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

Television Advertising
Author(s): Dana L. Alden, Ashesh Mukherjee and Wayne D. Hoyer
Source: Journal of Advertising, Vol. 29, No. 2 (Summer, 2000), pp. 1-15
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4189138
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The Effects of Incongruity, Surprise and Positive
Moderators on Perceived Humor in Television
Advertising
Dana L. Alden, Ashesh Mukherjee and Wayne D. Hoyer

Few studies have tested models incorporating cognitive as well as affective mechanisms that help
different levels of perceived humorousness in advertising (cf. Alden and Hoyer 1993; Speck 1991
of two studies, an extended incongruity resolution model of humor perception in television adv
proposed and tested. In that test, schema familiarity is found to moderate surprise resulting fro
incongruity. Furthermore, playfulness of the ad, ease of resolution of the incongruity in the ad
created by the ad moderate the effects of surprise on humor. Thus, surprise appears to be a nec
sufficient, condition for humor in television advertising. In the second study, the role of surpr
humor is examined in more detail. Specifically, evidence supports the hypothesis that, following
incongruity, surprise can be transformed into diverse affective outcomes such as fear and humo
the presence of different contextual moderators. Implications of the overall model are discussed
theoretic and applied perspectives and directions for future research are suggested.

Dana L. Alden (Ph.D., University of Introduction

Texas Austin) is Professor and Chair
of the Department of Marketing,
University of Hawaii.
Ashesh Mukherjee (Ph.D.,
University of Texas Austin) is
Assistant Professor, Department of
Marketing, McGill University.
Wayne D. Hoyer (Ph.D., Purdue
University) is Professor and Chair of
the Department of Marketing,
University of Texas Austin.
Journal of Advertising,
Volume XXIX, Number 2
Summer 2000
Humor is one of the most commonly employed communication strateg
in advertising. Researchers estimate that between 11% and 24% of te
sion ads in the United States use humor (Speck 1991; Weinberger
Spotts 1989). Similar or higher usage has been reported in internat
studies of humor (Alden, Hoyer and Lee 1993; see also Unger 1995) an
other media such as radio (Weinberger and Campbell 1991). Despite
popularity, there are also clear risks associated with using humor a
central message strategy. For example, humorous effects are known to v
by target audience gender and ethnicity (Madden and Weinberger 19
well as culture (Unger 1996). In addition, humorous executions are
effective for low involvement products (Weinberger and Gulas 1992) and
more effective than non-humorous ads only when the target audience al
has positive attitudes toward the brand (Chattopadhyay and Basu 1990).
At the same time, humor that is appropriate for the product category
well-integrated with message themes has been shown to enhance attentio
credibility, recall, evaluation and purchase intention (Cho 1994; Oster
and Brock 1970; Scott, Klein and Bryant 1990; Speck 1987; Zhang and Zin
1991). It also appears to reduce counterargumentation (Krishnan and
Chakravarti 1990; Scott, Klein and Bryant 1990), boost comprehension (Stewart
and Furse 1986) and increase transfer of positive affect from the ad to the
brand (Aaker, Stayman and Hagerty 1986; Zinkhan and Gelb 1990; see
Weinberger and Gulas 1992 for a thorough review). Finally, researchers have
identified several moderators of humor's effect on processing outcomes, includ-
ing: non-message factors (e.g., prior brand attitude; Chattopadhyay and Basu
1990), product characteristics (e.g., involvement; Weinberger and Campbell
1991) and audience characteristics (e.g., knowledge; Gelb and Zinkhan 1985).
Few studies in this area, however, have addressed the fact that ads at-
tempting humor vary dramatically in consumer evaluations of humorous
content (Speck 1991). Variations in humor evaluation are likely to have

