomaly, our brains often ask: ‘can that really be true?’ Some of the most popular comic devices used in this form of wit include the display of supernatural performances, motion distortion, exaggerated body reactions and incredible allure. The key to using this humor technique, however, is making it evident that the object of exaggeration is beyond the realms of possibility.

The popularity of exaggeration as an entertainment device can be attributed to the following:

Surprise

A surprise twist can cause the audience to laugh as they witness or experience a change in course. This approach to comic wit was detected in 8% of the examined video episodes which collectively accounted for 8% of the total sample video views. Stemming from the theory of incongruity, this concept entertains us through a distracting segue. Mentally, the audience is asking: ‘Where did this come from?’ This surprise twist can be realized in the form of visual anomalies (e.g., sudden appearances, changes or revelations) or conceptual incongruities (e.g., storyline twists or unexpected responses). In each case, the audience detects a mismatch with what they expect to occur next. This often occurs when the audience is stopped in their tracks after a scene or statement suggests that something is off track.¹⁴

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This concept is not new. Years ago, Wendy’s conducted a comical test taste of their hamburgers. In their famous 1989 advertisement featuring a trucker, the participant was asked to choose from a delicious looking hamburger A or a nasty looking hamburger B. The trucker unexpectedly picked hamburger B. This unexpected twist would be followed with comments like: “I’m a trucker, I could be eating this baby in Shaky Town and still tasting it in Salt Lake. . .”

Plot trickery is another successful method of stealing the audience attention by taking the viewer down a subliminal storyline that ends in an unexpected twist. Snickers capitalized on these techniques in their transforming of cranky actors (e.g., Betty White, Roseanne Barr, Aretha Franklyn, Don Rickles and Joe Pesci) into younger folks ready to return to action after eating a Snickers bar. Visual surprises can also include the sudden arrival of a new character (e.g., alien creature) or an unexpected object. Nationwide, for example, shocked their audiences with a surprise ugly substitute as when the fantasized Fabio turns into a wrinkled old man (http://bit.ly/1ZGNLpF).

Putdowns

Mockery through putdowns was detected in 15% of the examined video episodes, which collectively accounted for 15% of the total sample video views. This technique capitalizes on the audience’s emotional reaction to watching others experience a well-deserved jibe. Stemming from the theory of superiority, individuals often experience sudden glory when dethroning others or elevating themselves at the expense of others’ peculiarities. Of the viral videos featuring putdowns, most include satires, stereotype mockery and lofty conquests.

The use of mockery dates back centuries as audiences watched imbeciles and maladroits parade on stage or be the target of putdowns felt through background mockery. Geico capitalized on this with their mockery of a poor farmer who misspelled cow as c-o-w-e-i-e-i-o (http://bit.ly/1ZGNPpi).

A second technique used in putdowns taps into individuals’ desire to dethrone the self-righteous, the popular, the pretentious and the hyper-masculine. Some of the top viral videos show scenes of some form of outwitting that shames the victim or proves our superiority over them (e.g., Miller Lite’s macho moments gone bad: http://bit.ly/1rMDBm8).

A number of top viral videos feature the sudden glory the audience feels when our society is mocked. Individuals often relish the opportunity, for example, to poke fun at other cultures by exaggerating the cultural nuances or language peculiarities of audiences targeted by our sarcasm. Similarly, people poke fun at celebrated lifestyles with parodies of popular shows and sports events. Like satires, the use of mimicry and impersonations work well as putdowns. One of the most popular ways of doing this is through the stereotyping of blondes or provincial men. The latter are often portrayed as idiots or as hypnotized under the spell of seduction.

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Malicious joy

Malicious joy, or schadenfreude, refers to the pleasure individuals derive from seeing others fail or suffer misfortune. This form of mockery was detected in 11% of the examined video episodes, which collectively accounted for 8% of the total sample video views. Also rooted in the theory of superiority, this feeling of sudden glory is often exemplified through deserved repercussions, spoiled hopes and ineptitude.

A common approach for entertaining audiences with malicious joy is to poke fun at someone notorious for their clumsy or incompetent behaviors. The 1950s sitcom I Love Lucy reached the highest popularity of any show at its time based on the bungling behaviors of Lucy. The naïve and accident-prone housewife had a knack for getting herself and her husband into trouble whenever she tried to make a name for herself.

