Apeksha J Nayak (08VWCM6006)

Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements
CHAPTER 1: INDUSTRY PROFILE
Alliance Business Academy
1) INDUSTRY PROFILE:
The Indian advertising industry is talking business today. It has evolved from being a small-scale business to a full-fledged industry. It has emerged as one of the major industries and tertiary sectors and has broadened its horizons be it the creative aspect, the capital employed or the number of personnel involved. Indian advertising industry in very little time has carved a niche for itself and placed itself on the global map. Indian advertising industry with an estimated value of Rs.23, 200-crore has made jaws drop and set eyeballs gazing with some astonishing pieces of work that it has given in the recent past. The creative minds that the Indian advertising industry incorporates have come up with some mind-boggling concepts and work that can be termed as masterpieces in the field of advertising. The Indian advertising industry is expected to grow 61% by 2010 (with advertising spend climbing to Rs. 36,731 crore) Indian economy is on a boom and the market is on a continuous trail of expansion. With the market gaining grounds Indian advertising has every reason to celebrate. Businesses are looking up to advertising as a tool to cash in on lucrative business opportunities. Growth in business has lead to a consecutive boom in the advertising industry as well. The Indian advertising today handles both national and international projects. This is primarily because of the reason that the industry offers a host of functions to its clients that include everything from start to finish that include client servicing, media planning, media buying, creative conceptualization, pre and post campaign analysis, market research, marketing, branding, and public relation services. Keeping in mind the current pace at which the Indian advertising industry is moving the industry is expected to witness a major boom in the times ahead. If the experts are to be believed then the industry in the coming times will form a major contribution to the GDP. With all this there is definitely no looking back for the Indian advertising industry that is all set to win accolades from the world over.
Key factors which have contributed to growth of the Indian advertising industry are: Rapid economic growth of the country on the back of economic liberalization and deregulation Increase in consumer prosperity Entry of global consumer companies with large advertising budgets High degree of competitive intensity among consumer companies Growth in media vehicles leading to increase in media penetration
PricewaterhouseCoopers in its Indian entertainment and media outlook 2009" report has estimated that the Indian Entertainment & Media industry will return to double digit growth in 2010. Indias E&M industry witnessed remarkable growth in recent years having consistently outpaced growth in domestic GDP. While annual average growth in nominal GDP was 14.48% over the period 2004-08, overall E&M growth in 2008 slowed, reflecting weaker economic conditions. This continued in 2009. After registering a growth of around 16.6% compounded annually over the period 2004-08, growth in the E&M industry in 2009 decelerated to 8.0%. This has largely been influenced by a marked slowdown in advertising spending, which has touched 9.2% in 2009 after having posting a CAGR of close to 17.3% during 2004-08. Growth rates will increase in 2010 to 10.4% as economic conditions are expected to gradually improve. For the remaining years of the forecast period, the industry will continue to grow at increasing rates, resulting in the overall compound annual growth rate for the period 2009-13 of 10.5%. Advertising revenues in the second half of the year are set to grow more than 65 percent, says a study. The industry logged just Rs.7,452 crore in January 1-June 30 2009, a whopping Rs.1,414 crore less than what it made in the same period in 2008, according to the review of the Pitch Madison Media advertising outlook 2009. However, things may be looking up for the media industry. Our analysis for the JulyDecember period showed that while the media industry earned only Rs.7,452 crore in the first half, the industry has net Rs.12,325 crore in the second half. And this is a massive 65 percent jump over the first half, said Madison Media chairman Sam Balsara.
However, this handsome growth, driven by an increase in ad rates and volumes, will not be enough to offset the slump experienced by the industry in the first six months. There was a negative growth of 5 percent for the full year. The industry was projected to close calendar year 2009 with Rs.19,777 crore against Rs.20,717 crore in 2008, said Amit Agnihotri, exchange4media group co-founder and editor of Pitch magazine. During January-June, the print media saw advertising revenues plummet 32 percent, while television saw a 19 percent drop. Cinema and outdoor advertising took a greater hit at 37 percent and 30 percent respectively. There was only a moderate decline of five percent in ad revenues of radio stations. However, the internet media is the only format that recorded a growth during the first half, logging a 16 percent growth. Surge in branding and marketing activities will push advertising expenditures in India to 0.55 per cent of the country's gross domestic product by 2010 from the current 0.52 per cent, industry chamber Assocham said. A research conducted on the future of advertising in India by the industry body revealed that the ad-spending in the country was continuously increasing ever-since the economy had opened up and the sector was growing at a rate of more than 22 per cent per annum. The sector was expected to cross Rs 16,000 crore in the current fiscal with ample scope for growing further, the Chamber said. Advertising expenditure in developing nations has been growing despite the limited size of the markets in these countries and still has potential, Assocham said. Developed nations, on the other hand, spend anywhere between 0.8 per cent to over one per cent of their GDP on advertising. The US spends nearly 1.3 per cent of its GDP on advertising, while ad-spend percentage in various parts of Europe and south east Asia is constantly increase, the Chamber said.
1.1) Outlook of major segments of the Indian E&M Industry:

Television industry is projected to continue to be the major contributor to the overall industry revenue pie and is estimated to grow at a stable rate of 11.4% cumulatively over the next five years, from an estimated Rs. 244.7 billion in 2008. The overall television industry is projected to reach Rs. 420.0 billion by 2013. In the Television pie, television distribution is projected to garner a share of 60% in 2013. On the other hand, television advertising industry is projected to command a share of 41.0% in 2013, having increased from a present share of 39.0% in the total ad industry pie. The relative share of the television content industry is expected to remain constant at 4%. Film industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.6% over the next five years, reaching to Rs. 185 billion in 2013 from the present Rs. 107 billion in 2008. The relative shares of the film industry are expected to shift marginally from the traditional revenues to the new emerging revenues. Print media industry is projected to grow by 5.6% over the period 2009-13, reaching to Rs.213 billion in 2013 from the present Rs. 162 billion in 2008. The relative shares of newspaper publishing and magazine publishing are not expected to change significantly and are expected to remain the same at around 87% in favor of newspaper publishing. Magazine publishing is expected to grow at a higher rate of 6.5% as compared with newspaper publishing which is expected to grow at 5.6% for the next 5 years. Radio advertising industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 18% over 2009-13, reaching Rs. 19 billion in 2013 from the present Rs. 8.3 billion in 2008; more than double its present size. In terms of share of ad pie, it is projected that the radio advertising industry will be able to increase its share from 3.8% to 5.2% in the next five years. Emerging segments, the key growth driver for the music industry over the next five years will be digital music, and its share is expected to move from 16% in 2008 to 60% in 2013. Within digital music, mobile music will continue to increase its share and maintain its dominance.
Given the trends of increased internet usage, internet advertising is projected to grow by 32% over the next five years and reach an estimated Rs. 20 billion in 2013 from the present Rs. 5 billion in 2008. The share of the online advertising too is projected to grow from 2.3% in 2008 to 5.5% in 2013 of the overall advertising pie. The estimated size of Out of home (OOH) advertising spend is Rs 15 billion in 2008, which is projected to become almost twice its current size in 2013 (i.e., Rs 25 billion). Its share in the total ad pie is expected to go down marginally to 6.8% in 2013 from a current level of 6.9% in 2008. Animation, gaming and VFX industry will continue to maintain its growth pace and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 22% to Rs. 42.5 billion in 2013 from its current size of Rs. 15.6 billion. In the animation space, domestic demand will create the fillip in its growth, as well as contribution from international co-productions, in the film and television space.
1.2) Outlook of Indian Advertising spending (2009-13):

Owing to the economic slowdown, the growth in advertising spending has slowed after a period of robust growth. In 2008, overall advertising spending recorded a growth of 11.3%, over the previous year which is much lower than the growth rate of 20.7% in the earlier year. Overall spending expected to increase from the present size of Rs. 216 billion in 2008, to Rs. 366 billion in 2013 (a cumulative growth of 11.1% on an overall basis). As per report by ZenithOptiMedia, Expect advertising expenditure in India to increase from 0.50% of the gross domestic product (GDP) to 0.53% over the next three years, Worldwide, the ad industry is expected to grow 6.7% to reach $61 billion and Internet advertising is expected to surpass magazine advertising; and the upswing was triggered by quadrennial events like Olympics, US elections and Euro 2008. As far as Indian market is concerned:

Internet advertising contributes 1.8 % of the countrys total advertising spends. Internet medium is set to witness 150 per cent growth in 2008.
For every hundred rupees spent by advertisers, Rs 91 is spent on television and the print media while the outdoor media accounts for Rs 5. The rest is divided between cinema, radio and the Internet. (The Indian entertainment industry too is expected to grow by CAGR of 18% to reach Rs. 1 trillion numbers by 2011).
1.3) Indias advertising expenditure and GDP:

GDP( constant price) In 000 crores (rs.) 2602.065 2844.942 3120.029 3402.716 3993.5 3702.3 GDP( current price) In 000 crores (rs.) 3149.407 3586.743 4129.173 4723.4 5279.6 5167.9 Current advertising expenditure in 000 crore rs. 14.0299 16.1766 20.7095 23.965 27.945 32.8457
Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Table 1.1: Indias advertising expenditure and GDP
The Indian advertising industry comprises establishments that create and sell advertisements for media such as newspapers, periodicals, radio, and television. It has been evolving at a fast pace over the past few years owing to the proliferation of means of communication and the emergence of new distribution channels. Currently India has a low advertising spend as compared to other economies. Competition for the outsourcing business and creativity leakage is a major issue confronting the industry. However, the television advertising is expected to register high rates of growth, with India expected to become Asias leading cable market by 2010. Today in India, the scope for advertising has progressed considerably although the Indian advertising spends as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is still as low as 0.34% as opposed to other developed and developing countries.
Figure 1.1: Advertising expenditure as a percentage of GDP
Advertising revenues are vital for the growth of Entertainment and Media (E&M) industry in India. These low ad spends are an immense potential for growth. This can be seen through the development of so many new mediums of advertising in recent years. Current advertising revenues are about 200 billion for 2009.
Figure 1.2: Share of advertising spending by medium
1.4) PEST analysis: 1.4.1) Political factors:

Review of advertising code: In recent years the quantity of false, misleading and offensive advertising has resulted in consumers having an increasing disbelief in advertising, and a growing resentment of it. Misleading, false advertising also constitutes unfair competition. It could lead to market-place disaster or even litigation. If this kind of advertising continues, it wont be long before statutory regulations and procedures are imposed which make even fair, truthful, decent advertising cumbersome if not impossible. Hence, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) adopts a Code for Self-Regulation in Advertising. It is a commitment to honest advertising and to fair competition in the market-place. It stands for the protection of the legitimate interests of consumers and all concerned with advertising - advertisers, media, advertising agencies and others who help in the creation or placement of advertisements. Adoption of these codes will lead in fewer false, misleading claims, fewer unfair advertisements and increasing respectability. Ban on surrogate advertising: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has taken a decision to ban surrogate advertising, which may cost the broadcasters as much as Rs 200 crore a year. Taking into account print media ads, this could rise to Rs 250 crore if ads from brands such as Kingfishers mineral water, Royal Stag Mega cricket, White Mischief Holidays are no longer allowed to be aired. Many of these brands associate themselves with sports such as golf and cricket in India; the DLF IPL Bangalore franchise has been named after UB Groups premium whiskey brand Royal Challenge. Kingfisher Mineral Water, McDowells No 1 Soda, Bacardi Blast were amongst the biggest advertisers on television, their volume of advertising comparing well with advertising by aerated drinks makers. According to a media buyer of a leading agency, an average liquor brands spend across platforms is as much as Rs 45 crore, and as long as a surrogate brand has a strong business proposition it should be allowed to advertise.
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CAS (Conditional Access System) implementation altering viewership distribution: With CAS system, consumers would have the option to choose the channels they want to pay for and view, rather than receiving the whole set of channels made available to them by the cable operator. The work on CAS had first commenced when the then I and B Minister Sushma Swaraj set up a task force in September 2001. Following its report, the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 was amended and a notification was issued for introducing the system within six months and a new task force was set up to ensure this.
Direct-To-Home Growth Spurring Niche Programming: The huge array of channels available to DTH subscribers has increased and continues to increase. If we take a closer look at the composition of population across Asia, there are a plethora of different languages, cultures and religions living side-by-side. These different pockets all have different specific requirements when it comes to television programming and channel choice. These bouquets of channels are also extremely popular with expatriates of countries across the world. No matter where they now reside, they may still gain access to the programmes that they would receive in their country of birth. In India, the DTH market has doubled in the past two years. Satellite offers many benefits to a country like India. It can be deployed anywhere, no matter how remote. It needs no prior infrastructure. It is a cheap method of delivery. It is also very reliable.
Deregulation of FM radio increasing media penetration: There are 104 million radio households in the country, and approximately 111 million radio sets. Radio covers 97.3% of the country's population and 91% of the country's geographical area. The size of the advertising pie in the radio industry currently is approximately 4% and growing at 10-12%.
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1.4.2) Economic factors:

Opportunities from rural income growth: The urban-rural income gap has steadily declined since the early '90s. Over the past decade, economic growth in rural India has outpaced growth in urban areas by almost 40%. Rural India now accounts for half the country's GDP, up from 41% in 1982. World Bank studies show that rural India is chipping in about two-thirds of overall growth. The rural marketing has been growing steadily over the years and is now bigger than the urban market for FMCGs. Over 70% of sales in FMCG is made to middle class households today and over 50% of the middle class is in rural India. With a near saturation and cut throat competition in urban India, many producers of FMCGs are driven to chalk out bold new strategies for targeting the rural consumers in a big way. But the rural penetration rates are low. This presents a tremendous opportunity for makers of branded products who can convert consumers to buy branded products. Many companies including MNCs and regional players started developing marketing strategies to lure the untapped market. While developing the strategies, the marketers need to treat the rural consumer differently from their counterparts in urban because they are economically, socially and psycho-graphically different to each other. GDP growth fuelling advertising spends: Indian advertising spends as a percentage of GDP at 0.34 percent which is low as opposed to other developed and developing countries. The low ad spends seem like a challenge before the E&M industry but it also throws open immense potential for growth. This potential can be estimated by the fact that even if India was to reach the global average, the advertising revenues would at least double from the current level. Dr. Amit Mitra, Secretary General, FICCI, India is one of the few countries where economic growth will be led by domestic consumption. With a low advertising spend to GDP ratio of 0.47 percent, a growing consumer class and middle class, young population, low media penetration and increasing discretionary spending; India continues to be an attractive market for Media & Entertainment.
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1.4.3) Social Factors:

