Do humour and threat work well together? The moderating effect of need for cognition in humorous threat persuasion advertisements
Hye Jin Yoon
Southern Methodist University
James Mark Mayer
Indiana University
Introduction
A recent Above the Influence advertisement plays off the stereotypical ‘Lost Pet’ poster. The ad features an image of a human brain, with ‘LOST! Last seen at a party Saturday night. If found please call: 555-0183’ as the copy. It implies that drugs might make you ‘lose your brain’, but instead of conveying this through intimidating imagery and tone, it adopts a humorous one. With such examples often observed...