Humor in Advertising Essay

If you hear the word â€Å"coke,† what is the first product that comes into your mind? Or if you hear the name â€Å"McDonald’s,† what television commercial do you remember? When we hear these words or terms, we can easily associate them with products because of the advertisements that we see on television, hear over the radio, read in the magazines or billboards or in the Internet. Advertising is simply the public promotion of products and services. Its primary intention is to persuade the prospective consumer to buy the products or avail the services. Usually, advertising are paid promotions. One of the strategies of advertising is injecting the copy with humor. Though according to Brian Sternthal and Samuel Craig of the Journal of Marketing (1973), there are relatively little known about the persuasive effect of humor, advertisers still continue to use humor in their ads. This is not only to make people laugh but actually the combination of advertisement and entertainment. Many believe that it is easier to get the attention of the audience when there is humor and they can laugh at the advertisement. Humor also reinforces the retention of the audience to certain products or services. However, there are advertising agencies that are against the use of humor in advertising. Reasons include the absence of sense of humor to some audience, thus ruining the intention of the advertisement and could decrease the positive perception of the target market. Moreover, humor in advertising could be subjective and may be misinterpreted; also, it could insult someone. Though there are different interpretations in using humor in advertising, we could still say that it could be an effective instrument to persuade people. Whether the impact of the humor is positive or negative, you are assured that you have got the attention of your viewers and most likely because they are affected by it, they may try the product. References: Sternthal, B. & Craig, S. (Oct. 1973) Humor in Advertising. Journal of Marketing Vol. 39 No. 4, pp. 12-18 _______. (______). Using Humor in Advertising. Retrieved December 15, 2007 from http://www. myprofessionaladvertising. com/Humor%20in%20Advertising. htm Advertising Definition http://wordnet. princeton. edu/perl/webwn? s=advertising.