SAU Journal of Management and Social Sciences sau.edu.ng/sjmss/index.

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(ISSN: 2550-7302), Vol. 5, Number 2 December, 2020.

Humour Appeals and Advertising Recall: A Review of Extant Literature

Cynthia N. Jumbo, PhD
Department of Mass Communication
Imo State University, Owerri, Nigeria
Bello M. Beli
Department of Mass Communication
Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, Bauchi State, Nigeria
Prof. Ezekiel S. Asemah, PhD
Dean, College of Management and Social Sciences
Samuel Adegboyega University, Ogwa, Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract
The study is on humour appeals and advertising recall. It is a self-affirmative study
conducted to determine whether the use of humour contributes to product and service
recall among the target audience of advertising campaigns. The researchers relied on
library research method to gather data for the study. Thus, the study is a complete review
of extant literature. The researchers advanced that humour in advertising enables
consumers to recall advertising. It was also argued that humorous advertising has a way
of drawing attention of the consumers to advertised products and services and it may also
aid product recall and brand loyalty. Based on the arguments advanced, the researchers
concluded that humour appeal is very important in advertising as it helps consumers to
retain and remember advertised products. Based on the conclusion, the researchers
recommended, among others that advertisers should always use humour appeals to
enhance the patronage of advertised products as it is one of the ways of winning
customers’ loyalty and that advertisers should combine humour appeals with other types
of appeals so that the combination will further enhance product patronage.
Keywords: Humour Appeal, Advertising, Consumers, Product Recall, Brand Loyalty

Introduction
Advertising appeals are used to catch attention of the target audience, to arouse interest,
create desire and compel desired action (Asemah, 2011). In other words, advertising
appeals are used to attract and draw the attention of consumers and also, to influence their
feelings towards products and services. Advertising according to Arens (2008) is a
structured and composed non-personal communication of information usually persuasive
in nature about products, services and ideas by identified sponsors, through the various
mass media. Advertising appeal is a stimulant that compels or propels the consumers to
choose and patronise a particular product. Advertising appeals if well utilised pierce the
inner thought of an individual as well as reinforce his motive.
Advertising appeal is emphatically aimed to influence the way consumers view
themselves and how buying a certain product can prove to be beneficial to them. The
message conveyed through all appeals influence the purchasing decision of the consumer.
Advertisers use different communication styles to drive home their points. This
communication is usually through various forms of paid media like television/radio
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commercials, print media advertisement, bill board and more recently, product
placement. This marketing communication is used to encourage, persuade, motivate and
mobilise consumers to purchase products and use services of companies and
organisations.
Asemah (2019) notes that humour is one of the most common and frequently used
emotional appeals in advertising; humour is an unavoidable tool for the positioning and
promotion of brands and increasing the sales of products. Humorous advertisements work
best with established and commonly purchased products such as cell phones, fast food
and alcoholic beverages. Advertisers use this strategy to attract customers to their
products. People will pay more attention to a humorous commercial than a factual or
serious one, opening themselves up to be influenced. The key to funny advertising is
assuring that the humour is appropriate to both products and customers. The balance
between funny and obnoxious can often be delicate and a marketer must be certain that
the positive effects outweigh the negative effects before an advertisement can be
introduced.
On the most basic level, something that connects all humans is laughter. Laughter
is an important part of human psychology as it gives us a way to process all kinds of
information, from funny stimuli to a situation where laughing is the only possible
reaction because circumstances are tough. Humour grabs our attention and that is why it
is often used in advertising (Point Park University, 2020). Based on the foregoing, the
researchers set to examine the influence of humour on product recall and patronage.