Teens emerge as influential consumers: Beyond the growth in the Teen population, marketers cannot afford to ignore Teens for numerous other reasons. This growing powerbase of spenders and influencers are important because they: 1. Have significant discretionary income. 2. Spend family money as well as influence their parents spending on both large and small household purchases. 3. Establish and affect fashion, lifestyle, and overall trends. 4. Provide a window into our society a view of how it is now, and what it is likely to become. Non-Metro India influencing advertising strategies: The Indian economy has been saved from the slowdown due to rural growth is true to a certain extent. India's growth has been fuelled more by domestic demand than exports. Also Indian spending and saving habits differ from other parts of the world. Indians by their very nature always save for their future and this holds them in good stead during times of crisis. The Indian buyer is more finance conscious than his global peer. The Indian banking system is actually more resilient and the level of delinquencies is far lower than in other parts of the world.
1.4.4) Technological factors:

Digital and graphic innovation in outdoor advertising: Amongst the various tools of advertising, outdoor advertising is one of the effective techniques used by advertisers to keep businesses afloat and also to increase product awareness and sales. Wide ranges of outdoor advertiser have so far created a huge impact with their advertisements. Various forms or methods of outdoor advertising are available such as banner ads, billboard ads, kiosk ads, lamp post ads etc.
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Animation industry driving creativity: Animation is often used in advertisements. The pictures can vary from hand-drawn traditional animation to computer animation. By using animated characters, an advertisement may have a certain appeal that is difficult to achieve with actors or mere product displays. For this reason, an animated advertisement (or a series of such advertisements) can be very long-running, several decades in many instances. The animation is often combined with real actors. Animated characters are making a spirited return to the marketing world, but in a break from the earlier practice of saddling them with the entire brand, they are being used in short periods to promote a product or service. Companies like Maruti, came with its cartoon mascot, Mr WiseR, Mentos the man-donkey combination, Docomos dancing logo characters, Vodafones zoozoos, Amul came with Amul girl, Air India came with Maharaja, ICICI Prudential came with Chintamani and Sunfeast came with Sunny and Pillsbury doughboy. Castrols animated Rajinikanth series and Centre Freshs animated zubaan pe lagaam that featured caricatures of Rakhi Sawant, Rahul Mahajan and Bappi Lahiri, and many more cartoon characters have made a remarkable success to the brand it was launched for.
INSAT 4 series launch: INSAT-4 series is deigned to meet the requirements for direct-to-home television and communication services, video picture transmission, and digital satellite news gathering services, as well as to serve the National Informatics Center with VSAT connectivity.
Internet penetration driving online advertising: Online advertising in India is fast gaining acceptance and offers an ever increasing user base. Increasing awareness among advertisers and increase in Internet penetration are driving growth of the online medium and its horizontals. The market is expected to witness only a 27% p.a. growth from 2008-2013. Growing Internet user base, increasing time spent on the Internet, broadband penetration into households and fragmented media consumption habits of consumers are driving advertisers towards the online medium
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1.5) Top Advertising Companies Of India:

Advertising is a big business in this era in India. Indian Advertising industry has witnessed a prominent globalization. With the inception of various divisions, the advertising industry has undergone a sea change. Indian consumer's deepening pocket and blooming markets for ad-spends have touched new heights in India. The Indian Advertising Companies are creating stories and brand experiences in a way that engages and involves. The Best Indian sites offer the names of the top Advertising Organizations in India. Some of the top Indian websites are: Ogilvy and Mather:
This is one of the leading advertising companies in India. This organization believes that devotion to the brand defines the profile of their company. This company has offices across the globe. The objective of the company is to build brands. I t is a subsidiary of WPP Group plc. This company is headquartered at New York. J Walter Thompson India:
One of the most popular companies in the advertising industry is J Walter Thompson India. Their objective is to make advertising a part of the life of the consumers. This is also world's best advertising brand with about 200 offices in 90 countries. This company is the first one to introduce pioneer careers in ad for women, sex-appeal ads and also produced the first ever sponsored -TV program. Mudra Communication Pvt. Ltd:
This is one of the renowned advertising companies of India. This advertising organization was founded in the year 1980 at Mumbai. Recently the Ad Company declared the addition of public relations, rural marketing, events etc. The head office of the company is in Bombay Area. FCB-Ulka Advertising Ltd:
One of the best companies in India in the advertising arena is FCB-Ulka Advertising Ltd. In US, this advertising company ranks third and tenth in the world having about
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188 offices in 102 countries. Their aim is to reflect the needs of the brand and not the personality of the brand. It has about 500 professionals and no prima donnas. Rediffusion-DY&R:
This Advertising Company of India has made a benchmark in the field of creativity. India's 5th largest advertising company is Rediffusion. This advertising agency offers a wide array of integrated pr services for external and internal communications. The primary strength of the company lies in the media relations. McCann-Erickson India Ltd:
The prominent name among the best advertising companies of India is McCannErickson India Ltd. They define work in relation to the impact that advertising has on the lives of masses. The testimony of the company in which it firmly believes is the campaign of Coca -cola-'Thanda Matlab Coca Cola'. RK Swamy/BBDO Advertising Ltd:
It maintained the record of remaining consistently among the top ten advertising agencies in India. Established in 1973, this advertising reached great heights. This is also India's No.1 research company in the market sector and is fully run by Indians. Brand Equity is an integral part of the company. Grey Worldwide (I) Pvt. Ltd:
A significant name in India in the world of advertising agencies is Grey Worldwide (I) Pvt Ltd.The Company is primarily based in Mumbai and has offices in Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and New Delhi. It is a subsidiary of Grey Worldwide. The company specializes in advertising and marketing services. Leo Burnett India Pvt. Ltd:
It has a significant presence in about 96 offices in 10 countries. This advertising agency was awarded the 'Worldwide Agency of the Year' in 2004.They are proficient in explaining how a single image is worth thousand words and can break the barriers of language but not at the cost of the ad's emotional power.
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Contract Advertising India Ltd:
This advertising company of India is one of the leading advertising agencies in India. It is one-to-one customer lifecycle management advertising agency. It was founded in 1992 and is situated in Mumbai. It offers a wide range of services like online marketing and strategy and many others.
1.6) Indian Advertising Industry using more Humour in TV commercials:

Today advertisers are increasingly replacing sex appeal with humour as the way to reach the consumer's purse. A look at the Indian advertising scenario now shows that an overwhelming number of TV commercials rely on being funny, irrespective of whether the product is low involvement, such as soft drinks, beer or candies. "Humour can work anywhere. There are no rules," said Arvind Bugga, chief strategist with Delhi-based advertising agency K Factor. Bugga said "We had created an ad for Lakshmi Cement. To emphasise the strength of the cement the visual clip showed a cyclist with bags of Lakshmi Cement colliding with a truck. The truck disintegrates but the cyclist with his cement remains intact. Cement is a high involvement product and yet the humour worked. Our client ran the ad for more than two years". The rules of the game have changed, especially for TV commercials. While print media ads are still rather staid, most audio-visual advertising relies heavily on humour to attract attention. "Humour is the new sex in advertising," says Mokokoma Mokhonoana, founder and creative director of South African ad agency Two Way and author of Design Literacy Journal. Marketing pundits have for long believed that humour is best used for products that are low involvement, low cost and purchased regularly. "In fact, this has been established empirically by something known as the Product Colour Matrix," Anindya Chatterjee, professor of marketing, Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania.
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But Indian advertisers are certainly challenging the wisdom that humour works only for certain categories. Humour is being used even for high involvement products like insurance or pension funds such as the Max New York Life ads where a child is asked to pronounce "Czechoslovakia" or where a retired man is planning to go to a distant city to attend the marriage of the daughter of someone whom he hardly knows. The comic element can be found in many other high involvement products such as mobile phone services (Vodafone), motor cars (Hyundai Santro), television sets (Sony Bravia), and motor bikes (Hero Honda). "Today with so many people suffering from depression and suppressed anxiety, humour brings relief and catches attention," said Bashab Sarkar, MD and CEO of Delhi-based advertising agency Media Pros. He said "There are two major routes to catching attention - testimonials and humour. But the main thing is big ideas are missing and there are too many products. So, often there is no choice but to use humour". Of course, there are downsides. "There is certainly a big risk when using the comic element. It has to be executed perfectly just as a joke has to be told perfectly otherwise it falls flat and no one laughs," Bugga said. "Relevance is another key element," said Sarkar. "The Vodafone campaign with little white characters is funny but it is done in such a way that all the attributes that Vodafone wants to highlight are brought to the viewer's attention," he said. Some marketing gurus are, however, downright sceptical of using humour in advertising. "Even if people find your humour amusing, does it sell? My belief is that generally it does not. What sells are clear benefits," says Michael Hepworth, a top marketing consultant in the US and whose free "Marketing Tips" magazine is read by thousands of business owners around the world in more than 47 countries. I would certainly advise against indiscriminate use of humour," said Chatterjee. Even as the marketing gurus slug it out over the issue of using humour in advertising, the creative honchos in ad agencies are merrily going ahead with laugh riots.
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CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH DESIGN
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2) RESEARCH DESIGN:
2.1) Background to the research:

Around the turn of the last century, most of the serious-minded architects of modern advertising like John E. Powers, Albert Lasker, John E. Kennedy, Claude Hopkins, and Ernest E. Calkinsheld the use of humour in low favour (Beard, 2005). Outrageous limericks, claims, slogans, racial and ethnic caricatures, and a flippant style of copy are the examples of the humour that were used in the newspaper advertising in the mid to late 1800s (Beard, 2005). But such ads were not very common and they mainly focused on highlighting the products features in a straightforward manner. However, the things have changed and the need for creativity in ads has arisen.
Today, the consumers are exposed to thousands of commercial advertisements and messages in various forms every week (Speck and Elliott 1997; Blackwell et al., 2005), making it difficult for each advertiser to stand out as unique and persuade consumers to consider their product or service. To break through the clutter of competing ads and to gain attention of the viewer, advertisers spend a lot of time and money on making the ads noticeable and effective. One way of doing this is to outspend the competition by running more and larger campaigns than other brands (Pieters et al., 2002). This may explain the large market share and success of leading firms. But this may not be feasible for all the brands, as only a few firms have the ability to outspend competition to this extent. One more way of breaking through the clutter is by promoting the brands by using creative ads. Ad agency professionals
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have long promoted creativity as one of the most important elements in advertising (Helgesen 1994; Kover et al., 2007) and the advertising awards too, focus on the creativity of the ad. Creative ads not only push the message into viewers minds, but are also cost-effective (Kover et al., 1995; El-Murad and West, 2003; Till and Black, 2005). Within the field of advertising, most definitions of creativity involve an aspect of newness, unexpectedness, or originality. Leo Burnett defined advertising creativity as the art of establishing new and meaningful relationships between previously unrelated things in a manner that is relevant, believable, and in good taste, but which somehow presents the product in a fresh new light (El-Murad and West 2004). Many dimensions have been associated with advertising creativity. The most notable ones are - humour (Weinberger and Spotts 1989; Lee and Mason 1999), positiveness (Ang and Low 2001), and well-craftiness (White and Smith 2001). Also, due to the fact that many markets are rather saturated today, many commercials aim at the recipients emotional attention rather than presenting their products features and advantages. Amongst the various means used to appeal emotionally to the audience, humour provides the advertiser with the tool to evoke positive feelings in the audience (Beard, 2005).
Humour has always been a pervasive part of life. Over the years psychologists, scientists and sociologists have given significance to the benefits of humour. By giving a voice to difficult thoughts or emotions, humour helps people to cope with challenging situations by releasing tension (Francis, 1994; Freud, 1928). Humour also plays an important role in social communication (Lynch, 2002), and is often used to gain social power by controlling the situation (Barsoux, 1993). It eases tension in awkward social settings and facilitates social bonding (Francis, 1994). One more
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important and the most relevant aspect of humour in the context of this study is the use of humour in advertising strategies. The prevalent use and eminent popularity of advertising humour amongst advertisers and audiences confirms its importance in the contemporary world (Beard, 2005). Advertisers frequently use humour to communicate with their target audiences. As Roman and Maas (1976) note, Everyone likes funny commercials. Creative people like creating them. Advertisers are pleased to be running them. The consumer enjoys them. Semantically, Attardo (1994) has built up the field of humour as in figure 2.1:
Figure 2.1 - Different kinds of humour (Source: Attardo, 1994)
Looking at these variety of concepts, it comes as no surprise that there is little consensus about the effects of humorous ads. This is based on individual predispositions one person might find a commercial extremely amusing while another rejects it (Beard, 2008).
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Estimates of the use of humorous advertising suggest that almost 24.4% of prime time television advertising in the U.S. is intended to be humorous (Weinberger and Spotts, 1989). Earlier researches conducted in other mediums of advertising also suggest similar results. Accordingly, there is a high level of usage of humour in television ads (Kelly and Solomon, 1975; Markiewicz, 1972; Speck, 1987) and in radio (Weinberger and Campbell, 1991). Also, around 10 to 30% of the annual advertising expenditure in the United States is used for ads with humour intent (Krishnan and Chakravarti, 2003), reflecting marketers belief in humour as an effective advertising tool. The usage of humour also varies from one region to another depending on their culture (Mooij, 1994). Similarly, many studies have been carried out to understand the different humour types and mechanisms used by the advertisers to make the ad effective. The work in the field of humour in advertising is not yet comprehensive and many practitioners and researchers are still exploring the mysteries regarding the effectiveness of humour in ads. The present research too, tries to throw light upon the concept of humour in advertising by analysing the existing literatures, estimating the gaps in the same and finally evaluating the use and effect of humour in Indian advertisements.
2.2) Review of few previous studies:

The present research initially addresses the various studies which propose the use of different media types, followed by the general views on the effectiveness of humour in advertising by various practitioners. Furthermore, various theories and models (e.g. Weinberger and Gulas (1992), Speck (1991), Spotts et al., (1997) and so on) have also
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been discussed in a comprehensive manner. The gaps in the existing literature have been analysed and appropriate research questions are formed on the same basis.
2.3) Research problem:
Most of the theories and constructs in advertising literature are based on the empirical findings of a few researchers and practitioners. These findings again are based on a few experiments done in labs or classrooms with a small sample size, or quantitative surveys (e.g. Madden and Weinberer, 1982; Duncan and Nelson, 1985 Weinberger and Gulas, 1992; Cline and Kellaris, 1998; Spotts et al., 1997; Speck and Surgi, 1987; Beard, 2008 and so on). A proper literature review would reveal that although humour research over the past few years has increased, only a few studies have adopted a systematic conceptual framework (Weinberger and Gulas 1992). Speck (1991) and Spotts et al., (1997), based on their studies, conceptualized a framework of advertising humour. Although, most researchers acknowledge their works and some use their frameworks for further study, very rarely has the framework been applied to the study of different humorous advertisements. This may be attributed to the major concentration of humour research on quantitative analysis (by using surveys and experiments) to develop further ideas, and neglecting the qualitative real-life campaign analysis using case studies and history. One more research problem is the lack of scholarly works regarding the use of humour in Indian advertisements, despite the countrys extensive use of humour in its advertising campaigns. Almost 40% of all Indian ads and 84% of all low-involvement, low-risk products in India use humour in advertising (Agency FAQS, 2008). As such, it is quite imperative to do a detailed analysis of the already existing low-risk, low-involvement products in India (by using
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examples, case studies or history) to gain a deeper insight of the Indian advertising scene. This may also encourage further research in this field of study.
2.4) Introduction to the study:

