TY - JOUR
T1 - Irony and sarcasm in advertisements: Effects of relevant inappropriateness
AU - Lagerwerf, L.
PY - 2007
Y1 - 2007
N2 - The effects on audiences of irony in advertisements and of sarcasm in public information announcements were investigated in two studies. In advertisements for commercial products and services, irony was found in the use of negative captions where positive captions were expected. Sarcasm was used by placing a positive caption against a background displaying a harrowing picture. Such departures from common practice in the use of negative and positive wordings were regarded as inappropriate. It turned out that advertisements with ironic intent were appreciated more when the inappropriateness was re-interpreted correctly as irony (Study 1). Even so, irony and sarcasm may impede a proper understanding of the advertisements' informative intention. This has a negative impact on the assessment by an audience of the importance of the societal issues emphasized in sarcastic announcements (Study 2). © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
AB - The effects on audiences of irony in advertisements and of sarcasm in public information announcements were investigated in two studies. In advertisements for commercial products and services, irony was found in the use of negative captions where positive captions were expected. Sarcasm was used by placing a positive caption against a background displaying a harrowing picture. Such departures from common practice in the use of negative and positive wordings were regarded as inappropriate. It turned out that advertisements with ironic intent were appreciated more when the inappropriateness was re-interpreted correctly as irony (Study 1). Even so, irony and sarcasm may impede a proper understanding of the advertisements' informative intention. This has a negative impact on the assessment by an audience of the importance of the societal issues emphasized in sarcastic announcements (Study 2). © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/34548405927
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=34548405927&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.pragma.2007.05.002
DO - 10.1016/j.pragma.2007.05.002
M3 - Article
SN - 0378-2166
VL - 39
SP - 1702
EP - 1721
JO - Journal of Pragmatics
JF - Journal of Pragmatics
IS - 10
ER -