Several viral YouTube videos are based on characters who are accident prone, drunk or oblivious and tend to say the wrong thing. Men, in particular, are often portrayed for their bungled behaviors resulting from their one-track minds. Another successful way to get laughter from malicious joy, based on the emotional theory of superiority, is through the portrayal of spoilers (e.g., spoiling of romance) and storylines that end with unexpected damage, injuries or danger. In addition, laughter is also evoked upon watching others experience the catastrophic consequences from bad luck, bad timing or foolish mistakes.

Similarly, many viral videos elicited laughter by featuring instances of well-deserved retaliation and paybacks against someone who is despised or who is unveiled of their devious intentions (e.g., Doritos’ advertisement featuring a baby snatching the bag of chips from an annoying older sibling who incessantly teases the toddler (http://bit.ly/WPH61O)). On the lighter side, some sponsors use innocent repercussions to highlight the misfortunes of someone overzealous or careless. Lending Tree took this route in their depiction of Stanley Johnson, who shamefully reveals that his lavish lifestyle has put him in debt to his eyeballs (http://bit.ly/1n7zgWw).

Another, not so light, but effective use of malicious joy relates to the casting of cretins whose low-class demeanor elevates one’s own status. For centuries, comedies of derelicts, the grotesque and the deformed have aroused fits of laughter from audiences. A number of sponsors have obtained high scores in views and engagement from the portrayal of people seen as physically deformed or mentally subnormal (e.g., Geico and FedEx Caveman: http://bit.ly/1u49isx and http://bit.ly/1oRuth3).

Unruliness

Unruliness refers to outrageous behavior and was detected in 5% of the examined video episodes, which collectively accounted for 4% of the total sample video views. The relief theory contends that laughter is created when individuals release tension or nervous energy, such as when they unleash suppressed desires. Consequently, the audience enjoys watching others act out uncontrollably or violate some social order, such as unleashing their anxiety through uncontrollable screaming and yelling. According to the relief theory, the audience is likely enjoying the observation of others acting out their own inhibitions through hysteria, impulsive outbursts, displaced irritation or exercising improprieties.¹⁵

Many viral YouTube videos include scenes of angry bosses losing their control or folks experiencing nervous breakdowns. Similarly, many of the popular sports-related advertisements show scenes of fanatics going over the edge to support their teams. Unruliness is often demonstrated through scenes of impulsive outbursts, forceful demonstrations, body explosions or outright belligerence. The tension relief can be explained as an innate desire individuals may have to act out their aggression.

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In addition, some advertisements feature one’s deep irritation and desire to fiercely lash out at others’ annoying habits (e.g., incessant talkers) or scenes of one’s wishful naughtiness, improprieties and forbidden behaviors such as invasive peeking.

Sentimental humor

Often exemplified through childlike fantasies, naughtiness and inner secrets, sentimental humor was detected in 6% of the examined video episodes, which collectively accounted for 6% of the total sample video views. This type of humor taps into the audience’s emotions through an arousal–safety mechanism. For example, in the first stage of arousal–safety, emotions are aroused with sentimentality, empathy or some form of negative anxiety. As the storyline develops, the audience then sees this heightened arousal state as safe, cute or inconsequential. This shift from high arousal to relief is what creates laughter.¹⁶

Among the types of humor that capitalize on this arousal–safety mechanism are those involving false alarms, melodrama or childhood innocence. Children, for example, can easily arouse emotions with their youthful discoveries and mimicry of adulthood. The laughter tends to result when the audience watches them successfully overcome their struggles to get through complicated situations. These storylines usually start with a sentimental attachment or an empathetic feeling towards the child. The audience then laughs when they see how their first battles with courage, romance or independence conclude with a happy ending.

In some situations, the audience may be laughing at how the children’s trials prove more fruitful than their own. This may be the reason why individuals love scenes of children reflecting their own inner self. Several viral YouTube videos are based on child innocence where the laughter results from children topping their adult counterparts as well as from one’s vicariously living through their incorruptibility (e.g., Doritos’ 5-year-old warning his mother’s suitor to mind his manners: http://bit.ly/1s8p0mX).

Another successful way to get laughter from sentimental humor is through the relief of fear and anxiety. For example, just when an audience expects some disturbing outcome, a storyline then shows the fears to be baseless. The arousal–safety mechanism produces a swing in emotions which starts with a build-up of suspense causing fear (emotional response) and ends with something inconsequential (physiological release of anxiety). The technique is demonstrated in the Dirt Devil viral video of The Exorcist: http://bit.ly/1k9RATV.

Sentimental humor can also be created through melodrama. For example, a storyline may start with someone’s passionate reaction to a mundane situation. In addition, the exposure of inner secrets and fantasies are also examples of how the arousal–safety mechanism elicits emotional swings in the audience that cause tension relief and consequently laughter.