Based on the issue being addressed and the type of research questions, a suitable research approach and methodology are chosen. The present study employs case study based qualitative research. Some researchers believe that the case studies should be used only in an exploratory study, and experiments should be used for explanatory or causal studies (Shavelson, 2002). But, according to Yin (2003), case studies can be used not only as an exploratory strategy, but can also be used effectively in causal and descriptive studies.
2.5) Need for the study:

The main purpose of this research is to analyze the Indian advertisements that use humour as an important tool in marketing a product. The secondary purpose includes an attempt at using case-study methodology as research tool, along with Specks (1991) and Spotts (1997) frameworks to understand the humour types, humour mechanisms and the reasons for their success (or failures).
2.6) Objectives of the Study:

1. To assess the role of humour in advertisements 2. To study a gap in the literature on advertising humour by exploring advertisers uses of humour and explanations for its broad appeal. 3. To provide rich data and knowledge about the use of humour in advertising.
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2.7) Scope of the study:

The present research primarily concentrates on the use of humour in television advertising in India only.
2.8) Research Methodology:
1) Type of study:
In this study both - exploratory and descriptive approaches are used, since the primary concern is not only to gain familiarity with the Indian advertising market, but also to explore the types of humorous ads in India (Kothari, 2005). In addition to offering a better insight on humorous ads in India, the exploratory research may also provide direction for a more formal research effort (descriptive and causal researches) in this field later.
Yin (1994) defines the case study research method as an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidences are used. The case study method is used in analysing complex phenomena. Although many researchers consider case study as an authentic and effective research strategy (Easton, 1994a; Parkhe, 1993; Yin, 1993, 1994, 2003), no journal of research on case studies or case study methods exists and the most common research methods textbooks hardly mention case studies (Yin, 1993). However, this research strategy allows the researcher to retain the holistic and meaningful characteristics of real-life events like individual life cycles, organization
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and managerial process and the consumer behaviour (Yin, 2003) and is therefore apt in the present context of study. The succeeding sections justify the paradigm, methodology and sample size used in the research.
2) Realism as the scientific paradigm:

According to researchers, there are two major approaches to theory development, deductive theory testing and inductive theory building (Bonoma, 1985; Parkhe, 1993). The deductive approach represents the positivist paradigm and the inductive approach represents the phenomological paradigm. Furthermore, the phenomological paradigm can be divided into three: critical theory, constructivism and realism (Guba and Lincoln, 1994).
Table 2.1 - A framework for categorizing the scientific paradigms (Source: Guba and Lincoln, 1994)
The present case study research involves the collection of perceptions of external phenomena which involves psychology and feel of the consumers resulting from the humorous ad. These perceptions are considered to be unobservable (Hunt, 1991, p. 282). As has been noted in the marketing literature (Hunt, 1991), positivism approach considers only observable phenomena and is not appropriate for the unobservable perceptions. Also, in this research, the research problems addressed are more
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descriptive than prescriptive in nature, as there are no positivist experiments or causeand-effect paths are required to solve the problem. Here, different case studies are analyzed and theory building is being attempted, making it an inductive study and unsuitable for a positivist approach (Perry, 1998). On the other hand, constructivism and critical theory methods do not support commensurability (reliability and validity) issues required for the evaluation of the present research topic and methodology (Hunt, 1991).
Realism paradigm is different from the above three approaches since it considers the unobservable perceptions, does not suffer from the limitations of relativism that constructivism and critical theory possess and is commensurable with evaluation of the research topic and method. Also, according to marketing literatures, realism is the preferred scientific paradigm for the case study research (Hunt, 1991, Perry 1998).Therefore, realism rather than positivism, constructivism or critical theory is used as an epistemological guide for this case study research.
Realisms description in Table 2.1 as being inductive might suggest that deduction has little place in case study research, with theories being built without any reference to theory. But this case study employs a mixture of induction and deduction to make the research more exploratory and interesting. Fact and theory (induction and deduction) are each necessary for the other to be of value (Emory and Cooper, 1991). This point of view is also held by some marketing literatures (Glasser and Strauss, 1987; Perry, 1998; Eisenhardt, 1991). Also, pure induction might prevent the researcher from benefiting from existing theory, just as pure deduction might prevent the development of new and useful theory (Parkhe, 1993).
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3) Case-study as the methodology:

The purpose of this section is to justify the use of case study methodology in this study. Case studies deal with an in-depth understanding about how different cases provide insight into an issue or a unique case (Creswell et al., 2007). According to Yin (1994), the usage of different research strategies depend on numerous factors as shown in the table 2.2.
The three basic conditions which act as a deciding factor in deciding the type of methodology to be used for the research are: 1) The type of research question posed 2) The extent of control an investigator has over actual behavioural events 3) The degree of focus on contemporary as opposed to historical events Strategy Form of Research Requires Control of Behavioural Events? Yes No No No No Focuses on Contemporary Events? Yes Yes Yes/No No Yes
Question Experiment How, why? Survey Who, where, what, how Archival Analysis History Case Study many, how much? Who, where, what, how many, how much? How, why? How, why?
Table 2.2 - Relevant situations for different research strategies (Source: Yin, 2003)
To begin with, a clear understanding of the research questions is necessary (Yin, 1994). The objective of the research questions of the present study is to find out how humour is successfully used across various product categories in India and why are these ads successful. A basic categorization scheme for the types of questions is
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assessing the type questions: what, who, where, why and how (Yin, 1994). The first type of question what can be analyzed by using any of the five research methods shown in the table 2.2. Similarly, who what and where (and their derivatives) generally attract the analysis of archival records. If the study needed to analyze which (i.e. who) age-group does the advertising target the most, and how much effect does it have on the target audience, then it would be appropriate to choose a survey method initially, followed by an archival analysis. In contrast, how and why type of questions lead to the use of case studies, histories and experiments as research methodologies (Yin, 1994). The questions do not demand the knowledge of frequencies or incidences of the humorous ads over a period of time, and hence conducting a survey or examining archival records would be baseless.
Case study analysis overlaps with the history approach, when the latter deals with contemporary events (Yin, 1994). The case studies rely on many of the same techniques as history, but besides that it also includes the direct observation of events and/or interview of the persons involved in the events. Moreover, it is possible to club both the research strategies (case study and history) since those are not mutually exclusive (Yin, 1994). In the present context, clubbing of the two methodologies is apt for conducting research. But for simplification purpose and also since historical analysis is a part of case study method, the present methodology may be referred to as case-study approach. In the case studies mentioned in this research, contemporary advertisements and direct observation of these ads form a part of the analysis.
Furthermore, as one of the research question is based on how, it is not possible to have control over the actual behavioural events, and hence case studies or a survey
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method can be used (Yin, 2003). Also, according to Yin (2003), what questions too can be handled with the help of case studies. Since all the three deciding conditions in table 3.2 are satisfied, it can be assumed that the case-study approach is viable in the present study. Also, to increase the validity and robustness of the research analysis, multiple cases are considered in the study (Yin, 1994).
Besides, case study approach also encompasses many advantages. The detailed qualitative accounts produced in case studies not only help to explore or describe the data in real-life environment, but also help to explain the complexities of real-life situations which may not be captured through experimental or survey research (Zaidah, 2003). Case studies also allow for both quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data (Yin, 1994).
2) Selection of cases:
Type of cases:
According to Patton (1990), for qualitative research like the case study methodology, the selection of cases should be purposeful, rich in information, involve replication logic and depend on the conceptual framework developed from prior theory. Also, Yin (1994) studied that multiple cases should be regarded as multiple experiments and not as multiple respondents in a survey. And hence replication logic rather than sampling logic should be used for multiple case studies. The replication logic should either predict similar results for predictable reasons (literal replication) or produce contrary results for predictable reasons (theoretical replication) (Yin, 1994).
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In the present research, the cases chosen are very informative and relevant to the research questions. Also, literal replication logic is used in the case studies to increase the validity, and the entire data-analysis is supported by earlier theories, humourtypologies and models. Although the three main case studies chosen belong to the low-involvement, low-risk category, care has been taken to choose products which are inherently dissimilar in their feel or functions to avoid recurring data and bias. Also, supporting case studies and examples in the research make the analysis easier and more information-rich.
Number of cases:
According to Eisenhardt (1989) and Lincoln and Guba (1985), the cases should be added until theoretical saturation or the point of redundancy is reached respectively. But this is practically not feasible due to the time constraints. This point of view is also upheld by a few researchers. According to Romano (1989) and Patton (1990), the choice of the number of case studies to be used is left to the researcher. Moreover, excessive use of case studies (more than 15) may make the study unwieldy and unclear (Miles and Huberman, 1994). In general the widest accepted range seems to fall between two to four as the minimum and ten to fifteen as the maximum (Perry, 1998).
In the present research, due to the time constraints, only three main cases were chosen to answer the two research questions. The limited number of case studies demanded
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that each case-study be different from each other and still ensure literal replication. To satisfy the demands supporting cases and examples are added.
Validity and reliability:
Based on the research questions, a careful selection of cases and evidences were done to satisfy the purpose of study. While choosing the case-studies, the quality of the qualitative research has to be given a lot of importance (Riege, 2003). The two important aspects of the case-study research method that are to be addressed are validity and reliability of the study (Perry, 1998; Ruyter, 1998).
To ensure construct validity, many advertising websites and interview experts of the heads of the advertising and client organization were taken into consideration to minimize any kind of bias (Riege, 2003). Also, most of the draft case-studies were being examined by senior members of the advertising agencies involved in the making of the ad. This added to the accuracy and validity of the case-study construction (Yin, 1994). To ensure internal validity, the results were cross-checked in the data analysis phase leading to internal coherence of findings (Yin, 1994). Internal and external validity were increased by doing cross-case analysis of different products, which in turn used multiple cases (Eisenhardt, 1989), i.e. although the case studies dealt with low-risk, low-involvement products, the industries (for example, a confectionery and an adhesive) and target audiences (in these cases different age groups and places) chosen were different from each other, enabling cross-evaluation and literal replication of the cases. This helped in testing whether the findings are generalizable beyond the immediate case(s). The use of the concepts and theories
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from literature review during each research phase, especially in the data-analysis also increases validity and reliability of the study (Yin, 1994; Riege, 2003). Moreover, the congruence between most of the research issues arising out of the study and preexisting literatures explained earlier highlights the authenticity of the study.
3) Data analysis technique:

Based on the case studies explained, analysis of data is carried out. For this purpose, each research question is handled at a time, and to do so, specific theories explained in the literature review are used. The answer to the first research question is given by the integration of the case studies and examples mentioned. A table is drawn to analyze the humour types and mechanisms in the cases explained. The second research question is approached differently, since it draws upon existing theories and models.
2.9) Limitations of case study research:

Case study methodology has received criticisms over the years. One of the criticisms is that they may lack vigour and may be based on equivocal evidence or biased views to influence the direction of the findings and conclusions (Yin, 2003). To tackle this issue, different product and sub-product categories are used, so that there is minimal bias. Secondly, it is not feasible to generalize using a small number of subjects, some conducted with only one subject (Tellis, 1997). The main purpose of this research is not to generalize a particular idea, but to explore the Indian advertising scene, and hence using case study approach is advantageous. Lastly, the case studies are often
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labelled as being too long, difficult to conduct and producing a massive amount of documentation (Yin, 1984). At the same time using lesser number of case studies may provide with less reliable and inaccurate results. Hence, in this research, 3 main cases along with a few supporting examples are chosen from a small focused product to strike a balance between reliability and feasibility of the study.
2.9.1) Limitations of the present study:
When case studies are successful in revealing some of the complexities of social or educational situations, there is often a problem of representation. Also, the sample of advertising case studies considered may not be broadly representative of the type of advertisements made in India. This situation can make the findings of such research very difficult to summarize.
The time constraints and the need to be specific and concise may have resulted in choosing only a few case studies and hence the results obtained cannot be considered as comprehensive.
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CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
3) THEORETICAL BACKGROUND:
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The concept of humour in advertising has been studied by various authors, practitioners and researchers over the years (Sternthal and Craig, 1973, Madden and Weinberger, 1984; Speck, 1991; Weinberger and Gulas, 1995; Spotts et al., 1997; Beard, 2003, 2007, 2008 and so on). The comprehensive literature review is very necessary to support the present study for three main reasons. Firstly, the present research topic demands that the researcher has an in-depth knowledge of theories and constructs to have a proper understanding of the topic. Secondly, an extensive review of existing literatures helps in finding the gaps in the literature, so that the problem areas could be addressed effectively using apt research questions. Lastly, in the later part of this research, data analysis uses the concepts and ideas of various practitioners and theories to examine the case-studies. The review starts with the different views regarding the presence of humour in different media types and the effectiveness of humour in ads. This then followed by studying various frameworks and hypotheses of researches like Weinberger et al. (1995), Speck (1991), Spotts et al. (1997) and so on. Finally, the gaps in the existing literatures are proposed and on the same basis research questions are developed.
Presence of humour in different media types:
The use of humour is prevalent in all kinds of media. Surveys show senior advertising practitioners believe radio and television are the media best suited to humour and direct mail and newspapers least suited (Beard, 2006; Madden and Weinberger, 1984). The presence of humour in US television advertising is estimated from 24% (Weinberger et al., 1995) to 28% (Toncar, 2001) to 46.2% (Catanescu and Tom,
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2001) to 51% (Speck, 1991). Weinberger and Gulas (1995) provide the only available estimate of humour in radio advertising, at 35%. The only existing study of the use of humour in outdoor advertising was done by Bhargava et al. (1994). Around 282 Canadian outdoor advertising campaigns running between 1978 and 1991 were analysed and it was found that 30% of the campaigns were intended to be humorous. Use of humour in the other print media is not as prevalent. McCullough and Taylor (1993) studied American, British, and German trade magazine advertisements and found that 23% contained humour, with no significant differences by country. Catanescu and Tom (2001) found that 5% of US magazine advertisements included humour, compared to the 9.9% found by Weinberger et al. (1995). Humour in newspapers and digital advertising has not been investigated much yet.
Difference in views regarding humour in advertisements:
Early advertisers used humour infrequently because they thought it could offend the audience by violating the standards of good taste and their expectations of sincerity (Beard, 2005). Even as modern advertising evolved and advertisers became more confident about using humour, their concern about humour generating negative responses continued. They cited several reasons for this concern: humour could be too aggressive, it could be matched with inappropriate products and services, it could rely on inappropriate themes, or it could irritate simply by being irrelevant (Beard, 2008). But humour is very much prevalent in todays world, and has drawn the attention of many researchers and advertisers.
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Over the years, a lot of researchers have opined about the effectiveness of humour in ads. A review of existing literatures highlights the contingency regarding the role of humour in advertisements. While the use of humour is high, the efficacy of humour as a communications device remains uncertain and controversial (Weinberger and Gulas, 1992). Empirical findings regarding humour effects are largely inconclusive (Lee and Lim, 2009). This lack of knowledge has led advertising copywriters and researchers alike to both praise and decry the effectiveness of humour in ads. In their comprehensive literature review, Weinberger and Gulas (1992) have pointed out the disparity regarding the role and impact of humour on audience mentioned in various journals and books. On one hand, humour has been credited with increasing attention to an advertisement (Madden and Weinberger, 1982, 1984), increasing ad comprehension (Stewart and Furse, 1986), contributing to the positive attitude toward the ad (Belch and Belch, 1984; Duncan and Nelson, 1985; Gelb and Pickett, 1983) and the advertised product (Gelb and Pickett, 1983; Scott, Klein, and Bryant 1990). On the other hand, some believe that the use of humour may not be suitable for certain products or services and may result in faster advertising wear out (Weinberger and Gulas, 1992). Duncan (1979) studied that humour may offend some members of the audience and may result in the vampire-effect, where the humour draws attention away from the advertised product (Duncan, 1979; Sternthal and Craig, 1973; Gelb and Zinkhan 1986). Due to the differences in desired goal, type of humour and medium used, placement and audience, it is hard to generalize the effects of humour (StewfirtHunter 1985). Similarly, the variations in the parameters (type of humour used, sample size, culture, medium, repetition, argument strength and so on) used by the researchers in several dozen studies over the past forty years make it very difficult to resolve the fundamental question about humours effectiveness. Therefore, in the
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recent years much of humour research has focused on identifying the boundary (product, audience, message, medium, culture and so on) factors governing adhumour effectiveness (e.g., Alden and Hoyer, 1993; Chattopadhyay and Basu, 1990; Cline, Altsech and Kellaris, 2003). Even more recently, researchers have started building theory surrounding how humour is processed and identifying when humour actually occurs (e.g., Elpers, Mukherjee, and Hoyer 2004).
3.1) Effectiveness of humour in advertising:

