The Effects of Incongruity, Surprise and Positive Moderators on Perceived Humor in Television Advertising

Abstract Few studies have tested models incorporating cognitive as well as affective mechanisms that help explain different levels of perceived humorousness in advertising (cf. Alden and Hoyer 1993; Speck 1991). In the first of two studies, an extended incongruity resolution model of humor perception in television advertising is proposed and tested. In that test, schema familiarity is found to moderate surprise resulting from ad content incongruity. Furthermore, playfulness of the ad, ease of resolution of the incongruity in the ad and warmth created by the ad moderate the effects of surprise on humor. Thus, surprise appears to be a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for humor in television advertising. In the second study, the role of surprise in generating humor is examined in more detail. Specifically, evidence supports the hypothesis that, following exposure to incongruity, surprise can be transformed into diverse affective outcomes such as fear and humor depending on the presence of different contextual moderators. Implications of the overall model are discussed from both theoretic and applied perspectives and directions for future research are suggested.