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 The Journal of Advertising

important consequences for advertising outcomes such gruent situation and ad warmth) are proposed to m
as message credibility, recall, and attitude toward erate the subsequent humorous evaluation. Perce
the ad and brand (Shimp 1997). Thus, researchers humor in turn is hypothesized to result in posi
have begun building theory that helps explain how attitude toward the ad.
advertising content affects levels of perceived humor. In the model shown in Figure 1, surprise is hypotb
For example, Speck (1991) identifies incongruity reso- esized to play a central role in the generation of a
lution, arousal-safety and humorous disparagement humorous response. The role of surprise follows from
as methods used in advertising to generate humor. past research in other areas. Such research has linked
Past research in psychology (cf. Herzog and Larwin surprise with both schema incongruity as well as hu-
1988) and linguistics (cf. Raskin 1985) indicates that mor. For example, it has been empirically demon-
incongruity-resolution is a particularly useful frame- strated that surprise is a primary reaction to perceiv-
work for understanding the process of humor genera- ing "stimulus-schema" incongruity (Meyer 1986; see
tion. Working within this framework, Alden and Hoyer also Meyer et al. 1991). Hence, based on the incon-
(1993) report that most of the television ads in their gruity-resolution model of humor, which posits "stimu-
national sample used "incongruity from expectations" lus-schema" incongruity as a key condition for humor
to generate humor. In addition, more than two-thirds (cf. Raskin 1985; Suis 1983), feelings of surprise fol-
of these ads featured either reality-based or fantasy- low exposure to incongruity and should also be asso-
based incongruities, with the former rated as more ciated with a subsequent humorous evaluation. In
humorous than the latter. More recently, Alden, the following sections, we hypothesize relationships
Mukherjee and Hoyer (1999) found that incongruity between incongruity and surprise on one hand and
type also influenced feelings of surprise which, in surprise and humor on the other.
turn, were positively related to perceived humor.
Building on studies such as these, research on hu- The Influence of Incongruity on Surprise
morous evaluation in television advertising can be
extended in at least two ways. First, the potential As mentioned earlier, past research suggests that
role of surprise as a mediator of the incongruity- surprise is a primary individual-level response to
humor relationship in television advertising would "stimulus-schema" incongruity (Izard 1977; Meyer
benefit from additional theoretical development and 1986; Meyer et al. 1991; Meyer and Niepel 1994). In
empirical testing. Second, previous research has not the current context of television advertising, the de-
tested potential moderators that may enhance the gree of "stimulus-schema" incongruity can be viewed
positive affect associated with humorous evaluation. as the extent to which ad content differs from gener-
Seeking to increase understanding of this widely used ally expected beliefs, attitudes and/or behaviors. For
but risky execution strategy, the following two stud- example, consider an ad that shows a man walking
ies propose and test an extended "incongruity resolu- down a street who then begins to skip like a child.
tion" model of humor in television advertising. Since grown people are generally not expected to skip
while walking, it is likely that analysts would label
Theoretical Development this sequence of behaviors at least moderately incon-
gruent with typical adult behavior.
Model Overview However, stimulus incongruity is unlikely to per-
fectly correlate with viewer feelings of surprise. This
As mentioned above, one stream of research on hu-
might occur, for example, when ad content is incon-
gruent with a schema that is not well-formed due to
mor has adopted an incongruity-resolution framework
to explain how humor operates (Speck 1991). lack In
of the
experience. In such cases, high levels of sur-
present study, we extend this work by proposing a likely. Thus, an ad might initially cue
prise seem less
the generally
model of humor in television advertising (see Figure familiar "shopping in a supermarket"
1) that incorporates content incongruity (anschema and then show an unexpected event within
ad stimu-
the context
lus characteristic), surprise (a primary viewer re- ofthat schema (e.g., a father with ram-
sponse) and perceived humor (a secondary viewertwins trying to get through the checkout
bunctious
stand).
response). Viewer familiarity with the situation Alternatively, an ad may cue a generally less
pre-
familiarof
sented in the ad is posited to moderate the degree schema (e.g., a military staff meeting) as the
background
viewer surprise in response to an incongruent situa-for an incongruous execution (e.g., a colo-
nel sneaking
tion presented in the ad. Three affect-inducing fac- a potato chip snack during the formal
tors (ad playfulness, ease of resolution of meeting).
the incon-

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Summer 2000

Figure 1
Proposed Extension of Incongruity-Resolution Model of Humor in Television Advertising

Degree of Incongruity

Schema Familiarity

Surprise

Warmth

Playfulness

Ease of Resolution

Perceived
Humor

Aad
I
The spreading activation model of memory proposed The Role of Surprise in Generating Humor
by Anderson (1983) predicts that more rapid and wide-
spread activation of nodes in working memory will be There is considerable evidence that surprise is a
associated with more familiar sch?mas. Each node is primary reaction to stimulus-schema incongruity
(Meyer 1986; see also Meyer et al. 1991). What is the
viewed as a distinct source of arousal. Thus, the total
nature
arousal associated with an ad that presents an incon- of this surprise reaction? Based on a sorting
task
gruity in the context of a familiar schema is likely to of 135 emotion labels by large numbers of sub-
jects,
be higher than that associated with an ad that cues a Shaver, Wu and Schwartz (1992) found evi-
less familiar schema (Berlyne 1960; Grunert 1996). dence for a "surprise emotion cluster" among six ba-
Given that arousal is a defining characteristic of sur-sic-level emotions. Furthermore, Izard (1977) identi-
prise (see Larsen and Diener 1992; Oliver 1994; fied surprise as an emotion characterized by a transi-
Russell, Suzuki and Ishida 1993), the effect of incon- tory feeling of uncertainty following any sudden, un-
gruity on surprise is likely to be magnified as famil-expected event. Finally, surprise is described by Meyer
and Niepel (1994, p. 353) as:
iarity with the situation presented in the ad increases.
This leads to our first hypothesis: ...an emotional entity that can be observed from
HI: Higher levels of incongruity will result in three classes of hypothetical events: specific physi-
stronger viewer surprise when viewers ological changes, behavior patterns, and verbal re-
have high familiarity with the situation ports about subjective experience. Surprise is elic-
ited by unexpected events, that is, events that de-
presented in the ad than when they have
viate from a schema.
low familiarity.