According to researchers, advertisers have long believed that advertising must arouse some emotion to be effective (Beard, 2005). Furthermore, studies involving magazine ads (Madden & Weinberger, 1982), radio ads (Weinberger & Campbell, 1991) and television ads (Stewart & Furse, 1986) in the past have provided converging evidence that humorous ads are more attention-grabbing than non-humorous ads. Joe Sedelmaier, a guru of humorous ads, has long touted the claim that the presence of humour effectively increases attention to ads (Dee 1993). According to Sutherland and Sylvester (2000), there are three main mechanisms by which humorous ads are supposed to work more effectively than straight ads: 1. Humorous ads are attention grabbers, and hence easily noticed. 2. There is minimal critical evaluation of humorous ads because viewers process them as entertainment rather than engage in counter-argument. 3. They are liked more and there is evidence that ads that are liked have a higher probability of being effective.
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Mehta and Purvis (2006) cited two main reasons for using emotional responses like humour in advertising. Firstly, the key to branding is the triggering of an emotional response, which is often the major benefit of using a particular product. Secondly, the process that consumers go through in deciding what brands to buy has a heavy emotion-based dimension to it. While there is agreement about the need for an emotional response to advertising in order for it to be effective, there is considerable argument about how exactly emotion works to influence the overall impact of advertising. The same is the case with the measurement or evaluation of humour response in advertising.
Over the years, numerous empirical studies and researches have attempted to explain the relationship between humour and advertising effectiveness (e.g., Chattopadhyay & Basu, 1990; Smith, 1993; Weinberger et al., 1995). For instance, Madden and
Weinberger (1984) conducted a survey which revealed that 94% believed humour was effective in gaining attention, and 38% felt humour increased comprehension (Madden & Weinberger, 1984). On the same lines, in a Video Storyboards survey of randomly chosen consumers, 62% said that humorous ads were the most influential and an American Advertising fax poll showed that 92% of respondents claimed that humour was either highly or moderately effective as a selling tool (Custer, 1995).
The widespread use of humour, coupled with the unresolved questions regarding it, has drawn the attention of numerous communication researchers. Major developments in the field of humour in advertising started way back in late 1960s and 1970s. Some important works include Sternthal and Craig (1973), Markiewicz (1974), Gruner (1976) and Duncan (1979). Although, the reviews were written for different audiences
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and with different purposes, the conclusions arrived at are very consistent. Out of these, the most frequently cited work in most of the literatures is that of Sternthal and Craigs (1973). They drew some tentative conclusions about the use of humour on a number of communications goals: 1. Humorous messages attract attention and may detrimentally affect comprehension 2. Humour may distract the audience, resulting in counter-argumentation and an increase in persuasion. 3. Although humorous messages appear to be persuasive, the persuasive effect is not too much greater than that of serious messages. 4. Humour enhances source credibility. 5. Audience characteristics may influence the effect of humour. 6. A humorous message may increase liking and create a positive mood, which in turn may increase persuasion.
These conclusions are viewed as tentative because, although based on a thorough review of the then existing literature in 1973, this literature base was somewhat small and consisted almost exclusively of non-advertising studies and a few laboratory experiments as there was simply little prior work in advertising to review. In the years since the Stemthal and Craig work, humour has received extensive further investigation in over 50 studies that have appeared not only in the marketing and advertising literatures, but also in the field of communication and psychology.
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Figure 3.1 - Tactical considerations for humour in advertising Source: Weinberger and Gulas (1992)
Weinberger and Gulas (1992) suggested that although no one study can account for all the contingencies that affect humour, and instead the researchers must begin to incorporate the factors that appear to influence humour if progress is to be made in understanding its effects. They updated and expanded on the Stemthal and Craig (1973) work by including execution, placement, audience and product factors in the examination of the effect of humour in advertising. They also studied and analyzed various existing literatures between 1965 and 1992 before pointing out the detrimental
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parameters in any kind of a humorous ad. Figure 3.1 shows the factors to be considered in humorous advertising.
The above figure points out the important aspects of humour in advertising: product, message type, intended goal, type of audience et al. According to Weinberger and Gulas (1992), it is not feasible to assess whether humour in advertising is effective, and instead the most appropriate way to analyze the role of humour would be to answer the following questions: 1. What communications goals are most likely to be achieved through the use of humour? 2. What message factors are likely to affect the outcome? 3. For what audience is humour most appropriate? 4. What product factors suggest the use or non-use of a humorous approach?
Though the fundamental question of humour's effectiveness in advertising remains unanswered, we can analyze the accounts of past and present humour research in the context of proper constraints and boundaries to gain better insights about its effects. In the succeeding sections, the study focuses on the different views of various literatures regarding the effect of humour in advertisements, with the work of Weinberger and Gulas (1992), Spotts et al. (1997) and Speck (1991) in the hindsight.
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3.2) A framework for examining advertising humour (Speck, 1991):

Given the mixed evidences and varying points of views, it would seem appropriate to ask when humour in advertising is effective rather than if humour is effective (Cline and Kellaris, 1999). Spotts et al. (1997) conceptualized a model (figure 3.2) with a product-contingent focus for examining humour in magazine advertising based on the framework of Speck (1991). The same model can be used in general since it takes into account the background factors and message factors shown in figure 3.2. The resulting approach also provides a clearer understanding of the appropriate use of humour through the examination of: l. The humour mechanisms employed, 2. The relatedness of humour to the ad or product, and 3. The type of product advertised.
There has been considerable amount of work done on humour mechanisms and humour relatedness over the past few years by many researchers and practitioners, which would be discussed further. On the other hand, the effect the product has on the choice and evaluation of an ad has not been studied thoroughly as yet. Although it is not viable to get an exact point of view in this regard, the work of Weinberger et al. (1995) provides a useful framework to understand product contingencies, which is also included in this section.
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Figure 3.2 - A framework for advertising humour (Source: Spotts et al., 1997)
1) Humour mechanisms or humour type:
The mechanisms that govern humour can be grouped into three broad categories: affective, cognitive and interpersonal (McGhee 1974; Wicker, Barron, and Willis 1980). Although there is no generally accepted taxonomy for humour (Gruner 1991), these three mechanisms together are believed to drive humour. In contrast to more technique-oriented typologies, the three mechanisms mentioned are psychologically based and provide a conceptual rather than an operational starting point for studying humour (Beard, 2008). Speck (1987, 1991) recognized the value of the more
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theoretical approach and encompassed the three basic humour mechanisms in his empirical work which represent the three conceptual variations in humour: arousalsafety (affective), incongruity (cognitive), and disparagement (social) (see Figure 3.2). Prior research on humour types and audience response has focused predominantly on incongruity-resolution humour, whereas arousal-safety and disparagement have gone almost entirely un-investigated (Beard, 2008). Also, the Arousal-safety and disparagement-based humour mechanisms often require subtle cues that may be communicated more effectively through sight, motion and sound, thus making the usage of these in magazine-based advertisements sparse (Spotts et al., 1997). These, when used individually or together, generate five humorous advertisement types: resonant humour, comic wit, resonant wit, satire and full comedy (Beard 2007; Beard and Tarpenning, 2005; Speck, 1991). This study adopts Specks framework because it is most deeply rooted in the humour literature and is easier to correlate it with the concept of advertising.
Arousal-safety mechanism:
Arousal-safety is also referred to by a few researchers as release or relief theories (Keith-Spiegel, 1972; McGhee, 1983; Morreal, 1983; Rothbart, 1977). Here, the basic stimulus of arousal is the induction of anxiety or uncertainty for oneself or another. The tension is relieved when people are able to make a safety judgment that the object of the anxiety is either safe or the consequences insignificant, which often results in feelings of good will (Speck, 1991). For instance, viewers may have experienced empathy or anxiety for someone or something in the ad that experienced or narrowly avoided some kind of minor disaster. The ad is likely to encourage warm,
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sentimental feelings, sympathy or an outpouring of goodwill (Beard, 2008). Arousalsafety theory, however, also explains the humorous effects of potentially offensive stimuli, such as embarrassing social situation, fear appeals, shockingly graphic images, or explicit sexual remarks and actions (Beard and Tarpenning, 2005; Speck, 1991). Furthermore, Beards (2004) review of the advertising humour literature led him to suggest arousal-safety humour might more frequently lead to offense, compared to the other humour types.
Disparagement mechanism:
This mechanism is based on Superiority theory, which is perhaps the earliest theory of humour and laughter. This view, originated by Plato, emphasizes on laughter as a result of feeling superior to others by using jokes, puns or something else which can evoke such a feeling (LaFave 1972). In this mechanism, the ads ridicule something or someone, such as a rival firm or another advertiser. The intention of the ad is to spread humour by making someone feel superior to someone else and to show the victim of attack in a negative light by using satire or sarcasm (for example, Coca Cola ads normally disparage Pepsi Co products and vice versa). According to Beard (2008), in this form of humour mechanism, the ad takes form of implicit or explicit criticism, a judgment or evaluation, a put-down, or the exposure of someones silliness, stupidity or folly. Disparagement humour is also called Ha-ha humour (Behrens et al., 1999), which means that someone is just laughing at something with the laughter having a mainly affective background. Origins of this theory go back to Aristotle and Plato, who presented definitions for humour and comedy as something that makes us laugh when the evil or ugly is ridiculed or suffers.
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If the ad encourages viewers to identify personally with the object of the disparagement and views the victim in a positive light or makes the audience feel sympathetic or indifferent towards the victim, the mechanism used is arousal-safety and not disparagement (Beard, 2008). For example, in an ad if someone slips and falls in a crowded place, but viewers are not encouraged to feel that the victim deserved the accident, it is arousal-safety and not disparagement.
Incongruity mechanism:
The most popular and also the most widely used strategy for breaking through consumers perceptual screens is to present information that is incongruent with their pre-existing expectations (Heckler & Childers, 1992). By using incongruent images, advertisers increase attention and the extent to which the target information is processed. According to this mechanism, an incongruity (deviation from the expected) is followed by a resolution in which the incongruity is understood. In other words, incongruity theory contends that people perceive humour when a stimulus is consistent with two partially or fully contrasting scripts and a punch line switches them from one to the other, triggering a resolution of the incongruity (Beard et al., 2005; Raskin, 1985; Speck, 1991). The initial response to this type of ad may be a cognitively based discrepancy reaction (Huh!). More elaboration may resolve the meaning of the humour (Aha!) and generate a response (Ha Ha!) (Krishnan and Chakravarti, 2003). In this mechanism, the ads, besides being witty, or silly, are generally incongruent, unexpected, possibly surprising and sometimes impossible (e.g., talking animals, dancing trees), inducing play confusion amongst audiences. The ads that are initially viewed as surprising, confusing or unrelated ultimately fall into
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place and make sense to the viewers or readers when the punch line makes sense at some level with the earlier incongruent information in the joke. It is believed that more unexpected the incongruity, the greater is the humour response (Weinberger and Gulas, 2004). Some incongruity theorists though, believe that incongruity itself may be sufficient to produce humour and may not need an explicit resolution. But, several studies suggest that incongruity alone, without resolution may leave the audience frustrated because they might not get the joke (Walden and Hoyer, 1993). It is expected that the incongruity-resolution combination presents a more humorous situation that the same incongruity without a punch line (Flaherty, Weinberger and Gulas, 2004). The approach is based on the assumption that the crucial factor in a humorous advertisement is a kind of incongruity which surprises the recipient. While he/she expects some certain features based on earlier experiences with similar situations, the ad generally evokes a situation that does not comply with the recipients expectations. However, in order to be humorous, the situational context must be safe and non-threatening (Beard, 2008). The incongruity often appears in combination with a pun or a metaphor. This type of humour is also called Ah-ha humour (Behrens et al., 1999) as the consumer experiences intellectual pleasure by solving a small challenge.
Resonant humour is generated entirely by the arousal-safety mechanism and comic wit is generated entirely by the incongruity-resolution mechanism (Beard and Tarpenning, 2005; Speck, 1991). The resonant wit advertisement type is generated by a combination of arousal-safety and incongruity-resolution. Satire is produced by a combination of the incongruity-resolution and disparagement mechanisms (Beard and Tarpenning, 2005; Speck, 1991). In satire, the stimulus of humour arousal is the
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disparaging portrayal of another and the resulting tension is a mixture of enjoyment tinged with anxiety or guilt over enjoyment of the disparagement (Beard, 2008). The fifth type of humorous advertisement, full comedy, is a function of all three mechanisms.
2) Humour relatedness:
There is also research on the extent to which advertising humour is related to the product or service advertised, although it is not too detailed (Beard, 2008). In addition to the basic humour mechanisms, Speck (1991) outlined a broader typology of humour that incorporates the relatedness of humour in an ad on three levels: intentional, structural and thematic as shown in figure 3.1. Speck's comprehensive treatment of relatedness is cited very often by most researchers in literary theory and semiotics.
Intentional Relatedness:
Intentional relatedness refers to how the humour is related to message type and message processing (i.e. the degree of dominance of humour in the message). Intentional relatedness is generally classified as humour dominant or message dominant (Speck, 1991; Weinberger et al., 1995). In humour dominant ads, the humour process is more prominent than the message itself and therefore, if the humorous elements are removed, the ad no longer makes sense. In message dominant ads, however, the humour is subordinate to the overall message, and can be removed from the advertisement with no loss in message comprehension. Message dominant
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ads can be image or information-focused. Image-focused ads contain verbal and/or visual content that reinforces the more elusive image of the product whereas information- focused ads concentrate explicitly on the product features or price of the product. Information-focused ads are likely to rely on central route processing (Speck 1987) and the impact of humour on attention and arousal is likely to be low to moderate, and the impact on recall is likely to be moderate to high. In contrast, message dominant ads that are image-focused may rely more on peripheral processing, where humour does not dominate the ad but can increase audience attention and arousal according to Speck (1987). The impact of humour-dominant ads depends upon the degree to which the humour is integrated into the advertisement (Speck, 1987). For message dominant ads the analysis is more complex because the ads differ in terms of information or image-focus. A key point is that intentional relatedness is a way to identify the relative level of humour dominance within an ad (Beard, 2008).
Structural relatedness:
According to Speck (1991), structural relatedness represents the relationship between the humour and the message parts contained within the ad or the product claims. In humour-dominant ads, structural relatedness refers to the integration or lack of integration of the subordinate message elements with the humour. In messagedominant ads, structural relatedness refers to placement of the humour within the ad, i.e. syntactic relatedness (Speck, 1991).
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Thematic relatedness:
When advertising practitioners refer to the importance of humour being relevant or related, they generally refer to thematic relatedness Beard (2005). Thematic relatedness is the relationship between the humour and the message content. In thematically related ads, the humour is related to the product, its uses, benefits, name, or typical users. Conversely, in thematically unrelated ads, humour is not related to the product or any product related claims (Speck, 1991, Spotts et al., 1997; Weinberger et al., 1995). Speck (1991) also notes that thematically unrelated humour in advertising is not very common, and is mostly found in local car, furniture and appliance advertising.
3) Type of product (Product contingencies):
Humour is just one element of an advertising execution that can affect ad performance. According to many present humour researchers, the type of product advertised is detrimental in execution and evaluation of humour in advertising. Earlier, most humour and message research ignored product variation or was unable to carry out proper analysis because lack of data sets to allow subdivision of the sample. To provide a conceptual framework to help guide strategy planning in general, Vaughn (1980) and others at Foote, Cone and Belding developed what became known as the FCB grid. Since then, a few behaviourally oriented product typologies have been developed to recognize the importance and determinacy of high/low involvement and some aspect of low/ high hedonic value (Rossiter, Percy, and Donovan 1991; Wells 1988; Weinberger et al. 1995). Zaichowsky (1987) and
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Ratchford (1987) have supported the application such grids in examining the use and effect of advertising. Weinberger et al. (1995) too subdivided the sample ads into product groups by forming a grid called the Product Colour Matrix (PCM). Like other similar typologies, the product colour matrix is used to highlight differences between products that must be considered in developing advertising. Product colour matrix approach is used to group products before trying to understand the effects of humour in advertising. It addresses the underlying processes involved in consumer decision making, and adds a metaphor of colour to highlight the meaning of products. The colours white, red, blue and yellow are used as shorthand for the exemplar products in each portion of the grid (Weinberger et al., 1995).
Figure 3.3 - Product Colour Matrix (Source: Weinberger et al., 1995)
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Cell 1 of the product colour matrix is white (Figure 3.3) consists of white products. Weinberger et al. (1995) classify big tools, i.e. the products that fulfil functional needs under this category, and these are often based on the price. White goods such as refrigerators, washer/dryers, cameras, insurance, computer, telephone equipments, home improvements, large and small appliances, business service and some automobiles are durable and expensive which require consumers to shop and compare because of the high risk involved in the choice.
Cell 2 of the product colour matrix consists red products and this category symbolizes flamboyance and is expressive. Red goods include big toys like sports car, expensive motorcycles, party dress, jeans, cosmetics, watches, jewellery and other items that are conspicuous in nature and represent the individual and have high risk. Unlike white goods which only satisfy a functional goal, red goods help in satisfying self-expression goals and are more likely to be consumed for sensory gratification than for simple functional performance.
Cell 3 of the product colour matrix is blue, and represents the functional decisionmaking characteristic of low risk routine or habitual purchases. The products are little tools that are generally consumable and help accomplish small tasks such as cleaning, cooking and personal hygiene. Staple food items, many health and beauty aids, and over-the counter drugs belong to this group. Examples of blue products are toilet bowl cleaner, vitamins, coffee, tea, breakfast, motor oil, common medicines, cereal, canned food, credit cards, banks, household products like laundry detergent and mouthwash. In contrast to white goods, blue goods involve lesser risk, implying
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less consumer need to process information. However, because of the functional aspect of the products, consumers seek relevant information before purchase.
Finally, cell 4 of the PCM consists of yellow goods. According to Weinberger et al. (1995), these are considered to be day-to-day rewards and are called little treats. The most common products in this group include snack chips and beer. The cell would also include other products such as gum, candy, soft drinks, soda, tobacco, snack food, confectionery products, wine and cigarettes. Such products are routine purchases, low in financial risk and are easily purchased by the consumer. They are not as important as red goods, which also satisfy wants and are expressive.
3.3) Application of PCM and Specks (1991) humour typology:

