Lit Review: The use and impact of humor in radio advertising.

Title:

The use and impact of humor in radio advertising.

Author(s):

Weinberger, Marc G., U Massachusetts, Amherst, US
Campbell, Leland

Source:

Journal of Advertising Research, Vol 30(6), Dec-Jan 1990-1991. pp. 44-52.

Publisher:

US: Advertising Research Foundation.

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Investigated the use and effectiveness of humor in radio advertisements, using the proprietary files of a major radio ad research firm. A planning matrix was used as a framework for the study. Overall, results point to a high level of humor usage, particularly for low-involvement products. However, even in the low-involvement category, humor is not a "magic bullet" with universal effect.

Humor should be related to the product, and even then its effect may be no stronger than ads using no humor. Results indicate the importance of looking carefully at product types when making statements about the frequency and effectiveness of humor.

The following statements capsulize the insights gained form his survey:
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1. Awareness and attention are objectives best achieved via humor.

2. Humor may harm recall and comprehension in general.
- Humor may aid name and simple registration.
- Humor may harm complex copy registration.
- Humor may aid retention
3. Persuasion in general is not aided by humor.
- But humor may persuasion to switch brands.
- Also, humor creates a positive mood that may enhance persuasion.
4. Humor is generally is not very effective in bringing about action/sales.
5.Radio and TV are the best media to use humor
6. Humor works best when relates to the product.

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- This survey suggests that usage in these two broadcast media represent by a large margin.
- The use of radio humor was low for ads with high-involvement products.
- While ads for low-involvement products in both used humor in excess of one third of ads.
- Though TV ads also used humor heavily for low-involvement/feeling products.