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 The Journal of Advertising

Hence, surprise is similar to other emotions in that Aaker, Stayman and Hagerty (1988) identify a feel-
it usually involves physiological arousal. However, ing cluster in response to TV advertising which they
surprise also differs from most other emotions in that label "playful/childish." This cluster is comprised of
a specific "tone" or valence is not necessarily associ- the following items: playful, childish, silly, mischie-
ated with that arousal (Batson, Shaw and Oleson vous, zany, youthful and spunky. Although separate
1992; Frijda et al. 1992). For example, joy is inher- from the "friendly/humorous" cluster, the research-
ently pleasant and fear is inherently unpleasant, while ers suggest that the two sets of clusters "may be
surprise can result in pleasant, unpleasant or limited related to humor" in advertising (Aaker, Stayman
feelings depending on contextual factors. and Hagerty 1988, p. 13).
The "self-report affect circumplex model" of emo- In humor theory, the concept of playfulness ap-
tion (Larsen and Diener 1992) supports a valence- pears fairly central to the generation of a humorous
neutral conceptualization of surprise. Based on em- response. For example, Suis (1983) argues that a play-
pirical data, it arrays different emotions on a two ful context is one factor that allows "problem-solving"
dimensional grid. "Pleasant-unpleasant" were found following incongruity to result in a humorous evalua-
to be located along one dimension and "high-low acti- tion. This assumption is widely shared among humor
vation" on the other. Surprise was located in the va- theorists as evidenced by the presence of seventeen
lence-neutral quadrant of the pleasant-unpleasant references to "play" in a recent bibliography on hu-
dimension along with such terms as "aroused," "as- mor scholarship (Nilsen 1993). Within advertising,
tonished," and "stimulated." Similarly, in a factor Speck (1991) refers to the "play signal" as a necessary
analysis of 16 affects, Oliver (1994) found that sur- component of the humor generation processes in ad-
prise was best categorized as an emotion with a neu- vertising (see also McGhee, 1979, p. 71).
tral valence, along with "active" and "lively." While there is widespread agreement concerning
Thus, there is considerable evidence for conceptu- the importance of playful feelings to humorous evalu-
alizing surprise as relatively neutral arousal. This ation in general (Nilsen 1993), the role of playfulness
view in turn suggests that the effect of surprise onin generating humor within an advertising context
perceived humor (a positive emotion; Aaker, Stayman appears to be untested. The present study is inter-
and Vezina 1988) may be related to the presence of ested in examining the role of playfulness as a mod-
contextual moderators that induce positive affect in erator of the surprise-humor relationship. Given its
the consumer and facilitate a humorous evaluation affect-inducing nature, playfulness is likely to con-
(see also Rothbart 1976). Three potential affect-in-
tribute to a positive, low risk context in which sur-
ducing moderators are now discussed in detail. prise-related arousal can be transformed into humor.
Thus, surprise is likely to have a stronger relation-
Playfulness ship to humor when playfulness is high than when it
is low. This leads to the following hypothesis:
One construct that is likely to serve as a moderator
H2: The effect of surprise on perceived humor
of the surprise-humor relationship is play fulness (see will be stronger when playfulness is high
Barnett 1990; Costa and McCrae 1988). Glynn and than when it is low.
Webster (1992, p. 85) propose the following individual-
level definition of playfulness:
Ease of Resolution
...a propensity to define (or redefine) an activity in
an imaginative, nonserious or metaphoric manner Ease of resolution refers to the effort required by
so as to enhance intrinsic enjoyment, involvementindividuals to resolve an incongruent situation shown
and satisfaction.
in an ad. Suis (1972) argues that successful resolu-
In marketing, playfulness has been primarily stud-tion of the incongruity underlying a humorous mes-
sage is a necessary condition for experiencing a hu-
ied as a "feeling" response to advertising rather than
morous response. A similar argument is made in
as an individual difference characteristic. For example,
it emerges as one of 69 feelings associated withRaskins'
ad- (1985) contrast-resolution model where reso-
vertising by Edell and Burke (1987) and is found lution
to is posited as a necessary condition for humor-
load on a factor described as "upbeat" rather than ous evaluation. In addition, these theorists have sug-
gested that humorous messages vary in terms of how
"negative" or "warm." It is also identified by Holbrook
easily the incongruity can be resolved. Above a cer-
and Batra (1987) as one of 94 emotional content indi-
tain threshold level, messages that are more easily
cators in advertising based on their review of prior
resolved should engender a stronger sense of closure,
research (see also Batra and Holbrook 1990). Finally,

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Summer 2000

viewer's overall positive affect, increasing humorous

facilitating a stronger "I get it" or "Aha" cognitive
response (Krishnan and Chakravarti, 1998). evaluation of the ad. It is important to note that,
Theory also suggests that ease of resolution is a often associated with positive emotions, play-
although
source of positive affect that helps the consumer fulness
place does not necessarily imply warmth. For ex-
a positive valence label on the surprise emotion ample, it is easy to imagine children acting playfully
(Mandler 1982; Meyers-Levy and Tybout 1989). Such without expressing warm, empathetic feelings, (e.g.,
positive affect is thought to result from increased playing superhero "conflict and rescue" games). Fur-
feelings of control and self-efficacy accompanying the thermore, research referred to earlier has found that
"I get it" response (see Bandura 1977). Positive feel- warmth and playfulness are distinct constructs
ings (possibly in combination with a continued cogni- (Aaker, Stayman and Hagerty 1988). Our next hy-
tive appreciation of resolution) are then likely to en- pothesis expresses the relationship between warmth,
hance humorous evaluation of the advertisement. surprise and humor:
Based on this logic, ease of resolution is hypothesized
H4: The effect of surprise on humor will be stron-
to moderate the surprise-humor relationship, withger when warmth is high than when it is low.
surprise being effectively transformed into humor
when ease of resolution is high, but not when it is
Mediating Role of Surprise
low. This argument is now formalized:
H3: The positive effect of surprise on humor As stated earlier, a central proposition of the present
paper is that surprise plays a mediating role in the
will be stronger when ease of incongruity
resolution is high than when it is low. incongruity-humor relationship. In other words, it is
proposed that a key link between an ad's "objective"
Warmth incongruity and a humorous response is the degree of
surprise generated by the ad. If the incongruity in an
ad generates an adequate level of viewer surprise,
Warmth generated by the ad is proposed as a third
affect-inducing moderator of the surprise-humor re- a humorous response is more likely to occur. If,
then
lationship. Warmth is defined as a type of positive
on the other hand, incongruity does not produce sur-
affective reaction characterized by a sense of prise-related
well- arousal (e.g., the incongruent stimulus
being and tenderness (Aaker, Stayman and Hagerty
is unfamiliar or nonsensical), then humor is less likely
to occur. This is formally stated as follows:
1986). Past research has found that feelings of warmth
frequently evoked by advertising strongly influence H5: Surprise will mediate the effect of degree of
ad liking, brand beliefs, brand attitudes and pur- objective ad incongruity on perceived humor.
chase likelihood (Edell and Burke 1987; Holbrooke
and Batra 1987). The potential importance of warmth
Attitude towards the Ad
to humorous evaluation is noted by Forabosco (1992,
Prior research has shown that attitude towards the
p. 63) when he states that "stimuli with emotional
meaning contribute to enjoyment (of humor) notadjust
(Aad) is an important advertising outcome that
through their own inherent effect but also because
has significant direct effects on attitude towards the
they enhance the incongruity-resolution effect."brand
In a (Abr) and indirect effects on brand cognitions
related vein, Rothbart (1976, p.40) notes that(Brown
such and Stayman 1992; McKenzie, Lutz and Belch
1986). Under lower levels of involvement typical of
positive emotional contextual factors are important
predictors of a humor response. most advertising exposure (Krugman 1965), we ex-
Warmth can moderate the surprise-humor relation-pect that peripheral cues such as humor will have a
ship in much the same way as playfulness, namely significant
by effect on Aad (Petty and Cacioppo 1986).
Consistent with this hypothesis, Unger (1995) found
providing the positive affective tone that transforms
a direct relationship between humor and ad liking in
an essentially neutral surprise reaction into positively
valenced humor. Furthermore, high levels of warmth a study with a limited sample size (ten ads). In addi-
tion, Weinberger and Gulas (1992) report that sev-
may also contribute to a low-risk environment where
eral experimental studies have found a link between
multiple resolutions of the incongruity can be consid-
humor and Aad. The present study employs a much
ered. For example, a cartoon character in a humorous
ad may act in a playful manner and thereby create
larger sample of 60 actual television commercials to
the positive risk-free context conducive to humor.
testAt
for a positive effect of humor on attitude toward
the ad. This objective is reflected in the following
the same time, that character could express warmth
towards another character, thereby heightening the
hypothesis:

