People don’t buy from clowns. Zur Wirkung humorvoller Werbekommunikation – theoretische Grundlagen

Today we can observe the overload in the advertising market, which has had its consequences in both: the perception of advertisements (indifference and even reactance) and the necessity of changing the techniques of persuasion. The main problem is to attract attention of consumers, because the recipients possess limited possibility of stimulus perception. It forces the advertisers to be more creative while making advertisements by using emotional strategies in advertising. One factor which can be such an effective, stylistic device is humour, because firstly it fulfills the recipients’ expectations (advertising has to amuse) and as a result, creates a positive attitude towards the message. The attitude influences perceiving of advertised products which become accepted by recipients. Secondly, relevant humorous elements in the message can influence the potential consumers nearly on all levels of perception.