Predictors to Measure the Effectiveness of Humorous Advertisements – Viewers Perceptual Study in Indian Context

Abstract

Aim: The present study attempted to identify the factors influencing the effect of humorous advertisements in the minds of the viewer. The study also identified the association between the demographic profiles of viewers on the perception of humorous advertisement. Background: So many works have been done in humorous advertisements whereas humorous advertisements with respect to viewer’s opinion is very few especially in the Indian context. Material & Methods: For this study, a self-administered questionnaire was drafted and statements were coined in discussion with the subject experts and on line with the references from literature survey. The data was collected by convenience sampling method and viewers across various demographic profiles were covered for the study. The framework of analysis used in the study included factor analysis, one-way ANOVA, correlation analysis and Garret Ranking method. Results: The study deduced four factors to measure the effectiveness of the humorous advertisements. The study also found age and gender as the associating profiles in perceiving the effect of humorous advertisements. All the identified factors were found to be significantly correlated to each other and the same was dealt analytically through correlation analysis. Addition to this, garret ranking method was adopted to find the most preferred type of humorous advertisements and the customer preference on the outcome of advertisements and marketing processes. It was found that, viewers ranked ‘pun’ advertisements on the top compared to the other categories. Conclusion: What so ever be the outcome of the advertisement, viewers stay with quality of the product to decide their buying behavior and to be brand loyal. The study would enable the advertising agencies to understand and make creative advertisements with the blend of all the factors that would be highly received by the viewers. And the product owners to understand the need of the viewers on the basis of personal profile of the end customers which may throw light on the customer preference in deciding the buying decision of any product or service. It will also be helpful for other related bodies to know about the viewer’s preferences and customer psychology in terms of receiving the message from the advertisements effectively.