When do advertising parodies hurt?: The power of humor and credibility In viral spoof advertisements

Abstract : 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.