KINAESTHETIC INCONGRUITY AND BRAND HUMOUR: A STUDY OF SELECTED ADVERTISING COMMERCIALS

Abstract

Humour, which arises very often from the absurd, takes up various forms including wit, satire, sarcasm, and irony. It can be highly subjective as well as culture specific. Ingenious wordplay, unexpected twists, and contradictory juxtaposition act as compelling sources of humour. In the contemporary scenario of digitization and mediatisation, humour has turned out to be a potent tool to impress a message onto the psyche of the target group. The present research is an attempt at exploring the ways in which humour is utilised in advertising commercials to grab the attention of the audience, thereby increasing brand familiarity. The primary focus is on the Snickers ad series with the tag line “You’re not you when you are hungry”. The series presents a humorous take on ‘hunger pangs’ and uses incongruous juxtaposition to evoke humour. The method of creating humour is explored further with reference to Immanuel Kant’s Theory of Laughter. Thus, it can be proposed that humour is an effective tool of persuasion in the field of marketing.