Humor and cultural values in print advertising: a cross-cultural study
Journal
International Marketing Review
Date Issued
February 1, 2011
DOI
10.1108/02651331111107107
Abstract
Purpose – The present study aims to discuss the role of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, uncertainty
avoidance and individualism/collectivism, on the use of various humor types in print advertising,
across culturally diverse countries.
Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 12,351 ads (3,828 humorous) from the largest
circulated UK and Greek magazines was content-analyzed in light of Speck’s humorous message
taxonomy, emphasizing humor types and intentional relatedness.
Findings – The results indicate that cultural diversity is reflected in the types of humorous devices
that tend to be used in the UK and Greece. British advertisements incorporate not only sentimental but
also disparaging humor types such as sentimental humor and full comedy, providing a great deal of
pure entertainment. On the contrary, Greek print ads emphasize cognitive humorous appeals, in an
attempt to provide credible information to the uncertainty-avoiding Greek audience.
Practical implications – The findings of this study highlight some key aspects of UK and Greek
print advertising that can be extended in other homogeneous cultures. In individualistic countries with
low uncertainty avoidance, it seems that consumers prefer humor-dominant messages. On the
contrary, in collectivistic countries with high uncertainty-aversion attitudes, humor can be used as a
Trojan horse to convey the required information to the target group.
Originality/value – The present study points out how advertisers’ intentions to entertain or to
inform the target audience are expressed in the use of various humor types in advertising, underlining,
also, the effect of cultural values on these communication decisions.
avoidance and individualism/collectivism, on the use of various humor types in print advertising,
across culturally diverse countries.
Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 12,351 ads (3,828 humorous) from the largest
circulated UK and Greek magazines was content-analyzed in light of Speck’s humorous message
taxonomy, emphasizing humor types and intentional relatedness.
Findings – The results indicate that cultural diversity is reflected in the types of humorous devices
that tend to be used in the UK and Greece. British advertisements incorporate not only sentimental but
also disparaging humor types such as sentimental humor and full comedy, providing a great deal of
pure entertainment. On the contrary, Greek print ads emphasize cognitive humorous appeals, in an
attempt to provide credible information to the uncertainty-avoiding Greek audience.
Practical implications – The findings of this study highlight some key aspects of UK and Greek
print advertising that can be extended in other homogeneous cultures. In individualistic countries with
low uncertainty avoidance, it seems that consumers prefer humor-dominant messages. On the
contrary, in collectivistic countries with high uncertainty-aversion attitudes, humor can be used as a
Trojan horse to convey the required information to the target group.
Originality/value – The present study points out how advertisers’ intentions to entertain or to
inform the target audience are expressed in the use of various humor types in advertising, underlining,
also, the effect of cultural values on these communication decisions.