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 6 The Journal of Advertising

H6: The higher samples

the of national
level brand ads
of shown on the four
perceiv
the more favorable will be attitude towards
largest U.S. networks were recorded over a period of
the ad. four randomly selected days of the week. Each day
As demonstrated earlier, there is strong theoretical was split into three time spans of eight hours and a
grounding and empirical evidence in support of mod- different time span was randomly assigned to each
eling surprise as an affectively neutral construct that day for the purpose of recording the ads. Duplicate
is a necessary but insufficient condition for perceived ads were eliminated but different ads for the same
humor. However, it is also possible that at some level brand were retained. This resulted in an unduplicated
below active cognition, surprise resulting from mod- representative sample of 488 national brand ads. Fol-
erate incongruity is intrinsically interesting and gen- lowing a series of pre-evaluation exercises to mini-
erates some positive affect irrespective of contextual mize personal biases, three coders determined whether
cues (Mandler 1982; Meyers-Levy and Tybout 1989; or not humor was intended in each ad (yes/no). At
Stayman, Alden and Smith 1992). In addition, affect- least two coders judged 119 ads as attempting humor
inducing moderators may exist that have not been (all three agreed on 104 of these or 87% of the total).
included in this study, e.g., timing of the surprise From the total set of 119 ads, 60 were randomly se-
reaction. For both of these reasons, in addition to the lected to test the proposed hypotheses. This process
interactive effects hypothesized previously, a surprise resulted in one ad for 45 brands, two ads for six
main effect on perceived humor appears possible. brands and three ads for one brand. Sixty ads in all
It is also possible that warmth, ease of resolution appeared to represent a reasonable tradeoff between
and playfulness have direct effects on humor. Past statistical power and respondent fatigue.
research on affect suggests that pleasure and arousal
are two fundamental dimensions of all complex affec- Measurement of Variables
tive reactions, including humor (Larson and Diener
1992; Russell 1980). Since warmth, ease of resolution The large number of ads and evaluation tasks meant
and playfulness are all likely to engender positive or that respondents would be required to make a sub-
pleasurable feelings (Aaker, Stayman and Vezina stantial number of judgments. Hence, respondent fa-
1988), these variables may directly influence humortigue was an important concern, since even funny ads
through its pleasure dimension. However, given thismay be seen as less humorous if rating them is too
study's focus on interactive effects, we will not offer taxing. To minimize this potential confound, two steps
formal main effect hypotheses. Instead, we view ex- were taken. First, pre-tests had indicated that multi-
amination of direct effects for surprise, warmth, ease of item scales caused subjects to lose interest in the
resolution and playfulness on humor as exploratory. rating task as the number of ads increased. To lessen
the potential impact of fatigue on validity, single-
item scales were used for content evaluation by sub-
Study One: Method
jects. Second, rating tasks were divided between sub-
Design and Sample jects and coders. Undergraduate student subjects pro-
vided evaluations for less complex variables: sur-
Most studies on humor in advertising have em- prise, ease of resolution, evoked warmth, familiarity
ployed an experimental approach with print ads andof thematic content, perceived humor and Aad. "Ex-
a humor present/absent condition. While this approach pert" graduate student coders provided measures of
has led to important insights, it tends to emphasizeplayfulness and degree of incongruity, since these
internal validity over external validity. Seeking to variables required more sophisticated judgments
enhance external validity while maintaining an ac- based on training and in-depth analysis of ad execu-
ceptable level of internal validity, a correlation de-tion. It may be noted that a combination of coders and
sign with a large random sample of television adver- student respondents has been successfully used in
tisements as the units of analysis was judged as ap-past advertising research, and is said to reduce bi-
propriate for this study (Calder, Phillips and Tybout ases associated with halo effects (see Batra and Ray
1982). It may be noted that similar designs have been 1986; Edell and Burke 1987).
used in past research on affective responses to adver-
tising (e.g., Batra and Ray 1986; Olney, Holbrook and Subject Measures
Batra 1991).
A two-step process was used to collect the randomMeasures for variables assessed by subjects were
taken in two phases. In the first phase, 52 under-
sample of television ads. First, randomized cluster

