ABSTRACT
Practical jokes belong to the category of disparagement humor and they have been extensively investigated by social scientists for decades. Nevertheless, the available empirical results pertain mostly to human-to-human situations and little is known on the effects of pranks in the computer-mediated environment (CME). As CME encourages different patterns of reactions and behaviors than non-CME, the present study provides an experimental evaluation of consumer responses to brands that use practical jokes in their social media communication. The results reveal that high-disparagement pranks may significantly hurt brand perceptions and decrease brand affect. This effect is better predicted by prior brand attitudes than usage (i.e., the more favorable predisposition to a brand, the higher probability that a high-disparagement prank will produce a lower brand affect). No significant impact of low-disparagement pranks was found on subsequent brand responses. The findings will help scholars and practitioners in understanding this new phenomenon and in maximizing returns from humor online.
Acknowledgments
Małgorzata Karpińska-Krakowiak is a principal investigator, and Artur Modliński is a technician in this study. Contribution: Małgorzata Karpińska-Krakowiak - 95%; Artur Modliński - 5%. Both authors thank two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments and suggestions.
Funding
The findings reported in the article form part of the 2-year experimental study funded by the National Science Centre in Poland under grant 2014/15/B/HS4/00844.