The Effects of Humor and Non-humor Techniques in Television Commercials

UNCP Author/Contributor (non-UNCP co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Grant Merritt (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP )
Web Site: http://www.uncp.edu/academics/library
Advisor
Dandan Lui

Abstract: Measuring the effects of humorous and non-humorous techniques on recall of commercials and persuasion to purchase car insurance commercials when placed in humorous and non-humorous television programming are the main objectives of this study. Also, there has been few studies focusing on Geico, Progressive, State Farm, and Allstate car insurance commercials in particular. There is reasonable belief that the combination of humorous and non-humorous techniques and programming environment dynamically impact the recall of specific information in commercials, and they influence persuasion to purchase. However, there is limited scholarly literature on the links between humorous and non-humorous commercials placed in different programming. An experiment was conducted to measure the effects of humorous and non-humorous Geico, Progressive, State Farm, and Allstate commercials on the viewer’s ability to recall information from the commercials and if the commercials persuaded the viewer to purchase. First, the experiment results indicated that the humorous commercials are recalled the most no matter what the programming environment is. Second, the combination of humorous and non-humorous commercials yielded the biggest persuasion effects on viewers to purchase in both humorous and non-humorous programming environments. Finally, the study concluded that just because a humorous commercial is recalled the most, it does not always guarantee a consumer’s decision to purchase the insurance.

Additional Information

Publication
Honors Project
Language: English
Date: 2011
Keywords
Insurance, Automobile, Wit and Humor in Advertising, Broadcast Advertising
Subjects
Insurance, Automobile -- Marketing

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