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Summer 2000

Table 1
Anova Results: Stage 1

Source of Variation Sum of Squares DF Mean Square P<

Degree of Incongruity 11.33 2 5.66 16.73 .001

Schema Familiarity 0.33 1 0.33 0.96 .330
Incongruity ? Familiarity 2.04 2 1.02 4.01 .050
Explained 16.25 5 3.25 9.60 .001
Residual 18.28 54 0.34
Total 34.53 59 0.59

graduate business students from a southwestern uni- being measured and obtain a benchmark inter-coder
versity received class credit for evaluating the 60 test agreement rate. In these sessions, coders were pro-
ads on surprise, humor and attitude towards the ad. vided with the definitions of each of the constructs
In the second phase, another group of 48 students being measured, and each construct was illustrated
rated the same ads on warmth, ease of resolution and by several advertising examples. Coders then rated a
familiarity of ad content. A standard, blank interval set of ten humorous ads collected separately on each
was placed between ads to allow subjects sufficient of the constructs in question. Intercoder agreement
time to record their evaluations immediately follow- in rating these ten ads ranged between 86% and 93%.
ing each advertisement. For the 60 test ads, the intercoder agreement rate
The ads were shown in two random orders to con- was 93%, exceeding standards suggested by
trol for order effects. Seven-point semantic differen-Kassarjian (1977). Disagreements were resolved by
tial scales were used for subject measures in both discussion among the coders and in two cases, a tie-
phases of data collection. The scales were anchored breaking vote was cast by the researchers.
by: not at all surprising/very surprising; not at all
funny/very funny; dislike a lot/like a lot; not at all Study One: Results
familiar situation/very familiar situation; very little
warm feeling/a lot of warm feeling; and very easyModeration
to of the Incongruity-Surprise
understand/very difficult to understand. Means com- Relationship (HI)
puted across subjects for each ad were used in subse-
quent analysis. Attitude towards the brand (Abr) To in test HI, a 2x3 ANOVA was performed with ad
each ad and brand familiarity were also measured for incongruity and viewer familiarity with the ad situa-
each brand featured in the 60 ads as potential tion as independent variables and viewer surprise as
covariates. These data were collected from the first the dependent measure. Two levels of "ad situation
familiarity" were based on a median split of subject
set of subjects two weeks before their initial ad rating
task. ratings. Three levels of incongruity were created us-
ing coder ratings. In an initial test, Abr and brand
Coder Measures familiarity were not significant as covariates and were
dropped in the final model. The results of the ANOVA
Three new coders blind to the hypotheses are rated
summarized in Table 1.
each ad in terms of degree of incongruity from Asgen-
shown in Table 1, the overall F test for this
eral viewer expectations (low-medium-high) ANOVAand is significant (O2=42.2%; p<0.001). There is
playfulness (low-medium-high). Three-point also scales
a significant, positive main effect for "degree of
were used for the coder measures since past research incongruity" on surprise (p<0.001). However, it is im-
indicates that expert coders have had difficulties portantpro- to note that the relationship between incon-
viding reliable responses with scales that require gruityfine and surprise is significantly moderated by
discrimination (see Spiggle 1994). Prior to the vieweractual
familiarity with the situation presented in the
task, coders were intensively trained on the details ad (p<.05).
of As shown in Table 2, the effect of high
the task and the dimensions of the constructs versus being
low incongruity is significant when familiarity
measured. Specifically, warm-up sessions were is highcon-(p<.001), but not when familiarity is low
ducted to familiarize the coders with the variables (p<.ll). Hypothesis 1 is therefore supported.

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 8 The Journal of Advertising

Table 2
Means for Surprise

High Incongruity Moderate Incongruity Low IncongruityOverall Means

Low Familiarity 3.54 3.31 3.10* 3.30

High Familiarity 4.29 3.43 2.83** 3.77
Overall Means 4.06 3.36 3.02

"Planned comparison for high versus low incongruity, n.s. (t[13]=1.7, p<0.11)
"Planned comparison for high versus low incongruity, significant (t[14]=3.83, p<.001)

Table 3
Intercorrelation Matrix: Stage 2

Surprise Playfulness Ease of Resolution Warmth Humor

Surprise 1.0 0.12 -0.17 -0.03 0.72

Playfulness 1.00 0.06 0.16 0.25
Ease of Resolution 1.00 -0.11 0.48
Warmth 1.00 0.54
Humor 1.00

Moderation of the Surprise-Humor More importantly, all three hypothesized interac-

Relationship (H2-H4) tions were significant. Thus, consistent with H2, the
playfulness and surprise interaction term was sig-
Most of the variables involved in testing H2-H4 nificant (p<0.04), indicating that playfulness moder-
were continuous. Since regression analysis is a more ates the surprise-humor link in a positive manner.
effective technique for capturing information provided Furthermore, as predicted by H3, ease of incongruity
by continuous variables (see Hays 1996), a regression resolution emerged as a significant moderator of the
equation was used to test these hypotheses. Specifi- surprise-humor link (p<0.05). Thus, the easier the
cally, humor was regressed on the independent vari- resolution of incongruity in the ad, the stronger the
ables of surprise, ease of incongruity resolution, relationship between surprise and humor. In addi-
warmth and playfulness. In addition, multiplicative tion, evidence of the moderating effect of warmth
terms comprising pairs of these variables were in- (H4) was found (p<0.01). Thus, when more warmth
cluded in the regression equation to test for one-way was evoked by the ad, the relationship between sur-
interactions (see Sharma, Durant and Gur-Arie 1981). prise and humor was stronger. Inspection of the beta
Initially Abr and brand familiaity were used as coefficients in Table 4 indicates that the warmth by
covariates in the equation. However, the regression surprise interaction effect is substantially stronger
coefficients for these variables were not significant than the other two interaction effects.
and they were dropped from further analyses. The
threat of multicollinearity among the predictor vari- Mediation of the Incongruity-Humor
ables was judged as unlikely since the variance infla-
Relationship (H5)
tion factors were all less than 10 (see Hair, Anderson,
Tatham and Black 1992) and the correlations among Mediation effects have traditionally been tested
the independent variables were relatively small (see using a four-step procedure (see Baron and Kenny
Table 3). 1986). This procedure stipulates that a certain vari-
The results of the regression equation (Adj. able M mediates the relationship between two vari-
R2=81.2%; p<0.001) are summarized in Table 4. ables A and ? if the following four conditions are met:
Warmth (p<.03), surprise (p<.03) and ease of resolu-(1) A has a direct effect on B, (2) A has a direct effect
tion (p<.02) were significantly related to perceivedon Mt (3) M has a direct effect on B, and (4) the direct
humor. The playfulness main effect approached sig-effect of A on ? is reduced significantly when M is
nificance (p<.07). These findings are consistent withincluded as a covariate. Applying this test, as pre-
expectations described earlier. dicted by H5, surprise was found to mediate the rela-

