RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Ad Bites
JF Journal of Advertising Research
JO J Advert Res
FD WARC
SP 417
OP 426
DO 10.2501/JAR-51-2-417-426
VO 51
IS 2
A1 Ekin Pehlivan
A1 Pierre Berthon
A1 Leyland Pitt
YR 2011
UL http://www.journalofadvertisingresearch.com/content/51/2/417.abstract
AB Irony is employed to add edge or bite to advertising—to make it stand out. Yet the irony of ironic advertising is that it is used but not thoroughly understood; practiced but not well researched. In this study, the authors set out to remedy this failing by laying the foundations of research into ironic advertising. Specifically, they define a construct and then develop a theory that explains how ironic advertising works. From this, they develop a series of propositions that specify how a message and its interpretation interact to determine the relative efficacy of an ironic communication. The article then outlines a research agenda and concludes by specifying the contribution of the theory to practitioners and researchers.