Comedic violence in advertising: cultural third-person effects among U.S., Korean, and Croatian consumers

Abstract

Humour is a popular appeal used in global advertising and with the growing use of comedic violence ads in the U.S., it is a worthwhile endeavour to see whether comedic violence ads by U.S. brands could travel globally. This research conducted three studies in three countries, chosen for their distinctively different cultural tendencies and market potential: the U.S., Korea, and Croatia. Across the studies it was found that (1) individuals in the U.S. used aggressive humour in daily life more than Koreans or Croatians, (2) U.S. had higher perceived humour and ad attitudes towards the comedic violence ad than in Korea or Croatia, and (3) U.S. individuals found the comedic violence ad funnier for themselves than for others in different cultures while Koreans thought the ad was less funny for themselves than for others in different cultures. Croatians did not have response differences between self vs. others. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Keywords:

• Humor advertising
• comedic violence
• third-person effects
• cultures

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hye Jin Yoon

Hye Jin Yoon (Ph.D., University of Georgia) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia.Her primary research interests are humor effects and schema incongruity processing in advertising. Other research interests include health and environmental issues in advertising and their impact on consumers and society, digital and social media advertising, and network and sentiment analysis. Her work has been published in the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Business Research, International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Health Communication, Health Communication, and Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, among others.

Sukki Yoon

Sukki Yoon (Ph.D., University of Illinois) is a professor of marketing at Bryant University. Previously he taught advertising at Cleveland State University. He was a visiting scholar at Grey New York, Harvard University, and a consultant at U.S. and Korean firms and government agencies. He has published articles in many international journals and has served on editorial boards. He has also written columns for newspapers and magazines.

Srdan Zdravkovic

Srdan Zdravkovic (Ph.D., Saint Louis University) is a professor of Marketing and International Business at Bryant University. His research interests include cross cultural consumer behavior, country of origin, and sponsorship. His research has been published in journals including Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of International Marketing, International Journal of Research in Marketing, International Business Review, and International Marketing Review.

Ivana Kursan Milakovic

Ivana Kursan Milakovic (Ph.D., University of Split) is an assistant professor of marketing at the Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism - University of Split, Croatia. Her research focuses on consumer behavior, marketing ommunication, advertising, word-of-mouth marketing and electronic commerce. She has published in several academic journals including Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, The Service Industries Journal, Economic Research, and Economic Review.

Dario Miocevic

Dario Miocevic (Ph.D., University of Split) is an associate professor of marketing at the Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism - University of Split, Croatia. His research focuses on international consumer behavior, strategic marketing, international marketing and entrepreneurship. He has published research in, among others, Journal of International Marketing, International Marketing Review, Journal of Macromarketing, Industrial Marketing Management, and Journal of Small Business Management.

Yung Kyun Choi

Yung Kyun Choi (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is a professor in the department of Advertising and Public Relations at Dongguk University in Seoul, Korea. His research interests are in advertising effects and consumer behavior in digital media such as social media, mobile media, and AR/VR. He has published articles in many international journals including Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Advertising, and Journal of Business Research, serving on editorial boards in these journals.