Explaining Variations in the Use of Humor in Advertising Across Countries: A Meta-Analysis

Despite high popularity of humor, its prevalence in advertising varies significantly across countries and previous research has not explained why. We empirically test a new theoretical explanation: an evolutionary perspective linking humor to mate-seeking behavior. Evolutionarily, humor enhances attractiveness and increases chances of finding a romantic partner, making it extensively used by mate-seekers (i.e. those searching for romantic relationships). We find that humor is more commonly employed in advertising in countries where relationships are more negotiable and easily dissolved (e.g. with a higher proportion of potential mate-seekers in a population). Our findings are grounded in a meta-analysis of content analyses, spanning 15 countries over 90 years. We corroborated these meta-analytic results with an experiment showing that activation of mate-seeking behavior increases humor use in advertising. Together, these findings provide robust evidence for a novel explanation for humor use in cross-national advertising.