Finally, inner secrets can produce laughter when the audience observes and hears a contradicting inner voice. In this case, individuals are likely experiencing an emotional shift when the imagined inner voice allows them to safely escape from a hostile or awkward situation.

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Social order deviancy

One form of humor that combines aspects of all three humor theories involves behaviors that challenge social rules and expectations. In this case, the audience enjoys watching others unleash their innate desire to break the law, enter forbidden territory or simply act out their inhibitions. This social order deviancy is exemplified through narratives about social irreverence, the violation of sacred barriers and unrefined behaviors. As the highest in attention getting, this type of humor was detected in 3% of the examined video episodes, which collectively accounted for 8% of the total sample video views.

A popular technique for entertaining audiences with social order deviancy is to poke fun at the pompousness of those who take themselves to have a degree of social pre-eminence. Several viral YouTube videos are based on high society satires, rule breaking and undermining authority. Common to all is the release of tension experienced when we outwit the censorship imposed by honorable judges, pious clergymen or smug professors.

Another successful way to get laughter from social order deviancy is through the depiction of forbidden social behaviors such as witnessing the spoiling of sacred rituals and others break taboos, strip off clothing, break office rules, or slap a smug antagonist. Social order deviancy, in some instances, involves offensive behaviors such as bad manners or disgusting personal habits (e.g., foot odor, perspiration or flatulence). As the perfect target of one’s tactless behavior, this works especially well when exposing the offense to those sensitive to protocol or classy surroundings.

Other categories of social order deviancy involve letting loose with craziness. Some of the oldest forms of humor involve the depiction of mad scientists’ disruptive behavior in public places. Finally, the witnessing of women swooning over men in insane frenzies has been a highly successful humor technique over the years. In 1995, Diet Coke featured an office of ladies running to windows to get a glimpse of a sexy construction worker: http://bit.ly/1rNpyN4. Axe took this concept a step further in a video that garnered over 50M views by featuring hordes of bikini-clad jungle women closing in on their prey. In this case, the hunted was a man freshly deodorized with Axe: http://bit.ly/1pu7J5M.

Awkwardness

Rooted in superiority and relief theories, awkward moments are a disparaging form of humor that lead to a feeling of sudden glory when we displace our own histories of embarrassing moments onto others. Among the types of humor that capitalize on awkwardness are remorseful quandaries, uncomfortable intimacy and the exercise of humility. Scenes of awkwardness were detected in 4% of the examined video episodes, which collectively accounted for 5% of the total sample video views.

This technique evokes laughter through the depiction of embarrassing situations where victims are left speechless, such as Geico’s advertisement featuring Abe Lincoln faced with a tough predicament of being honest or offending his wife (http://bit.ly/1xG20LJ).

Another successful way to get laughter from awkwardness is through scenes of discomfort that arise when someone gets too intimate or reveals too much information. A number of advertisements feature the discomfort that men in particular feel when other men get too close or expose their creepy behaviors. Doritos utilized this technique with their advertisement featuring a man licking another man’s fingers (e.g., http://bit.ly/1PBh7yj). A similar sense of misfortune is realized when a young boy faces the dreaded kiss of an assertive girl or when a father is pressed to answer the question ‘Where do babies come from?’

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This same displaced embarrassment can also arise when the audience witnesses characters having to explain themselves after exposing their vulnerabilities. In this case, laughter results from a feeling of relief at not being the one who has to exercise humility. Southwest uses this technique in their “Wanna Get Away” campaigns. The storyline features characters often put on the spot publicly to explain their mistakes (e.g., http://bit.ly/25sNxGR). This technique works especially well when featuring men inadvertently exposing their feminine or child sides. The feeling of shame can also result when quiet words are broadcast publicly or when surrounding audiences get the wrong impression from seemingly perverted behaviors.

Another method used to create awkward moments involves the exposure of someone’s embarrassing intentions. This often includes the unraveling of a character’s foiled deceptions when caught red handed. This exposure may reveal a man’s true colors or his inappropriate glances at another woman. In this case, the audience is likely laughing at men’s behavioral hypocrisy as well as their misfortune at having a poor disguise.

Humor performance results

From the ten resulting humor archetypes, a perceptual map was compiled for each type with one axis measuring advertising attention (views) and the other measuring engagement (a normalized compilation of likes, dislikes and comments). The results displayed in Figure 3.1.5 show that comic wit represents the largest dimension of humor and is the most effective in garnering attention. Narratives involving ironic juxtaposition and hyperbole, in particular, perform above average in attention and engagement.