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Summer 2000

Table 4
Regression Coefficients: Stage 2

Variable Standardized Beta Coefficient t-statistic df P<

Playfulness 0.31 1.83 52 0.07

Warmth 0.64 2.28 52 0.03

Surprise 0.79 2.30 52 0.03

Ease of Resolution 0.63 2.41 52 0.02

Surprise X Playfulness 0.33 2.08 52 0.04

Surprise X Warmth 0.61 3.06 52 0.01

Surprise X Ease of Resolution 0.35 2.01 52 0.05

tionship between degree of incongruity and perceived been found to produce positive affect (cf., Meyers-
humor. Specifically, incongruity significantly affected Levy and Tybout 1989; see also Nerhardt 1976 for
both surprise (p<0.01) as well as humor (p<0.01). evidence of direct incongruity effects using non-rep-
Surprise also had a significant effect on humor resentational stimuli). In advertising, it is likely that
(p<0.03), and the squared partial correlation (i.e., many ads attempting humor employ moderate incon-
squared beta coefficient) indicating the effect of in- gruity, given the context and consumer expectations
congruity level on humor dropped by 93% when sur- (Goodstein 1993). Hence, despite the significant ef-
prise was included in the regression equation (?^ re fects of affect-inducing moderators such as warmth,
i?clu?io?=0-39, P<0.02; ?^,^?.10, p<0.18). TW simple arousal of the Autonomie Nervous System as-
results indicate that the effects of "objective" stimu- sociated with perception of moderate incongruity may
lus incongruity on perceived humor operated (on av- directly produce a portion of the positive affect re-
erage) through viewer surprise rather than directly. flected in a humorous evaluation. A second possibil-
ity is the existence of moderators that were not speci-
The Relationship between Humor and Aad fied in the model tested in this study, e.g., timing of
the surprise reaction (Baumgartner, Sujan and
Finally, consistent with H6, there was a strong cor- Padgett 1997).
relation between humor and Aad (r=0.90, p<0.001). These possibilities suggest the importance of exam-
Thus, as humor evaluation increases, so does the prob- ining the hypothesized neutrality of surprise in greater
ability that the ad is liked. detail. One approach to determining the validity of
surprise as valence-neutral could involve demonstra-
Study One: Discussion tion of different outcomes depending on whether posi-
tive or negative affect-inducing factors moderate sur-
The results of Study One extend current under-prise-related arousal. For example, if surprise gener-
standing of the mechanisms of humorous perceptionsated by incongruity can result in negative evalua-
in television advertising. When viewer familiarity with
tions (e.g., fear) or positive evaluations (e.g., humor),
the situation presented in the ad was high, "objec- depending on the type of moderators present in the
tive" incongruity produced significantly stronger lev-ad, then the conceptualization of surprise as valence-
els of viewer surprise than when familiarity was low.neutral would have stronger support. Such evidence
Higher levels of surprise were then found to play awould also reinforce the importance of playfulness,
critical role in producing humorous evaluations, par- resolution ease and warmth as affect-inducing mod-
ticularly in the presence of playfulness, easily re- erators of the surprise-humor relationship. These are
solved incongruity and warm ad content. Finally, con-the goals of Study Two.
sistent with past research, attitude toward the ad
was positively related to perceptions of humor. Study Two: Hypotheses
The significant main effect for surprise obtained in
this study was not expected. There are at least two In this study, we attempt to show that surprise can
potential explanations for this result. As noted ear-lead to humor or fear depending on the levels of two
lier, exposure to moderate levels of incongruity has contextual variables, playfulness and threat. As pre-

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 10 The Journal of Advertising

