ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on humor on the basis of what is different in the way people mentally process ads with humor in them. Greek philosophy depicted humor as a cruel and brutal affair. Plato thought it was based on an unfortunate lack of self-knowledge and that it was motivated by envy, which made it morally inferior and reprehensible. The historical origins of humor lie in the darker side of humankind—in derisive rather than friendly, enjoyable laughter. The conceptual elements that go into humorous ads such as this and induce a mental switch from information to humor and hence enjoyment of the ad are these: two concepts; incongruity/incompatibility between them; and a way of 'fusing' the two and making them momentarily 'compatible'. There are three main mechanisms by which humor is supposed to work in advertising: less counter-arguing; humorous ads are noticed more; and humorous ads are generally liked more.