The above classification of consumer objectives and the degree of risk involved helps in assessing the effect of humour in each product category in the context of product category and Speck's humour typology (Spotts et al., 1997). The PCM in combination with Speck's typology provides an interesting and unique examination of humours effects in advertising. The humour typology developed by Speck (1991) provides a theoretical foundation for a systematic analysis of humours effects, whereas the PM considers the important product-related effects on advertising effectiveness established in prior research. Moreover, the PCM allows product analysis with
respect to consumer decision-making processes, thus providing a stronger basis than traditional descriptive product classification schemes. Spotts et al. (1997) classified the products or brands in the PCM based on the concepts from behavioural research typologies (Mac-Innis and Jaworski, 1989; Petty and Cacioppo, 1986)
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Table 3.1 - Product characteristics within PCM (Source: Spotts et al., 1997)
Starch/INRA/Hooper was the source of advertising performance data used in Spotts et al. (1997) study. Starch uses an aided-recall technique to establish the amount of attention readers remember giving to a particular ad by asking the respondents to examine a specific magazine and identify the ads in it that they have seen before (Krishnan and Chakravarati, 1999). Spotts et al. (1997), from their Starch noted scores found out that incongruity-based humorous advertising in general is effective in grabbing initial attention for both white and yellow goods. But at the same time, the same kind of humour did not appear to increase initial attention to ads for blue goods and similarly there was no considerable effect on advertising performance for
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red goods (Spotts et al., 1997). Furthermore, incongruity-based humour executions increased aided brand recall only for yellow goods, had no impact on white goods and reduced the score in this regard for red and blue goods. As yellow products tend to be purchased as low risk treats, consumers may require very little information when making a purchase decision. On a broader note, the preliminary findings of Spotts et al. (1997) can be made: 1) Humour usage by media varies overall (for example, TV and radio use humour twice more often than magazine ads). 2) For radio, TV and magazines, yellow goods are the most suited to humour, whereas red goods are the least suited. 3) In general, advertisers are using humour most often for the yellow goods product groups where the likelihood of success is the greatest. 4) Although advertisers like to use humorous magazine advertisements for all kinds of products, the practice of using humour proves beneficial only to white and yellow products. 5) Humour should not be the main and only focus of a magazine ad for any product and instead, message dominant humour, which captures initial attentions and retains it, should be used. For white goods, it can be information or image focused, and for yellow goods it should be only image-focused.
Moreover, as mentioned earlier, incongruity based humour is the mechanism most frequently used by advertisers. But from the product-group level analysis of Spotts et al. (1997), it seems that the heavy usage of humour for red and blue goods may prove to be harmful for the product. Also, the advertisers of yellow goods, who commonly use humour, should be careful not to make heavy use of humour-dominant messages.
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In fact, Weinberger and Spotts (1989) found that TV advertisements for yellow goods contained less information content than advertisements in the other product categories. On the other hand, advertising maybe an influence in high-involvement buying decisions, but it is only one among many. Often it is a relatively weak influence, especially in comparison with other influences like word-of-mouth, previous experience and recommendations by the experts. Generally, in these products, advertising focuses on including the product in the purchase short-list of the viewers rather than selling it on the face (Sutherland and Sylvester, 2000). Perhaps higher risk and/or greater functionality necessitate greater message dominance in the advertisements used for red and white goods. Also, message dominance is more information-focused among the function-oriented white and blue goods and imagedfocused among the red goods, whose purchase involves high-risk (Spotts et al., 1997).
3.4) Humorous ads and the psychology of the consumer:
As discussed earlier, the impact of humour in ads depends on the type of humour employed (Weinberger and Campbell 1991), the type of product being advertised (Weinberer et al., 1995; Alden and Hoyer 1993), the relation of the humour to the product or message (Speck, 1991; Spotts et al., 1997) and so on. Besides these, the impact of humour is also likely to depend on the interaction of ad-characteristics with characteristics of the individual processing the ad (Lewin, 1951; Kellaris and Cline, 2007). The factors considered in this approach take into account, the consumer understands of the environment within the totality of inner and outer forces, which gives meaning and significance to stimulus such as humorous ads. This section deals with the issues like humour expectancy and relevancy, person traits like need for
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humour and need for cognition, moderating role of prior brand evaluation, and the types of individual ad-processing. The interplay of these factors can impede the acquisitions of information of ads (Kellaris and Cline, 2007).
3.4.1) Humour expectancy and Humour relevancy

Heckler and Childers (1992) define relevancy as material pertaining directly to the meaning of the theme or the primary message. And expectancy is defined as the degree to which a piece of information fits into a predetermined pattern evoked by the message theme. In other words, the information is considered expected if it is consistent with the consumers pre-existing knowledge of the meaning of the message or theme. Research over the past few years has shown that expectancy and relevancy interact to produce differential effects on brand claim recall. Heckler and Childers (1992) also built a framework with the help of associative memory model developed by Srull and Wyer (1989). The framework combined both the expectancy and relevancy dimensions incongruity based ads to explain the concept of consumer adprocessing and their recall of ad claims. Results of their work indicate that recall is greater for unexpected (vs. expected) stimuli. The message in incongruity resolution humour may be mainly unexpected, but the context in which the humour is processed can be either expected or unexpected (Kellaris and Cline, 2007). For example, viewers may expect to find in ads for beer and liquor (e.g., Fosters and Absolut Vodka) or in ads for brands with funny names (e.g., AFLAC), but not in life insurance advertisements. Audience know its coming, and quite often in what form, yet they still find it humorous (Kellaris and Cline, 2007). More recently, Kellaris et al. (2007), from their studies found out that when the humour claims relevancy is high, audience
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recall fewer ad claims under conditions of high humour-expectancy. In other words, when the consumers expect humour to be forthcoming, humour relevancy has a negative effect on the brand recall. It should be noted that brand recall is an important determinant of the effectiveness of an advertisement (Beard, 2008). Based on Apters (1982) reversal theory and Sulss (1972) incongruity resolution theory, Wyer and Collins (1992) proposed that the relevant information is recalled more than irrelevant information, and recall for unexpected-relevant information is generally better than recall for expected-relevant information. Furthermore, Krishnan and Chakravarti (1994) demonstrate that the relevancy of humour to the brand claims (or any other adcomponent) produces facilitation effects, and therefore can positively influence memory for brand claims, thus improving brand recall.
3.4.2) Need for humour (NFH) and Need for cognition (NFC):
Lewin (1951) in his field theory suggests that consumer behavior is determined by the combination of the person (beliefs, values, idea) and his cognition and motivation. Hence, proper understanding of the environment can only be reached by considering people's subjective interpretation of what surrounds themand person traits play an important role in individuals' perceptions of environmental stimuli (Cline and Kellaris, 2003). By extending the theory to humorous ads, it can be inferred that the responses to such ads should be a joint function of ad characteristics and person characteristics. Hence along with the humour mechanisms and characteristics, individual difference variables or person traits also act as boundary conditions shaping the influence of humour on ad-responses. This section briefly highlights the role of two person traitsneed for humour (NFH) and need for cognition (NFC).
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Two independent studies, Cline 1997 and Cline, Machleit, and Kellaris 1999, provide evidence that an individual's NFH can significantly influence the extent to which the humour in an ad is processed. Cline, Altsech, and Kellaris (2003) demonstrate that need for humour (NFH) or the individuals motivation to seek out humour can be useful in explaining responses to humorous ads. Specifically, individuals scoring high in NFH respond more positively to humorous ads than the people who score low (Cline et al., 2003). Accordingly, individuals with high levels of NFH may have enough motivation to process the humorous information, relevant or not, and those with low NFH are not likely to elaborate or try hard to process humorous information unless it is unexpected (Cline, 1997). Studies indicate that consumers high in NFH not only form more favourable attitudes toward humorous ads, but also exhibit less favourable attitudes towards less humorous advertisements. Since the effect of humour is universal in nature, NFH may be useful as a segmentation tool in advertising. For instance, it may be helpful in identifying audiences who are more likely, under certain conditions, to respond favourably to humorous ads (Kellaris et al., 2007). Cline and Kellaris (2003) also found out that NFH can differentiate subjects' attitudes under varying conditions of humour content and hence, advertisers may target consumers who are high in NFH whenever attitude change is to be induced. Also, NFH may be helpful both in media selection and in targeting audiences for specific products. For example, advertisers can conduct a market research that will identify the media types that draw audience characterized by high NFH (for example, the people who buy comic books, or watch comedy TV shows) and then use this information to target specific people with specific product categories. Kellaris et al. suggest that need for humour is a highly relevant and influential, but is an ignored person trait and worthy of additional investigation.
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One more important person trait is the need for cognition. Zhang (1996) studied the influence of need for cognition (NFC) on the processing of a humorous print ad for a high-involvement product. He found that high-NFC subjects were less influenced by humour than the argument strength, and conversely, low-NFC subjects were more influenced by humour than by argument strength. The role of NFC on the effects of humorous advertising in conjunction with NFH was examined for the first time by Kellaris. The findings from their studies provide evidence that the moderating role of NFH on the effect of humour on the attitudes towards the ad may be more prominent among audience with lower NFC. An individual's NFC affects his motivation to process an ad, which in turn influences the moderating role of other person traits like NFH. Moreover, need for humour, need for cognition, and perceived humour influence attitudes by elevating affect and reducing counter-arguments (Kellaris et al, 2007).
People with higher NFC are more motivated to engage in issue-relevant thinking and the people with lower levels of need for cognition may treat message source variables by means of simple acceptance or rejection (Cacioppo and Petty 1982). Thus, incidental humour is likely to play a greater persuasive role for people who are low in NFC and not highly motivated to process the advertising message critically (Cline and Kellaris, 1999). In contrast, people who are high in NFC are more likely to process the issue-relevant ad claims than the incidental humour (Haugtvedt and Petty 1992; Cline and Kellaris, 1999). It has also been found out that low NFC leads to heuristic processing and high NFC leads to systematic processing (Batra and Stayman 1990). The information processing techniques mentioned above will be explained further.
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3.4.3) Information (message) processing:

