When do advertising parodies hurt?
Résumé
How harmful is a parody for the target brand? To address this question, the current
study focused on negative advertising parodies created by amateurs and spread
through social media. It examined the types of consumers for whom—and contexts
in which—negative advertising parodies would adversely affect attention, attitudes,
purchase intentions, and intentions to pass along an advertisement. The authors
found that advertising parody is detrimental for the parodied brand if the parody is
strongly credible and contains humor. Highly committed consumers are not isolated
from this detrimental effect. These findings have implications for both research
and practice.