Theoretical Framework
The study is anchored on Hawkins Stern impulse buying theory. Hawkins Stern totally
believes in the idea of impulse behaviour. Stern argued that sudden buying impulses fit
alongside rational purchasing decisions to paint a complete picture of the average
consumer. Impulse purchases are driven largely by external stimuli and have almost no
relationship to traditional decision-making. Stern established four categories of impulse
buying. First are the pure impulse purchases, like a candy bar at the checkout line of a
grocery store. Second, consumers make reminded impulse buys, like placing a display of
hot dog buns next to a meat cooler. Third, are suggested impulse purchases, such as a
warranty for an electronic device. Finally, consumers make planned impulse decisions,
where they know they want to buy a product, but are unsure about the specifics
(https://onlinemasters.ohio.edu/blog/four-consumer-behavior-theories-every-marketer-
should-know, as cited in Asemah et al 2020).
Impulse buying theories present an ocean of opportunities for marketers. Every
aspect of a product, from the way the packaging catches the eye, to the way the product is
displayed in the store, has an impact on a consumer’s impulse control. Marketers who can
capture the impulsive thought and close the sale will have the most success
(https://onlinemasters.ohio.edu/blog/four-consumer-behavior-theories-every-marketer-
should-know/, as cited in Asemah et al 2020). The relevance of this theory to this study is
based on the fact that a well-packaged advertising message, when communicated
effectively can change the feelings of the audience towards acquisition and acceptance of
an advertised product or service positively.
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Conceptual Review
Advertising is one of the most powerful communicational tools that almost every
company uses in order to promote its products or services (ASA, 2008, cited in Asemah,
2017). Advertising is a form of communication for marketing and used to encourage,
persuade or manipulate an audience (viewers, readers or listeners; sometimes, a specific
group) to continue to take some new actions. Most commonly, the desired result is to
drive consumer behaviour with respect to a commercial offering; although, political and
ideological advertising are also common (Maitra, n. d, cited in Asemah, 2017). Thus,
advertising can be said to be a paid non-personal communication about an organisation
and its products that is transmitted to a target audience, through a mass medium; it is a
kind of promotional activity. Advertising is a small word, but it is a whole world in itself.
In this materialistic world, we are surrounded with a number of products/brands; each
company is battling for consumer mind space and this has increased the scope of
advertising. Advertising is all-pervasive and is becoming a powerful force, shaping
attitudes and behaviours in today’s world (Maitra, n. d, cited in Asemah, 2017).
Advertising, as described by Arens (2008), cited in Asemah (2011) is any
communication that is paid for, identified by a sponsor, directed at a targeted audience,
through the various mass media like television, radio, bill boards, newspaper and
magazine, with the aim of creating awareness about goods and services. Arens (2008, p.
7) says that advertising is a structured and composed non-personal communication of
information, usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature, about product, services
and ideas, by identified sponsors through various mass media. Advertising is seen as the
process of persuading potential customers to buy products or promote its services. This
simply implies that advertising is a way of calling attention to a product, service or good.
Thus, when an advertising campaign is carried out, it means that the company is directly
or indirectly communicating with the users of a product or service.
Humour, as noted by Asemah et al (2020) is a strong tool of persuasion that
makes use of amusement to draw and sustain the attention to a product or service.
Advertisers and advertising agencies can design advertisements to arouse laughter, but
also, provide little information about the product or service. In creating laughter,
advertisers show their products or services in an attempt to connect those good feelings to
their products or services. This is very effective because consumers remember
advertisements easily and associate positive feelings with the product (Asemah et al
2010). Many advertisers use humour because it grabs the attention of the audience and it
is a powerful persuasion technique. Advertisers make us laugh and then show us their
products or logos because they are trying to connect those good feelings to their products.
They hope that when we see their products in a store, we will subtly re-experience that
good feeling and select their products (Asemah et al 2010). There are basically five types
of humour; these include comic wit- incongruity resolution humour (level of respondent
surprise); sentimental humour- arousal safety (the degree of effected relief); satire-
incongruity resolution and dispositional humour (identification with or detachment from
the humour’s victim); sentimental comedy-incongruity resolution and arousal safety
humour and full comedy- incongruity resolution, dispositional and arousal safety humour
(Djambaska, 2016).
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Review of Previous Studies