viously noted, we have

experts conceptualized
provided measures of playfulness and threat.
"neutral" emotionExpert
that coders evaluated ads onbe
can affectiv
playfulness and threat,
other factors in the advertisement.
as a more detailed analysis of ad execution was re- Th
prise occurs in a playful (threatening)
quired for these variables. Finally, as in the earlier co
morous (fearful) study,
evaluation is more
each variable was measured using single-item li
ample, the surprise that results
scales to lessen the impact of fatigue. from
croak in a beer ad occurs within a pla
and, thus, is more likely to result in
Subject Measures
evaluation. On the other hand, the surpr
from seeing a car Subject
accident
measures were taken inin an
four phases ad f
to avoid
happens within a fatigue.
threatening context
In each phase, seventeen undergraduate busi-
physical harm from the
ness students fromaccident. In this
a large southwestern university
arousal stemming from surprise
received class credit is
for evaluating half of likely
the 52 ads
ated by threats to personal
on two variables. Surprise andsafety
Aad were measuredand
likely to result in from
a fearful evaluation.
the first two groups, while humorous and fear-
This relationship between surprise,
ful evaluations were provided by the latter two. Ads thre
is supported by past advertising
were presented resea
to each group in one of two random
that "level of threat" (defined
orders. Nine-point as scales
semantic differential perceiv
were
valued goals or needs) and
used to measure its
each variable. Theseperceived
scales were
of occurrence" are positively
anchored by: not at all funny/veryrelated
funny, not at allt
(cf. Tanner, Hunt and Eppright
surprising/very surprising, very little fear/a1991)
lot of fear,
ments are formally summarized
and dislike insubjects
a lot/like a lot. Means across the for f
potheses: each ad were used in subsequent analysis.
Hla: Whenthelevelofplayfulnessinanadis
high, surprise generated by the ad is posi- Coder Measures
tively correlated with perceived humor.
Hlb: When the level of threat in an ad is Three new expert coders rated each ad in terms of
high, surprise generated by the ad is the remaining variables of playfulness (low-medium-
positively correlated with perceived fear. high), severity of threat (not at all severe-somewhat
severe-very severe) and probability of occurrence of
Study Two: Method the threat (not at all probable-somewhat probable
very probable). Coders were trained in a manner sim
Sampling of Incongruous Television Ads
lar to Study One. Intercoder agreement rate was 85%
exceeding standards suggested by Kassarjian (1977
The complete set of 488 television ads collected for
Most disagreements were resolved by discussio
Study One was used as the starting point for data among the coders with researchers having to break a
collection in Study Two. Three new coders rated eachtie in three cases. Based on theory discussed previ
ad on whether or not at least one unexpected event
ously, an index of threat was created by multiplying
was shown (yes/no). Before rating, incongruity severity
was and probability ratings.
defined for the coders as any content that deviated
from what they expected as they watched the ad. Study Two: Results
Coders first practiced with a subset of the 488 ads.
Thereafter, at least two coders found 294 contained
Supporting the validity of the single item indicators
one or more unexpected content items. From this set,
used in this study, measures of humor and fear were
52 ads were randomly chosen for analysis. All of the
found to be negatively correlated (Pearson r=-0.49,
ads in this sample were for different brands. p<0.01, n=52 ads). To test hypotheses Hla/b, correla-
tion analysis was performed with the variables of
Measurement of Variables surprise, humor, fear, playfulness and threat (see
Table 5). Two levels of playfulness and threat (high/
As in Study One, both subjects and expert coders low) were first created using a median split. Next, a
(all of whom differed from Study One participants) Pearson z-statistic was calculated to test the null
rated ads on variables of interest. Subjects provided hypothesis that the preceding variables have zero
measures of surprise, humor, fear and Aad, while correlation. Consistent with hypothesis Hla, surprise

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 Summer 2000 11

Table 5
Correlations of Surprise, Humor and Fear: Study Two

Humor1 Fear1

High Playfulness2 Low Playfulness? High Threaf Low Threaf

Surprise 0.37* 0.26 0.68* 0.27

1 n=52 ads
2 n=26 ads
* Significant at p<0.05

was found to positively correlate with humor when only Speck (1991) and Alden and Hoyer (1993)
playfulness was high (r=0.37, p<0.04, n=26 ads). How-pear to have applied this model in an advertisi
ever, the correlation was negative when playfulnesscontext. Furthermore, there appears to be no p
was low (r= -0.28, p<0.12, n=26 ads). In Une with Hlb, research that has specifically examined the ro
surprise correlated strongly with fear at high levels of surprise in humorous advertising.
threat (r=0.68, p<0.01, n=26 ads), but failed to reach Seeking to enhance our understanding of hu
significance when the threat was low (r=0.27, p<0.08, generation in television advertising, the first s
n=26 ads). Discussion of these results follows. reported in this paper provides evidence for an
tended incongruity-resolution model that inclu
Study Two: Discussion surprise as a mediator and playfulness, ease of
lution and warmth as moderators. In line with the
Study Two found that surprise-related arousal was circumplex model of emotions (Larsen and Diener
strongly associated with a fearful evaluation when 1992),
a these results support the conceptualization of
negative affect-inducing factor (threat) was high, butsurprise as valence-neutral arousal that leads to hu-
not when it was low. On the other hand, surprise-mor in the presence of certain moderators. Thus sur-
related arousal was strongly associated with a humor prise appears to be a necessary but insufficient condi-
tion for humorous evaluation in television advertis-
evaluation when a positive affect-inducing factor (play-
fulness) was high, but not when it was low. Theseing. A second study bolsters this conclusion by show-
results support the conceptualization of surprise asing that surprise is associated with different affective
valence-neutral arousal that leads to different affec- outcomes depending on the presence of alternative
moderators.
tive outcomes depending on the types of moderating
Given the volume of resources that managers ex-
influences in the ad. As such, Study Two provides
pend on brand communications that attempt humor
evidence of the internal validity of the regression model
(Alden, Hoyer and Lee 1993; Weinberger and Spotts
tested in Study One. It also suggests that the surprise
main effect identified in the first study was either1989),
the there is a pressing need for more detailed theo-
result of "mere arousal" (Stayman, Alden and Smith retical understanding of factors that increase humor-
1992) or an effect that would become insignificantous in evaluation. As noted earlier, there are several
the presence of additional moderators. Verificationrisks
of associated with the use of humor in advertising
(cf. Madden and Weinberger 1982; Unger 1996; Zhang
these possibilities awaits future research. In the mean-
time, Study Two enhances confidence in the central- 1996). Unfortunately, few systematic methods are
ity of affect-inducing moderators to the relationshipavailable to ensure that a joke or message will actu-
between surprise and humor in advertising. ally be perceived as funny (i.e., it is entirely a creative
rather than part creative, part scientific process). As
General Discussion a result, the development of humorous content ap-
pears often to be subjective, unstructured and, thus,
"hit or miss."it
From Speck's (1991) comprehensive framework,
is clear that there are multiple pathways to generat-
The present findings provide guidance to advertis-
ing humorous evaluations in advertising. ersThe byincon-
focusing their efforts on a parsimonious num-
gruity model of humor is one of those pathways. To
ber of content-related constructs that appear impor-
date, the incongruity model has receivedtant to generating humorous evaluations. For ex-
consider-
ample, creative
able attention in psychology (cf. Suis 1972; Wicker et thinking in terms of situational in-
al. 1981) and linguistics (cf. Raskin 1985). congruities
However, and the levels of surprise resulting from