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Aggressive forms of humor like unruliness and putdowns score above average on engagement. This suggests that provocative forms of humor create more opportunities for audience response in the form of comments and gestures of approval than the more reserved forms of comic wit. Malicious joy, on the other hand, scores below average in engagement (as noted by below average likes), perhaps suggesting that poking fun at the innocent’s misfortunes runs the risk of offending audiences.

Conclusions

Few would debate the growing influence of entertainment in creating audience interest in television advertisements. And with the vast majority of this study’s advertising sample featuring some form of humor, it is no wonder that nearly $50 billion is spent annually on humorous advertisements worldwide.¹⁷ What may be surprising, however, is the limited knowledge we have on what types of humor perform the best.

This research found ten humor types to represent the vast majority of high performing advertisements when measured by total views and social media engagement. Among the humor types that consistently score above average in attention and engagement are those based on incongruity theory. Consistent with the literature, people laugh at unexpected surprises that break the logical pattern or sequence of events. The cognitive process experienced by audience interpretation of the ‘joke’ contributes to increased advertisement effectiveness as measured by attention and engagement. Companies can utilize this humor technique to increase the life-span of the advertisement and to break through the noise in advertisement today. Humor techniques such as hyperbole and irony can be safely used to elicit ‘clean and fun’ laughter from the audience.

On the other hand, negative or aggressive humor are found to be less effective in grabbing the audience’s attention and increasing the audience’s engagement in the advertisement. Humor techniques such as malicious joy and putdowns should be used with caution as audiences may find them harmfully disparaging or socially inappropriate.

Finally, it is important to note that the humor type ‘social order deviancy’ scored the highest in increasing the audience’s awareness. When applied appropriately (e.g., in good taste), this humor technique shows great promise as an attention getter. Its ability to garner likes and commentary from this initial attraction, however, remains questionable as the technique ranks below average in engagement.

Although this research does not consider differences in audience groups (e.g., gender, culture, age, etc.), when analyzing audience responses to the advertisements, the study provides a comprehensive typology that reveals the most prevalent forms of effective humor used in advertisement. From this typology, an examination was made of the performance to expect from each humor type as measured by audience attention and engagement.

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References

  1    Parts of this chapter have appeared in Barry, J., 2015, Social Content Marketing for Entrepreneurs, Business Expert Press; Barry, J. M. and Graça, S. S., 2013, ‘A cross-cultural typology of advertising humor,’ paper presented at the 15th Cross-cultural Research Conference, Antigua, Guatemala, December, 2013.

  2    Barry, J. M. and Graça, S. S. (2013), A cross-cultural typology of advertising humor, Proceedings of the 15th Cross-cultural Research Conference, Antigua, Guatemala, December 8–10.

  3    Berger, A. A. (1993), An Anatomy of Humor, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books; Buijzen, M. and Valkenburg, P. M. (2004), Developing a typology of humor in audiovisual media, Media Psychology, 6 (2), 147–167.

  4    Speck, P. S. (1991), The humorous message taxonomy: A framework for the study of humorous ads, Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 13 (1–2), 1–44.

  5    Berger, op. cit.; Buijzen and Valkenburg, op. cit.

  6    Speck, op. cit.

  7    Weinberger, M. G. and Spotts, H. E. (1989), Humor in US versus UK TV advertisements: A comparison, Journal of Advertising, 18 (2), 39–44; Berger, op. cit.; Speck, op. cit.

  8    Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2016), Simple Definition of Schadenfreude, available http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/schadenfreude [accessed March 24, 2016].

  9    Speck, op. cit.

10    Buijzen and Valkenburg, op. cit.; Speck, op. cit.

11    Buijzen and Valkenburg, op. cit.; Speck, op. cit.

12    Berger, op. cit.; Buijzen and Valkenburg, op. cit.; Speck, op. cit.

13    Walker, R. (2008), Mix It Up, available http://nyti.ms/1Rwv7eT [accessed March 24, 2016].

14    Buijzen and Valkenburg, op. cit.; Speck, op. cit.

15    Buijzen and Valkenburg, op. cit.

16    Buijzen and Valkenburg, op. cit.; Speck, op. cit.

17    Barry, J. and Hale, D. (2014), Humor determinants and relevance in high engagement social TV advertisements, in: Kubacki, K. (Ed.), Ideas in Marketing: Finding the New and Polishing the Old: Proceedings of the 2013 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference, New York: Springer.