This part discusses the concept of heuristic and systematic processing, argument strength and ad-claims, and need for humour (NFH) and need for cognition (NFC).
Psychological theory suggests that increased attention should generate more extensive processing. It follows that humorous ads are likely to be processed more extensively than non-humorous executions. More extensive processing does not by itself suggest a definitive moderating role for humour in shaping the persuasive impact of ad claims (Cline and Kellaris, 1999). According to the heuristicsystematic model (HSM) of attitude, depending on the type of message-relevant processing, different methods of inducing persuasion work better (Chaiken, 1980). For instance, when capacity to process is high, the central features of a communication like the argument strength should have a greater impact on persuasion. Conversely, when the capacity of
process is low, superficial features should have a greater impact on persuasion.
Humour in an ad may invoke either systematic or heuristic processing depending on the relatedness of the humour to the central arguments of the ad. If the humour is related to the understanding of the ad, or if it forms an important part of the ad itself, then it is likely that systematic processing takes place. Hence, if the humorous ad highlights the central arguments of communication, strong arguments may be effective. On the other hand, if the humour is just incidental and is not related to the ad directly, it may encourage heuristic processing. So, the strong arguments may not be effective enough to be processed if the humorous ad encourages the consideration of humour only (Cline and Kellaris, 1999). This argument is upheld by Smith (1993), according to whom a humorous ad may increase attention and at the same time hinder
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its argument processing, making the audience less sensitive to the strength of the ad claims. This is because the consumers would concentrate more on the fun part and in the process ignore the ad claims, resulting in what is known as Vampire Effect. Smith (1993) further suggests that in situations characterized by higher levels of consumer involvement like the purchase of a personal computer or a car, argument strength may influence attitudes, regardless of the presence or absence of humour.
Smith (1993) also suggested that the use of humour in a life insurance ad (which involves some risk) may be considered inappropriate, and would consequently disrupt the processing of the ad claims. But at the same time the use of strong arguments in this context will not harm the effectiveness of the ad. In contrast, it is possible that a low-risk product like bubble gum more suited to humour, whose ad claims are inherently less relevant, may detract the audience from the positive affect generated by humour and produce overkill by introducing strong arguments. In short, strong arguments may be inconsistent with what a low-risk convenience product is all about fun, whimsy, playfulness (Smith, 1993). Similarly, there are other reasons to expect humour to interact with argument strength.
According to the distraction hypothesis, a persuasive message (i.e. a strong argument) that is discrepant with strongly held consumer beliefs will be more successful in generating attitude change if the consumer is distracted during the message presentation (Festinger & Maccoby, 1964). This hypothesis suggests that distraction may enhance message persuasiveness by interfering with the audiences sub vocal or inherent attempts to counter-argue against the dissonant information. Also, research suggests that humour may induce distraction (Sternthal & Craig, 1973). In an
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advertising context, this hypothesis may be relevant when a persuasive message is aimed at consumers with preferences for competing brands or when a new product is introduced that conflicts with existing attitudes and values (Duncan & Nelson, 1985).
Affective responses aroused by humorous ads may divert a consumer from counterarguing against a discrepant persuasive message, which in turn may result in better responses (Cline and Kellaris, 1999). Hence, while advertising a low-risk or a low involvement item, the use of stronger arguments may nullify the distracting effects of humour by refocusing the consumer on the potentially arguable ad claims. In other words, when a low-risk product is advertised, the weaker claims support the humour in the ad and stronger claims overpower the humour and invite counter-arguments from the audience. Therefore, it is anticipated that incidental humour and argument strength will interact in such a way that a humorous ad for a low-risk convenience good will have a more positive impact on advertising effectiveness when the argument claims of the ad are weak. Finally, from the works of Cline and Kellaris (1999), it can be inferred that the possible explanations for the harmful effect of humour mixed with strong ad claims are: 1) Humour may negatively affect the argument strength perception 2) Strong ad claims may hinder humour processing 3) Humour and ad claims may be independently successful, but the combination might be ineffective (e.g., I like tea and I like whiskey, but not together)
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3.4.4) Prior-brand evaluation:

One of the main determinants of the evaluative directionality of information processing is the individual's prior evaluation of the attitude object which is an important consumer characteristic (Cacioppo and Petty, 1979). This section draws important points from the works of Chattopadhyay and Basu (1990). Accordingly, consumers who have a favourable prior brand evaluation are likely to be more receptive to the ads for that brand and their cognitive elaborations are more likely to be positive. On the contrary, unfavourable prior brand evaluation will make the consumer less receptive to the ad and will be more critical of ads for that brand, making their cognitive elaborations negative (Chattopadhyay and Basu, 1990). It follows that humorous advertisements are best suited for reinforcing pre-existing favourable attitudes of audience members, like targeting loyal customers and reinforcing their loyalty to stop them from trying out rival brands.
An effective way of advertising would be to do market segmentation based on the consumers prior brand evaluations, so that the advertisers could assess the strategic advertising decisions required for that product or segment (Duncan 1979). Furthermore, it is easier for the consumers to undergo unfavourable prior brand evaluation when making purchase decisions, since the consumers tend to orient more towards negative information about that product (Chattopadhyay and Basu, 1990). . The study also suggests that segments pre-disposed to the brand should not be targeted with humorous ads, since they might prove to be counter-productive (Chattopadhyay and Basu, 1990). Chattopadhyay and Basu (1990) from their
findings also claim that there is no direct effect of humour on brand attitudes, purchase intent or choice unless the product is new to the market. For example, the
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sales of Coca-Cola in India went down by about 38% in the year 2004 when the news about the bottled drink being contaminated with insecticides came into spotlight. The drink was then banned from schools and colleges across many places. Coke, in order to gain the public confidence back, stopped their humorous ads and instead reverted to their brand ambassador Amir Khan (a popular Bollywood star known for his work ethics) to re-assure the public about the brands authenticity and image in an awareness ad-campaign (Times of India, 2004; AgencyFAQS, 2006).
3.5) Gaps in the existing research and research questions:
It is proven that humour evokes different responses from men and women, it varies from one sub-culture to another, and no humour is universally funny (Kline et al., 2007). Although the researchers over the years have tried to bring out the significance of these issues, most of the research done is not comprehensive. They are just based on quantitative surveys with limited sample size, and due to the non-universal nature of the humour, the results obtained cannot be considered universal. And also, constraint-bound experiments are conducted most of the times to study humour rather than focusing on specific cases. Furthermore, although most researchers acknowledge the works of Speck (1991) and Spotts et al., (1997), not many have used their frameworks to study different humorous advertisements. This may be attributed to the major concentration of humour research on quantitative analysis (by using surveys and experiments) to develop further ideas, and neglecting the real-life advertising analysis using case studies and history.
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In other words, most of the existing works on humour do not concentrate on the individuality and uniqueness of each region or culture, thus neglecting an important determinant of study of humour in advertising. Also, as mentioned in the research problem part of chapter 1, not many studies have explored the nature of humorous ads across a specific product category in India. To do so, relevant research questions are formulated and then case study method of qualitative analysis is used to evaluate and analyze. Due to time constraints, only one product category (low-risk, lowinvolvement products) in India is considered in the research. The research questions arise naturally out of the gaps indentified in the existing literature. The research questions (RQ) are posed as below:
RQ1. What humour types and mechanisms are used in advertising a low-risk, low involvement product in India?
RQ2. How do various low involvements, low-risk products in India use humour in advertisements to gain competitive advantage?
3.6) Conclusion:
This chapter presents a comprehensive evaluation of the previous works in the field of humour in advertising. The different views and ideas of note-worthy authors and practitioners assist in using a dialectic approach in the research methodology and analysis that follows this chapter. The gaps are determined after reviewing existing literatures and on their basis research questions are formulated.
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CHAPTER 4: DATA COLLECTION, ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION
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4) Case studies collection, analysis & interpretation of data:

4.1) Case studies:
The brands chosen for case studies are congruent with table 3.1. According to Spottss et al. (1997), based on the PCM in table 3.1, the product characteristics of the yellow and blue goods are represented as below:
Table 4.1 - Low risk products of the PCM
Since these product categories involve low-risk and low-involvement or information processing, it is practical and very yielding to use humour and absurdism in advertising these products (Weinbeger and Gulas, 1992; Speck, 1991, Cline and Kellaris, 2003; Beard, 2008), and hence most of the products falling under this category are promoted by using funny ads. The facts and figures of the cases chosen to study are based on reliable sources like Agencyfaqs, Marketing Practice, MagIndia and so on.
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4.1.1) Case study 1: Mentos - mint (yellow product):