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 12 The Journal of Advertising

such incongruities should

Finally, the results increas
of this study replicate the posi-
execution's chancetive of
relationship between perceived
being humor and Aad
perceived
larly, production found
of humorous
in past research (cf. Brown and Staymanconten
1992).
cilitated by the Asknowledge
a result, advertising managers can be that:
more confi- 1)
hanced by controllable
dent that effectivefactors
humorous attempts will such
result in a
the situation in the ad"
stronger liking of theand 2) surpris
marketing communication. How-
to result in humor when
ever, this study also showsplayfulness,
clearly that ads attempt-
tion and warmth ing are
humor vary high.
in successful generation of humorous
Although affect-inducing evaluation. Managerial sensitivity to this result,
factors s
ness have been discussed in the academic literature
coupled with greater use of the theory-based guide-
(cf. Nilsen 1993), incongruity theorists have tended
lines during the creative process, should help reduce
to emphasize cognitive influences and processes the in
number of ads that fail in the attempt to generate
their models of humor (e.g., Raskin 1985). Paralleling
humor. Such vigilance is important as it is quite pos-
other contemporary research streams that havesible em-that ads using humor that fails will produce
phasized the role of affect (cf. Oliver 1994), this more
paper negative brand attitudes than ads that do not
use humor at all (Shimp 1997).
is one of the first in advertising to report significant
roles for affect-inducing moderators along the incon-
gruity pathway to humorous evaluation (see also Limitations and Future Research
Speck 1987). As evidenced by a higher beta coeffi-
cient in Table 4, ad warmth appears to play a particu-
Although the studies reported in this paper exten
current understanding of humorous evaluation
larly important role in this regard. Future theorists
will need to validate these relationships and deter- advertising, certain limitations point to several
mine optimal levels of each variable. portunities for future research. First, the resea
For example, this study hypothesized and found a
design was correlational, i.e., levels of constructs
significant, positive linear interaction betweensample sur- ads were measured rather than manipulat
prise and "ease of resolution" with surprise exerting As noted,
a this approach facilitates testing of a la
stronger effect on humor at high versus low "ease number
of of variables and a wide variety of humoro
resolution" (H3). Berlyne's (1960, 1972) theorymessages, re- yielding greater external validity. Ho
garding the effects of optimal stimulation level (OSL) ever, it is likely that the commercial objectives of
on problem solving and learning suggests the possi- vertising limit naturally occurring variation in hum
bility of a non-linear inverted U relationship with antecedents such as "ease of resolution." More con-
"ease of resolution" exerting its strongest interactive trolled studies with manipulated variables would help
effect at moderate rather than low or high levels validate
of and extend the conclusions of this research.
complexity. However, recent studies involving OSL Furthermore, other humor antecedents appear wor-
and sensation (Brocke, Beauducel and Tasche 1999; thy of investigation. For example, mood could be an
Kohler 1996) suggest that optimal stimulation is nega-important moderator of the surprise-humor relation-
tively skewed on the low side of the stimulation con- ship (Gardner 1985). Another promising variable that
tinuum for most people (i.e., the optimum is signifi- could be examined in future research is "prior expec-
cantly closer to low than to high). Relatively low mo- tations." Some brands (e.g., Miller Lite, Energizer,
tivation to process television advertising (Shimp 1997) Pepsi, MetLife and Little Caesar's) have acquired a
may magnify this negative skew. If this is the case,reputation for airing humorous television advertis-
then one might expect low humor evaluations for hu-ing. As such, consumers could have a prior expecta-
mor that is moderately to very difficult to resolve.tion for humor when they watch ads for these brands
Furthermore, the positive linear relationship between (Goodstein 1993). This expectation could have both a
the "ease of resolution/surprise" interaction and hu- direct effect on perceived humor (via a hypothesis
mor found in this study may hold generally in humor-confirmation mechanism) as well as a moderating
ous television advertising. It will be important foreffect on the surprise-humor link (via higher involve-
future investigators to more fully examine this rela- ment and hence, motivation to resolve even complex
tionship, possibly using an experimental design ratherincongruities within the ad).
than a real world sample of ads. Future researchers Third, additional evidence of the proposed role of
should also investigate other potential affect-induc-surprise in generating humor could be provided
ing factors, such as empathy and romance that maythrough process tracing experiments that directly
aid in transforming surprise into humor. measure moment-to-moment changes in key variables

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 Summer 2000 13

during Parsons
ad expos
1997). As such, successful print ads may rely
Padgett to 1997).
a greater extent on generating feeUngs
For of control
in and self-efficacy (Bandura 1977) during the incon-
generation the
gruity resolution process
significant differ as opposed to generating
which the
feeUngs of warmth and audien
playfulness. In addition, the
peak degree of resolution required to eUcit
humor. Alo a humorous
gent evidence fr
evaluation may differ for print. Given print media's
contention generally higher level of involvement, it may be su
that that
is initially neutr
humor evaluations are better executed by posing more
argument complex incongruitiescould
than typically found in televi-
surements of
sion advertising. Finally, sur
as noted by other research-
dation ers, individual
of the difference variables such as "need for
mod
task for future research. cognition" (Zhang 1996) and "tolerance of ambiguity"
Fourth, the potential mechanisms through which(Durrheim 1998; Tegano 1990) could well interact
humor impacts Aad were not fully investigated in with predictors such as "ease of resolution" and "me-
these studies. However, the relatively low-involve-
dia channel" to affect humor evaluations. These types
ment conditions during data collection, as well as the of issues are clearly important to theorists and adver-
experimental method of measuring Aad immediately tising managers and suggest several interesting av-
after viewing the ad would lend support to an affect enues for future research.
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