"Enculturated" Pleasure: A Study in Multicultural Engagement How Do Mexican and US Consumers Respond To Humorous Advertising Differently?

Humorous advertising has been considered an effective technique to increase viewers' positive responses. The current study compared the personal uses of affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating humor styles by consumers in Mexico and the U.S. It also compared Mexican and American consumer evaluations of these four humor styles used in humorous advertising. While showing non-significant cross-cultural differences in the use of humor as well as the attitudes toward humorous advertising, the study revealed significant differences in the use of and responses to different humor styles. The findings highlight the importance of selecting appropriate humor styles in crafting international humorous-advertising strategy.