India provides a great deal of opportunities to the low-value, low-margin, fragmented sugar confectionery (candies and breath freshener) and gums market. Opportunities also lead to competition, and this is the reason the present Indian market has lot many players in this product category. The confectionaries include Perfettis Mentos, Chlormint, Alpenliebe, Nestles Polo and ITCs Minto Fresh. Major players in the gums category include Perfettis Happydent White and Wrigleys Orbit White (Economic Times, 2009). In this case study, advertising strategies of Mentos are discussed and the elements of humour in its ads are analyzed. When Perfetti Van Melle (India) Pvt. Ltd. (PVMI), the wholly-owned subsidiary of the worlds third largest confectionery company Perfetti Van Melle S.p.A., launched the worlds second largest confectionery brand Mentos in India, it realized that the global positioning of the brand was not cutting much ice with the Indian audience (ICMR, 2008). Globally, it was marketed on the freshness platform with the tag The Freshmaker, and hence to remain consistent with its global positioning, it was positioned with the same platform in India too. But the concept of "The Freshmaker" was alien to India, and held no connotation for the Indian psyche (Agency FAQS, 2008). This resulted in the change of communication strategy to position Mentos as a fun brand with advertisements (ads) created by Ogilvy & Mather India Ltd. (O&M) in 2003, and since then Mentos has taken huge steps to become one of the major mint brands in India along with Polo and Chlormint. Mentos has always been advertised in a wacky and smart way. Consider this particular ad -
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A teacher is busy taking his class when a student enters the classroom.
Expressing disapproval he chides the latecomer, youre coming now? Get out! VO: This is day to day life
Cut to the shot of the boy arriving late again for the class. Being smarter this time he enters...
...the class taking back steps. Mistaking him for leaving the class the teacher orders him...
...where are you going? Sit down! Having his way the clever boy takes his seat.
VO: This is Mentos life. Mentos. Dimag ki batti jala de.
Figure 4.1 - Storyboard 1 of Mentos (Source: Agency FAQS)
This particular ad has been so successful that it has been dubbed in various languages and shown across Asia and other European countries. After this ad, Mentos emerged as a strong brand in the Indian sugar confectionery market (ICMR, 2008). Like the above ad, most of Mentos ads target the youth (age group of 18 to 34 years). The ad makers were wise enough to grasp the point that theres not much to highlight about the qualities of a mint and hence isnt the way to build a brand name. Hence, they embarked upon a theme that described very little about the product itself, but created situations in which the Mentos consumer was shown to be smarter and having greater presence of mind (Comptrack, 2007). This was again indirectly attributed to consuming Mentos mints. Even in the above mentioned ad, the consumption of
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Mentos is shown nowhere, yet the ad sends a strong message across about the product. Mentos maybe a breath freshener, but the message the brand image conveys is think fresh. Since the soul of this brand is thinking different, Mentoss adcampaigns are not only very hilarious and humorous in nature, but also invoke
The film opens on a monkey pulling a wooden plank with a donkey seated on it.
The donkey whips the monkey nonstop even as he cries with pain.
The monkey finds a Mentos and shows it to the donkey only to be shooed away.
Realisation dawns upon him as he pops it into his mouth.
Leaving the donkey there he starts running. One leap and he progresses to a hunter.
He runs continuously and enters a dark cave. There he learns to produce fire by rubbing stones.
He comes out as a completely transformed man and sees the donkey sitting outside his hut.
Its now the donkeys turn to get whipped as he pulls the cart with the man seated comfortably on it.
The ad ends as the VO concludes, Mentos. Dimaag ki batti jala de.
immediate audience attention. Their yet another ad has become very popular:
Figure 4.2 - Storyboard 2 of Mentos (Source: Agency FAQS)
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Once again, in this ad Mentos goes a step ahead of other advertisers by a unique concept and by the use of graphics and animations. The brands quest for thinking different and using humour effectively also made them the pioneers in digital advertising. In the year 2007, an online Mentos Helpline was conceived and created to be a repository of pretexts, defences and justifications for people (basically incongruous, wacky and sometimes unrelated in nature) to use when faced with dayto-day problems. The idea behind the execution was to spoof the help lines that are commonly deployed by companies to redress customer problems. But while users in real life are forced to interact with impersonal voice messages in the system before they get to speak to a real person, at the Mentos Helpline they actually get to have the Mentos executives solving problems at the touch of a few phone buttons. The website also attempts at interactive humour by inviting users to post their solutions to other peoples problems. The visitors then started referring the site to their friends by clicking on the Send to a Friend link. The Online campaign yielded great results, just like any other ad of Mentos. Supporting examples used: Happydent White (chewing gum) - Mostly incongruent and absurd humour, both urban and rural target audience, no celebrity endorsements (Appendix Storyboard 5) Alpenliebe (confectionary- lollipop) - Ads based on funny catch lines, targets all age groups (the ads show grown up people enjoying lollipops). Bingo (crisps) Crazy ads, unrelated humour, and targets urban population (Appendix Storyboard 3).
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4.1.2) Case study 2: Sprite -soft drink (yellow product):
About 15 years ago, Sergio Zyman, a consultant with the Coca-Cola Co., who later became one of the US based beverage makers most successful chief marketing officers, discovered something about the clear, lemon-lime soft drink, Sprite. He found out that Sprites consumers didnt actually care about the taste of the product. They drank Sprite because of its unconventionality an unconventionality that was cheeky in the communication, too. Since then, Sprite has shifted its focus from the product itself to its communication. Its new ads moved away from I Like the Sprite in You to Image is Nothing. Thirst is Everything. Obey Your Thirst and a host of commercials that poked fun at ads in almost every category from detergents to sneakers. Three years after the switch, Sprite, became the fourth largest selling soft drink in the US.
When Sprite came to India, it stuck to the same formula unwaveringly and it paid off. Launched in 1999, Sprite has become the third largest selling soft drink in India after Thums Up and Pepsi. Coca-Cola found itself in a strange situation in India of its top three sellers, flagship brand Coke was No. 3. In the 80 million cases, Rs 1,600 crore clear lime segment (this accounts for 28.5 per cent of the soft drinks market which includes colas, cloudy lemon and orange), Sprite overtook 7Up last year and has held on to the position for more than a year now.
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According to Titus Upputuru, senior creative director, Ogilvy India, the product itself is good and the best thing is that it has been consistent in its attitude. Sometimes, there are people who change at the brand level or the agency level. And they start reinventing brands. Sprite had a strong, consistent communication. Although the clear lime segment is the largest in the carbonated drinks category, it wasnt very popular in India before Sprites entry, although Limca and 7 Up were already in the market. In India, nobody had attacked or approached it in the right way with the right product, says Kini, Coca-Cola Indias vice-president, marketing. Sprite, helped by consistent communication of the core idea with refreshing execution year after year, did that.
Sprites ads poked fun at other categories. One of the earliest ones was on celebrity soap endorsements. But the disparaging attacks were, more often than not, directed at its rival Pepsi. For the record, Sprites few spoofs were on Mountain Dew (I wanna do) and Pepsis Bubbly TV (Bada hi ugly channel hai). Some other mockeries by Sprite on Pepsi in the past include an ad titled The car nahin, dakaar, which showed that on consuming a soft drink, a person burps (dakaar), and doesnt get any car (as Pepsis ad had shown). A recent TVC for Sprite lampooned the Youngistaan (young land) TV commercial from Pepsi.
According to Upputuru, most of Sprites ads are thematic. The drinks communication basically punctures pretentiousness. Moreover, the ads are all in good spirit. It brings in a spirit of light heartedness. After all, it is soft drinks. It is about fizz, it is about enjoyment. Everyone enjoys having fun on the side.
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Sprites approach was clear. It targeted the youth mainly teens by arguing that other beverages were focused on trivial and distractive matters of image and that those who werent fooled by this sort of trickery should drink Sprite as a matter of authenticity. No marketing gimmicks, no celebrities barring Sania Mirza two years ago, and there too, Sprite used the players attitude and hardly any over-hyped selling were the hallmarks of Sprites highly effective campaign.
The film opens on Sania Mirza practicing tennis in the court. Impressed by her shots, a guy...
...practicing nearby tries to imitate her but fails. Cut to the shot of Sania taking break to have Sprite.
Seeing this, the guy tells himself, Thats her secret. Sania drinks Sprite. Having the drink...
...the guy feels all energetic. Going back to practice he plays his shot in such a way that his racket...
...flies off and hits his head. The next moment we see him lying unconscious on the ground.
VO: Sprite karey no chamatkar, bas pyaas bhujaye yaar. Super: Sprite. Clear hai!
Figure 4.3 - Storyboard of Sprite (Source: Agency FAQS)
Refreshingly honest and slightly irreverent Karey no chamatkar, bas pyaas bhujaye yaar (it does no magic, it only quenches thirst) and Seedhi Baat, No Bakwas
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(Straight talk, no nonsense) have been Sprites no-nonsense lines. And it has been playing the line in different ways, tones and styles changing the language accordingly. Honesty, according to Sprite, is an old policy that works. In India, according to the agency, most youth brands are getting into smartness territory because they think the youth want to be smart. Some supporting examples: Mountain Dew: Ads similar to those of Sprite, disparagement humour used all the time, targets youth, Sprites no.1 competitor. Pepsi: Basically incongruent and disparagement humour, uses humour in maintenance advertising, presently making ads with humour to target the youth.
4.1.3) Case study 3: Fevicol Adhesive (blue product):
Indias Most Trusted Brand
Since its inception in 1959, Pidilite Industries Limited has been a pioneer in consumer and specialties chemicals in India. It has been the market leader in adhesives and sealants, construction chemicals, hobby colours and polymer emulsions in India, and has become synonymous to adhesives and bonding agents. The company proudly owns the punch line Building bonds. It takes a lot to earn such a tag, from projecting the right image in all forms of public media to making products which live up to the expectations of the people (Agency Faqs; Economic Times, 2009).
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Only a few brands have the status of being synonymous with the category of product they represent. Fevicol, Pidilites legacy brand is one such brand and is a generic name in the Indian adhesive industry. When Fevicol entered the Indian market, the product faced stiff competition from national and multinational companies. The national major players were Vam Organicss Vamicol, Kitplys Kitkol, Century Plywoods Centurycol and Ciba Specialitys Araldite. The multinational players were Movicol, white glue from German-based MNC Hoechst Dyes and Chemicals in collaboration with the Mafatlal group, and Calibond, which was launched by UKbased Calico Chemicals (Times of India, 2005).
Over the years, Fevicol has commanded a market share of over 60% in the white glue market in India. Together with its brand extensions, it accounted for over 70% of the total market. Pidilites innovative marketing strategies and creative advertising over the years has enabled Fevicol to carve out its niche as a consumer brand. Ranked amongst the most trusted brands in India, Fevicol is now the largest selling adhesive brand in Asia. According to a survey conducted by The Economic Times in 2002, Fevicol stood 25th in the list of top Indian brands, leaving behind popular brands such as Amul, Bajaj, Dabur, Godrej and Cadbury.
The Fevicol consumers vary in their age-groups and social classes. When surveyed across different consumer segments, it is observed that the wage earners and housewives rate the product very highly, making Fevicols domestic indispensability very evident. For instance, the product stands 14 th in the income group of Rs 100015000 in South India. Also, Fevicol occupies 20 th position in class 2 towns in Kolkata
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present in East India. The above information highlights the versatility and wide range of consumers of Fevicol.
Pidilite often advertised Fevicol by using comedy and humour in advertisements to hold viewers attention and to create a high recall value. Mr. Bharat Mehta, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Pixilated Industries clarified, For a product like Fecicol, which is not a day-to-day product, the advertising needed to have vibrancy and spark in it to make it memorable. We have used subtle humour with the story which is easily understood by the target group. It stimulates you and makes you remember the brand Fevicol when you go out to buy an adhesive. Moreover, humour has no boundaries and has a universal appeal.
Pidilites humour based advertisements during the 1990s changed from bonding of furniture to bonding with the consumers which helped to increase revenues rapidly. Pidilite had hired Ogilvy and Mather (O&M) Advertising to handle its advertising campaign. Piyush Pandey, National Creative Director, O&M mentioned, We have shown the bonding power of the product in a non- literal way. The message is simple Fevicol is the ultimate adhesive. In 2002, O&M won Silver at Cannes Awards for a funny Fevicol commercial.
Here is a little dissection of these adverts to find out why Fevicol binds like none other. Consider this for starters- during the marriage the pundit recites the mantra.... Yeh Fevicol ka mazbooth jod hai tootega nahi (This is Fevicols strong bond, it wont break) or for that matter Cricket hi to hai desh ka Fevicol (Cricket is only the countrys Fevicol), or even better- toote dilo ke alawa sab kuch jode Fevicol (except
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broken hearts, Fevicol fixes everything). Theres another hilariously funny print advert of fevicol, the Indian God of death Yama is trying to pull out life from a person, but is unable to do so, the reason, and the body is lying next to a tin of Fevicol. And the best thing is the tagline which says fevicol aise jod lagaye yamraj bhi tod na paaye (Fevicol sticks in such a way that even Yamraj cant break it). One can infer that the themes and the ideas have been brilliantly blended in all the ads and they have been woven in a simple yet very effective way of story telling. Besides the catchy, memorable and humorous tag-lines mentioned above, there is one simple tagline which has stuck with the brand for years- Fevicol aise jod lagaye acche se accha na tod paaye (Fevicol binds so good that no one can break it).
O&M has always come up with catchy ways to sell Fevicol. For instance, the ad involving Katrina Kaif (Bollywood actress) and a man who has just got married, as he falls off to dream, he tries to run after her, but to his utter dismay he just cant seem to move despite of all his efforts. He wakes up only to find that his head was resting on Fevicol carton. In 1996, one amongst the best was the ad depicting a politician who is pulled by both sides by his members. The concept was related to the live happenings of that time and also was simple comic and right to hit on the message what they were to pass. The most recent ad is that of a kid who is always active and never sits in a place till his mom makes him sit on a Fevicol plastic container. Then as usual the bonding does the rest and the kid doesnt move from there.
The Fevicol adverts transcend the barriers of geographies and language as the viewer can relate to it without any problems of deciphering the language being spoken or the settings of the adverts. The overcrowded rickety bus on a bumpy road with people
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precariously perched from every nook and corner of the bus, has no dialogues or anything just fevicol advertised on the back of the bus saying fevicol ka jodh hai, tutega, chootega nahi (Its the bond of Fevicol wont break and it wont separate) (Figure 4.4). This type of incongruity mechanism of humour (Beard, 2008) hits the nail on the head with pleasant surprise and without any barriers of language or of any other sort.
The shot of a man as he is perched atop a moving vehicle, swaying slightly from side to side.
The camera focuses on one side of him to show his copassengers huddled together.
Cut to the inside of the vehicle, people are occupying every inch of space.
The camera shifts focus to the front of the truck, with men plastered against the bonnet.
An aerial shot of the vehicle lumbering down the stretch, overflowing with people from all sides.
Cut to the back of the truck, the Fevicol logo is seen. 'The ultimate adhesive.' The truck continues its journey with its passengers.
Figure 4.4 - Storyboard of Fevicol (Source: Agency FAQS)
Prasoon Pandey of Corcoise Films, who shot the Cannes Lion winning rickety bus Fevicol ad (Figure 4.4), says The campaign was a true representation of observation
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method delivering consumer insights.. The insight was this strange human bonding. The ad clicked and the rest is history.
Its different is what comes to mind when we think of the adverts for Fevicol for they have always treaded on grounds which others can only emulate. The schematization, the execution and the unique way of showcasing the product in a humorous light are indeed a lesson to any aspiring ad maker. The adverts have always essayed the consumer insights and what they feel about the product. For instance, what a prospective buyer look for in any adhesive, something which gels so good that no one can dare think of breaking or separating it and thats precisely which all the ads talk about. Furthermore, to increase brand recall, a festival of Fevicol ads were showcased on TV and the viewers were asked to take part in the Fevicol contest.
There is one thing common between Mentos and Fevicol. Both are predictable. And yet so unpredictable in its wackiness! That's the essence of their advertising. The communication looks quite over-the-top, making perfect sense to the viewer. Other similar products that have used humour are: Saint Gobain glasses: Simple and subtle humour, arousal-safety and incongruity based humour (Appendix Storyboard 4). Naukri.com (work-finder website): Incongruity and disparagement based humour, wacky and creative ads, and targets the youth (Appendix Storyborad 1). Virgin Mobile (Mobile connection service): very wacky and urban, based on incongruity resolution and arousal-safety mechanism (Appendix Storyboard 2).
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3.2 Analysis of the case studies:

