A Cross-cultural Analysis On Humor In Commercials

This comparative study analyzed468humorous commercials in two studies.The first study analyzed data from2013Superbowl commercials on3Chinese videosharing sites and YouTube. Among the41humorous variables tested,6variables cansignificantly increase view counts from Chinese audience,3have shown negative effects andanother3have suggested significant cross-cultural differences. Regarding user ratings,12variables could significantly increase ratings from Chinese audience and21variablessuggested cross-cultural differences. In the second study, Chi-square tests have shown23significant differences between Chinese and foreign commercial producers. Overall, Chineseproducers are more conservative.This study credits new media for reshaping Chinese humor. Author proposes a dualismtheory: Chinese audience in general hold negative attitude toward humor, but hardcore humorlovers will take initiative to seek humor. Furthermore, the ideology in China restricts thecontent of humor and “Ren Ai” in Confucianism inhibits the perception of humor too. Ininformation theories, Chinese audience tend to seperate humor and information and thischaracteristic caused problem for commercial producers who often use peripheral channels todeliver product messages. Finally, humor are more effective while promoting certain productand author suggests humor is universal to all cultures and the differences are shaped by itssocial and economical environment.