Abstract
Prior investigations of the impact of humor on advertising message comprehension have generally found humorous commercials to be no more effective than comparable serious messages. This study re-examines humor's influence by focusing on type of humor measurement (manipulated vs. perceived) and humor location in the advertisement. Findings indicate that humor (in the form of a one-line joke) does promote message comprehension, and offer support for information processing and operant conditioning explanations of the humor influence process. (Author/publisher)