Laughing in the face of embarrassment: Humorous marketing messages, excitement, and embarrassing products in retail

Abstract Humorous messages can influence consumers differently based on the type of product and context; this research seeks to determine how humorous versus informative messages differentially impact consumer's responses to embarrassing products versus nonembarrassing products in retail. This paper proposes that humorous messaging may be used to counteract negative responses to embarrassing products as opposed to much of the research on consumer embarrassment which focuses on coping mechanisms and reducing the noticeability of a product in retail settings. Specifically, marketers may use benign humor to increase excitement and ultimately increase purchase likelihood of a product. The researchers examine the process through which consumers view humorous marketing of embarrassing products. Three studies, including a behavioral lab experiment utilizing a 360° video choice experiment as well as a Facebook ads behavioral experiment, are used to assess the proposed relationship. The findings indicate that for embarrassing products, humorous messaging is more effective than informative messaging at increasing purchase likelihood due to an increase in excitement. These results hold across a variety of marketing mediums. This research suggests that practitioners should use humorous marketing communications rather than informative marketing communications for embarrassing products in retail.