Hoang (2013) conducted research on the impact of humour in advertising on consumers’
purchase decision. The purpose of Hoang’s study was to study the consumer decision
process and its determinants, explore the concept and usage of humour in advertising to
find out its impacts on consumers’ purchase decision. Hoang (2013) found that
personification, surprise, silliness and exaggeration humour are effective in attracting
attention, but can distract consumers from urges to purchase; pun, sarcasm and
comparism were perceived as not suitable to target audiences. The findings also showed
that humorous advertising has impact on consumers’ recall when accompanied by
aligning campaign and product placement. Humour has relatively impacted on
encouraging repurchases, but appropriate for building brand image and gain consumers’
fondness.
Kovindasamy & Ogundare (2017) investigated humour advertisement and its
influence on consumer purchasing decision. The main aim of the study was to determine
the impact of humorous advertisement on the purchasing decision of Malaysian
consumers. The findings showed that humour advertisement has always remained
important to the marketers. The results revealed that a significant relationship exists
between humour advertisement and purchase decision, attitude towards brand, attitude
towards quality, attitude towards presentation and attitude towards entertainment. The
findings also showed a strong correlation between humour advertisement and attitude
towards advertisement and consumer purchase decision.
Elbers (2013) examined the effects of different humour tool groups in television
advertisements for customers with different motivational values by making use of
eighteen different advertisements and the results showed that humorous advertisements
can lead to higher purchase intentions. The study of Lee & Lim (2008) showed that it is
possible to predict the humour effectiveness in a television advertisement under various
cultural orientations. Their study was based on two Hofstede dimensions: individualism–
collectivism (1) and uncertainty avoidance (2) and one of their conclusions was that in
collectivistic cultures, advertisements are liked better when the humour devices are based
on arousal safety. Another main finding in their research was that humour advertising and
humorous advertisements & motivational value culture are related and that it should
always be kept in mind that the interpretation of humour advertisements always happens
within a culturally-constituted world (cited in Elbes, 2013). Mehmood & Masmood
(2016) carried out a study with the main aim of finding out the impact of humour in
advertising on consumer purchase intention in Ufone network out of telecommunication
sector of Pakistan. The findings showed that humour in advertising has significant impact
on consumer purchase intention.
According to Kotler (2009), marketing is totally about customers; hence, the core
mission of marketers is to provide the solution to customers’ needs and wants by
identifying and meeting them. Advertising as a component of the promotional mix further
enhances creation of customers’ awareness towards organisational products and then the
need to patronise such products if they meet the needs, expectations and satisfaction of
the consumers (Belch & Belch, 2003). Morden (2001) notes that advertising is used to
establish a basic awareness of the product or service in the mind of the potential customer
and to build up knowledge about it. Kotler (2002) sees advertising as one of the four
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major tools companies use to direct persuasive communications to target buyers and
public noting that it consists of non-personal forms of communication conducted through
paid media under clear sponsorship. According to Kotler (2002), the purpose of
advertising is to enhance prospects’ responses to the organisation and its offering.
Humour and attention studies have revealed that 94% of advertising practitioners
see humour as a useful way to increase attention. Moreover, 55% of advertising research
executives found humour to be better to non-humour in gaining attention. Whereas the
special views of advertising executives should not be equated with accurate hypothesis
testing, these views do mirror a knowledge-base built on years of day to day
understanding with proper research outcome (Madden & Weinberger, 1982; Madden &
Weinberger, 1984; Powell & Andresen, 1985; Stewart & Furse, 1986, Weinberger &
Campbell 1991, cited in UkEssays, 2020).

Methodology
The researchers adopted the library research method where secondary sources of data
collection formed the method of data collection. The researchers consulted books,
journals, online materials and edited books to obtain relevant information. Thus, the
materials were reviewed and opinions formed on the subject matter.