The analysis of case studies is done with the hindsight of the two research questions. The supporting examples and case studies are also used to make the analysis more interesting, reliable and generalizable. Research question 1: What humour types and mechanisms are used in advertising a low-risk, low involvement product in India?
This question does not require the support of existing literatures as it is exploratory in nature. Hence only the case studies and examples explained earlier are used to outline the humour types and mechanisms used in Indian yellow/blue goods.
Humour mechanism and type: Brand Name Mentos Fevicol Sprite Mountain Dew Bingo Happydent White Saint Gobain Naukri.com Virgin Mobile Product Type Yellow Blue Yellow Yellow Yellow Yellow Blue Blue Blue Main humour mechanism/s Incongruity resolution Incongruity resolution Disparagement Disparagement Incongruity resolution Incongruity Arousal safety and incongruity resolution Disparagement, incongruity resolution Arousal safety and incongruity resolution Humour type Comic wit Comic wit Satire Satire Comic wit Comic wit Resonant wit Satire Resonant wit
Table 4.2 - Humour mechanisms and types used by different brands
Table 4.2 represents results of the case studies and examples described earlier. It can be observed that the type of humour mechanisms used in Indian yellow goods are incongruity (with or without resolution) or/and disparagement. The case studies and
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examples also suggest that in this category, disparagement mechanism is used only when there is a stiff competition in the market or when there seems to be a threat from a rival firm (Sprite, Mountain Dew and other cola products). When the brands are market leaders and/or do not face competition from other similar firms, they tend to use incongruity or incongruity resolution. Some products like Bingo crisps which entered the market with pre-existing big players, used disruptive, unrelated and incongruent humour to grab audience attention. Also, all the yellow products studied used humour-dominant ads.
On the other hand, blue products use all types of humour. In this category, incongruent mechanism is often used in combination with disparagement or arousalsafety, rather than on its own. Furthermore, most of the ads here are moderately message-dominant and use humour in such a way that it is related to the information to be conveyed, the only exception being Virgin Mobile ads. Although functional in nature, Virgin Mobile used unrelated humour to make humour dominant ads.
Table 4.3 - Relatedness of humour in Blue products
From tables 4.2 and 4.3, it can be proposed that 1. Most yellow products in India are marketed using humour-dominant ads Brand name Intentional relatedness Relatedness of humour Fevicol Saint Gobain Naukri.com Virgin Mobile Message-dominant Message-dominant Message-dominant Humour-dominant Related Related Related Unrelated
2. Most blue products in India are marketed using message-dominant ads
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3. Yellow products use incongruity resolution mostly. Disparagement mechanism is used when there is a stiff competition in Indian market for a particular category. 4. Blue goods use all the three types of humour mechanisms, but incongruity resolution technique is used more often.
Research question 2: How do various low-involvement, low-risk products in India use humour in advertisements to gain competitive advantage?
This question is dealt with a very dialectical approach and a descriptive analysis is done using the theories discussed in the literature review. The theory-building process of case study research is developed from the literature and pilot case-studies (Nair and Riege, 1995; Yin, 1994). To deal with this question, the tables 4.2 and 4.3 are used along with the frameworks and theories used in chapter 1. A careful look at the case studies suggests that the firms in India aim at gaining competitive advantage in the market by using humour in advertisements to: 1. Make a strong entry into the market 2. Target the right audience 3. Maintain the competitive edge and brand image
1. Making a strong entry into the market: A new entrant that positions close to the dominant brand or the brand which is tried earlier with no distinctively different attributes or benefits is less preferred despite the similarity of its attributes to those of the dominant brand (Carpenter and Nakamoto, 1990). With almost all types of products and services already existing in the market, it is difficult to differentiate the new-entrant from the pre-existing brands of the same
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category. While late entry can be successful (e.g., Sprite in the cola market, Mentos in the mint market and so on), devising successful strategies for introducing a new product into a market dominated by such a brand presents a difficult strategic problem (Carpenter and Nakamoto, 1990). Out of a few strategies which can be used to solve this problem, advertising is one (Gould, 1970; Carpenter and Nakamoto, 1990). Although some researchers like Tellis (1988) believe that advertising is one of the less important determinants of purchase behavior and hence its power to facilitate market entry or affect purchase behaviour is minimal, most advertisers use the same to make a strong market entry. The present study indicates that humour in advertising can be used as an effective tool to launch a new product in a competitive market. The products considered here are Mentos mint, Sprite, Bingo crisps and Virgin Mobile.
According to Duncan and Nelson (1985), when a new product is introduced that conflicts with existing attitudes and values, distraction hypothesis works the best, as proved by the success of Mentos and Sprite. Also, market segmentation can be done based on the consumers prior brand evaluations, so that the advertisers could assess the strategic advertising decisions required for that product or segment (Duncan 1979). Previously, most ads in the mint category only highlighted fresh breath. For example, Wrigleys Spearmint and Cadburys Halls in all their ads highlighted that their product gives fresh breath (this was done mostly by showing how a guy attracted a girl after eating the mint), with hardly any use of humour. But when Perfetti launched Mentos, it was advertised in a completely different manner and it never talked about the mints functional benefit directly at all. Every advertisement of Mentos focused on humour and it worked on a psychological level, where people
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associated the brand with the imagery of smartness. This was attempted for the first time in India (AgencyFAQS, 2001) and proved to extremely effective. Speck (1991) and Spotts et al (1997) studies also indicate the advantages of using humour-dominant ads in yellow product category. Also, the persuasive message used in Mentos ads Dimaag ki batti jalade (makes one think smart), was revolutionary in the Indian confectionary market, where the tag-lines for such products were not being designed before. The creative ads dissonant information may have attracted initial attention.
One more prominent way of making an impact at the entry level in the Indian market, is by putting the rival firms down. A perfect example of this would be Sprite. When the product entered Indian markets, there were many soft drinks like Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7 Up and so on. Sprite targeted the youth by arguing that other beverages were focused on trivial and distractive matters of image and that those who werent fooled by this sort of trickery should drink Sprite as a matter of authenticity. No overhyped selling was the hallmark of Sprites highly effective campaign. Sprite also mocked at celebrity endorsements and ads which used exaggeration to sell their products, and instead instigated the viewer to act smart by using their popular catchlines. As mentioned earlier in the literature review, a persuasive message that is discrepant with strongly held by consumer beliefs will be more successful in generating attitude change if the consumer is distracted during the message presentation (Festinger & Maccoby, 1964; Cline and Kellaris, 1997). Cline and Kellaris (1997) proposed that distraction may enhance message persuasiveness by interfering with the audiences sub-vocal or inherent attempts to counter-argue against the dissonant information. In this case, Sprite used disparagement humour to distract the audience and to put the rival companies down at the same time. Spotts et al.
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(1997), in their studies were not sure about the effectiveness of disparagement mechanism in humour dominant ads (yellow goods). But the successful use of disparagement mechanism of humour in the soft drinks section of India shows that even humour-dominant ads for yellow goods can use disparagement mechanism effectively.
Bingo was launched only a couple of years back and is still relatively new to the Indian market. In a short span of 3 years, the brand has earned quite a name and the ads are recalled by many Indians. The product was advertised using unrelated and absurd humour. The humour was in no way related to the product, and was only used to grab the initial audience attention. Maybe, since the concept of unrelated humour combined with absurdism is not tapped in India very often, the product worked.
On the other hand, Virgin Mobile (blue good) did not enjoy as much success as these three products did. Although they used incongruity based humour in their ads, almost all of those were unrelated (as in Bingo) and the ads were completely humourdominant, without any information about the product. Spotts et al. (1995) too in their studies have found out that unrelated humour is not as effective as related humour for blue goods. Based on the starch scores they also suggested that incongruity mechanism does not work for blue goods (as mentioned in the literature review).
2. Targeting the right audience:
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From the case studies and example, it seems that different kinds of humour are used to target different customers. Satire and pun is normally used to attract the youth in India. Similarly comic wit and subtle emotion based humour is used to attract a wider range of people. The present trend suggests that Indian advertisers use humour to attract younger target audience. In India, according to Titus Upputuru, Senior Creative Director, Ogilvy India, most brands are getting into smartness territory because they think the youth wants to be smart. sNow the trend is: I dont have to prove a point and Im being myself. In Sprites case, the transparency comes from the brand itself, he explains.
For example, Mentoss target audience is between the age-group of 18-34. Some of the ads are even based on the college theme. In fact, most confectionaries and soft drinks in India have the same age-group as the target customers. Out of the case studies and examples analyzed, it is observed that disparagement humour is normally used when the target audience is between the age group of 18-34 (Naukri.com, Sprite, and Mountain Dew). Also, Mentos, Sprite and Mountain Dew ads describe very little about the product itself and bank upon humour to promote the products smart and cool image, to entice the college-goers. The wacky and hilarious ads appeal to the youngsters.
The reason behind most firms aiming at the younger generation can be explained with the help of the concept of NFH and NFC discussed earlier. The age group 18-34 has a significant level of Need for Humour and Need for Cognition (Cline and Kellaris, 2003). Consumers high in NFH form more favourable attitudes toward humorous ads. As Kellaris et al., (2007) have pointed out, by identifying the audiences who are more
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likely to respond favourably to humorous ads, the advertisers can target consumers who are high in NFH whenever attitude change is to be induced. In India, brands like Sprite and Mentos have created a cool and smart image for itself by targeting the audience (with high degree of NFH) who would want to be the in thing or cool.
3. Maintaining the competitive edge and brand image:
According to a few researchers, advertising should be highest at introduction and then decline as fewer people are unaware and current users spread information (Gould, 1970; Carpenter and Nakamoto, 1990). Also, some believe that advertising appears effective in increasing the volume purchased by loyal buyers but less effective in winning new buyers (1988). As such, maintenance advertising plays an important role in sustaining the competitive edge. But some brands like Fevicol, Onida, Pepsi and Coke continue to use humour extensively as a means of maintenance advertising. These are well-known, widely distributed, and well positioned; these brands dominate their markets, retaining the largest share of their markets even after many competitive entries.
The use of humour in yellow goods like confectionaries and soft drinks in India is very common and almost all the leading brands like Pepsi, Coke and Cadbury continue to do so even now. But the use of humour in the blue product category is not very common, and only a few brands like Fevicol and Close-up toothpaste have been using humour in maintenance advertising. Most other brands in this category like Raymond suiting and Lux soaps highlight the product features and offers using serious advertising and celebrity endorsements, rather than using humour in ads.
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Fevicol, for example, has been using humour in their ads for the past two decades to maintain their leadership in the Indian adhesive market. The humour used in Fevicol ads are simple in nature and reflect the common activities of the people. This seemingly attracts the masses. Their ads have underlined time and again the axiom in advertising, which says that the core theme and idea should remain intact as the adverts grow with time. The ad series of Fevicol have always had something innovative and comical about them, this gives them a high repeat value and even when they are shown again and again they dont seem to suffer from the so called Fatigue Factor in the world of advertising. As the case study indicates, Fevicol keeps changing its catchy lines to keep the audience interested. And humorous advertisements are best suited for reinforcing pre-existing favourable attitudes of audience members, like targeting loyal customers and reinforcing their loyalty to stop them from trying out rival brands (Chattopadhyay and Basu, 1990).
On the other hand, unlike Fevicol which sticks to the core theme, Pepsi and CocaCola keep changing their themes and ad strategies to keep the viewership intact. For example, Pepsi has attempted all forms of humour and all humour types. Although they use incongruent mechanism in most of their ads, Pepsi has attempted disparagement mechanism time and again to maintain their brand image. Due to the stiff competition in the market, it is necessary to keep doing something different to grab peoples attention. Sprite and Alpenliebe, for example, had switched over to celebrity advertising, even though their earlier successful campaigns never had celebrities endorsing the brand. Although Sprites ads poked fun at celebrity endorsements before, they themselves have started using Sania Mirza, a tennis icon,
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as the brand ambassador. This again proves that the successful Indian brands keep changing their advertising strategies.
As noted in the literature review, consumers who have a favourable prior brand evaluation are likely to be more receptive to the ads for that brand and their cognitive elaborations are more likely to be positive (Chattopadhyay and Basu, 1990). This may also imply that, when the viewers like a particular ad/product, they might be more receptive to the new ad strategies of the same brand. On the contrary, unfavourable prior-brand evaluation will make the consumer less receptive to the ad and will be more critical of ads for that brand (Chattopadhyay and Basu, 1990). Sprite, CocaCola, Alpenliebe, Fevicol and other popular brands hence have the advantage of attracting less critical evaluation of their ads/products by the consumers as their priorbrand evaluation is positive.
The analysis of existing brands suggests that the theories regarding the use of humour in maintenance advertising and prior brand evaluation are very much true and most successful Indian brands use humorous ads to keep the audience interested.
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CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS & CONCLUSION
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5) Findings, conclusions and recommendations:
5.1) Findings
The main focus of this study was to gain a deeper insight into the concept and practice of humour in advertising. This was achieved by a comprehensive evaluation of various theories, models and humour frameworks proposed by notable practitioners and advertisers. This was further used to analyse the low-risk and low-involvement product advertising in India. 1) Firstly, the findings for research question 1 indicate that: I. Most low-risk, low-involvement and impulse purchase products (yellow goods) are advertised using humour-dominant ads. Also, incongruity mechanism is the most widely used mechanism in this category, with disparagement used only when there is a stiff competition in the market. In India, at present only the major soft drink makers use this form of humour. II. The low-risk functional goods (blue goods) are mostly advertised with messagedominant ads. The above results do not contradict the results of various practitioners like Spots et al. (1997) mentioned in literature review. 2) The second research question was answered by analysing how advertising in India is used to gain a competitive advantage in three different segments - 1) Making a strong entry into the market 2) Targeting the right audience 3) Maintaining the competitive edge and brand image. I. It was found that in India the new products like Bingo and Virgin Mobile extensively used incongruence and absurdism in advertisements to attract the viewers.
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II. It is seen that most yellow products like Mentos and Sprite use humour for market segmentation and target the younger people, making it a trend. III. From the case studies chosen, Fevicol proved to be an excellent example of how the brands could use humour in ads to maintain their brand image and sales. 3) Results of this research also indicate that unrelated and hilariously funny ads are used to advertise new low-risk impulse product in the market. Disparagement humour in India is predominant when there is a stiff competition or when the brands try to gain initial attention by giving dissonant information (Festinger & Maccoby, 1964; Cline and Kellaris, 1997). 4) This research also has practical implications. The results clearly suggested how NFH and NFC may be useful as a segmentation tool, as explained with the examples of Mentos and Sprite. In fact, NFH may be useful both in media selection and in targeting audiences for specific products and brands (Cline and Kellaris, 1997). 5) The case of Virgin Mobiles not-so-successful campaign suggests the negative implications of using unrelated, incongruent humour-dominant ads in the low-risk functional goods category. The research analysis also gives a clearer picture about when and where to use disparagement humour effectively.
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5.2) Conclusion:
From the findings it can be concluded that humour plays a significant role in Indian advertisements. Most low-risk, low-involvement and impulse purchase products in India can be advertised using humour-dominant ads along with the use of incongruity mechanism for this category. Disparagement is to be used only when there is a stiff competition in the market. In India, at present only the major soft drink makers use this form of humour. Further, the low-risk functional goods can be mostly advertised with message-dominant ads. It can also be concluded that advertising in India is used to gain a competitive advantage in making a strong entry into the market, targeting the right audience and maintaining the competitive edge and brand image. In India the new products are mainly using incongruence and absurdism in advertisements to attract the viewers and unrelated and hilariously funny ads can be used to advertise new low-risk impulse product in the market. It can be said that the brands could also use humour in ads to maintain their brand image and sales.
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5.3) Recommendations:
1. Most low-risk, low-involvement and impulse purchase products (yellow goods) should be advertised using humour-dominant ads. Incongruity mechanism should be used more for the low involvement, low risk products category. Disparagement should be used only when there is a stiff competition in the market. The low-risk functional goods (blue goods) should be advertised with message-dominant ads. 2. Advertising in India can be used to gain a competitive advantage in making a strong entry into the market, targeting the right audience and in maintaining the competitive edge and brand image. 3. In India mainly the new low involvement and low risk products should use incongruence and absurdism in advertisements to attract the viewers. 4. Yellow products can use humour for market segmentation and target the younger people, making it a trend. Some well established brands could use humour in ads to maintain their brand image and sales. 5. It should be noted that unrelated and hilariously funny ads can be used to advertise new low-risk impulse product in the market. 6. Disparagement humour in India is to be used when there is a stiff competition or when the brands try to gain initial attention by giving dissonant. A thorough analysis is needed in order to use disparagement humour effectively. 7. NFH and NFC can be used as a segmentation tool. NFH can be used for both media selection and in targeting audiences for specific products and.
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Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

CHAPTER 1: INDUSTRY PROFILE

Alliance Business Academy

Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

Alliance Business Academy

Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

Alliance Business Academy

Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

1.1) Outlook of major segments of the Indian E&M Industry:

Alliance Business Academy

Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

1.2) Outlook of Indian Advertising spending (2009-13):

Alliance Business Academy

Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

1.3) Indias advertising expenditure and GDP:

Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Table 1.1: Indias advertising expenditure and GDP

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Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

Figure 1.1: Advertising expenditure as a percentage of GDP

Figure 1.2: Share of advertising spending by medium

Alliance Business Academy

Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

1.4) PEST analysis: 1.4.1) Political factors:

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Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

Alliance Business Academy

Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

1.4.2) Economic factors:

Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

1.4.3) Social Factors:

1.4.4) Technological factors:

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Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

Alliance Business Academy

Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

1.5) Top Advertising Companies Of India:

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Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

Contract Advertising India Ltd:

1.6) Indian Advertising Industry using more Humour in TV commercials:

Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

Alliance Business Academy

Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH DESIGN

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Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

2.1) Background to the research:

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Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

Alliance Business Academy

Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

Figure 2.1 - Different kinds of humour (Source: Attardo, 1994)

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Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

2.2) Review of few previous studies:

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Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements

2.3) Research problem:

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