Implications of Humour Appeals for Product Recall and Patronage

Humorous advertising has a way of drawing attention of the consumers to advertised
products and services and it may also aid product recall and brand loyalty; this is because
people easily get attracted to funny advertisements and transfer those positive feelings to
the advertised products and services. Humour is a very powerful tool to that can be used
by advertisers and advertising agencies in drawing consumers’ attention and creating a
positive effect. Thus, the use of humour in advertising in recent times has increased
tremendously and it contributes to product recall a great deal. This implies that the use of
humour in advertising campaigns draws the attention of consumers to products or
services, increases the tendency of the consumers liking the source and creates a positive
mood for the product and service. It can also go a long way in affecting comprehension
and increasing persuasion of the consumers. Humour appeals make consumers laugh and
create an emotional link with the product. A well-executed humour appeal enhances
recollection, evaluation and the intent to purchase the product. Advertisers link the
product with the humour.
Humour tends to relax the audience, break the ice and create a connection
between the communicator and the audience (Tellis, 1998, cited in Hoang, 2013).
Humour helps in setting a good mood to transfer message and gain acceptance (Hoang,
2013). Hoang (2013) notes that humorous advertising has impact on consumers’ recall
when accompanied with aligning campaign and product placement; humour encourages
repurchases, but appropriate for building brand’s image and gaining consumers’
fondness. Humorous advertisements grab attentions and attract viewers’ interest by their
ability to cut through clutter. Humorous advertisements outperform non-humorous
advertisements on each of the attention measures. Humour is often executed by using
incongruity, the initial response may be a cognitive recognition of discrepancy (Gullas,
1992; Clow, 2007, cited in Hoang, 2013).

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The main objective of advertisements is to grab attention, create

likeability for the brand and create a lasting impression. Sometimes, it is
observed that consumers remember the context or story of the advertisement
paying no attention to the brand being advertised. Humorous situations are said
to lower a person’s defense and make one more attentive to the message
(Srivastava, n. d). Lighter messages have lasting impressions and shared more
frequently than serious messages. Humorous advertisements generally have a
surprising twist which is unexpected by the audience. These advertisements are
generally those which may need to be reinterpreted after the first watch
(Srivastava, n. d). They force the audience’s mind to shift from the autopilot
mode, making them think more and grabbing their attention in the process. Also,
humorous advertisements generate positive feelings and b ring about a feel-good
factor. Laughter releases hormones which relieve stress and gives the audience a
feeling of satisfaction by activating the pleasure senses of the brains. Thus,
humour advertisement seems to be an effective way to promote a product to the
audience. People like to watch funny things in advertisements. Kotler
formulated the basic definitions of humorous advertisements by judging whether
the advertisements included puns, satire, jokes, slapstick, irony and
incongruities. Humour advertising is fast emerging as a new means of
advertising (Srivastava, n. d). Nowadays, humour has been used extensively in
consumer product advertising on television, radio and in print media as well
since humour is the buzz word these days. It is the rooted belief that humour
produces desirable effects in persuading consumers to adopt products. Humour
is found to influence consumer brand attitude and their brand information recall
(Srivastava, n. d). Research has shown that humour is more likely to enhance recall,
evaluation and purchase intention when the humorous messages fall in line with the
objectives of the advertiser. This is also achievable when the humorous messages are
well-integrated with those objectives and viewed as appropriate for the product category.
Advertising that makes people laugh can create an emotional connection
between the consumer and a company, product or service. As a result, the message
becomes more meaningful and memorable and this can pave the way for future sales.
Humour can make consumers feel that they are being entertained as opposed to being
the recipient of a sales pitch, which may lessen their natural resistance to the sales
process (Chron, 2020). The submission of Chron (2020) is in line with the Hawkins
Stern impulse buying theory which says that sudden buying impulses fit alongside
rational purchasing decisions to paint a complete picture of the average consumer.
Therefore, the use of humour in advertising can lead to impulse buying because it draws
the attention of the consumers and makes them to buy the products advertised.

Conclusion
The use of humour appeals in advertising has become important. Advertising
practitioners believe that humorous advertisements attract more than non-humour in
gaining observer awareness. The humour may get more responses by making advertising
more likeable. Thus, this study was carried out to determine the influence of humour
appeals on advertising recall. The researchers conclude that humour appeal is very
important in advertising as it helps consumers to retain and remember advertised
products. Based on the conclusion, the researchers recommend that advertisers should
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(ISSN: 2550-7302), Vol. 5, Number 2 December, 2020.

always use humour appeals to enhance the patronage of advertised products, as it is one
of the ways of winning customer loyalty, advertisers should combine humour appeals
with other types of appeals so that the combination will further enhance product
patronage and that companies should endeavour to always advertise their goods and
services as it is one of the ways of increasing patronage.

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