Humorous Communication Theory and its Applications in Marketing

Purpose: The goal of this article is to understand the rationale of Humorous Communication Theory (HCT) and illustrate its applications in meme marketing, stand-up comedy business, and machine joking.Design/Methodology/Approach: The approach is based on three steps. First, we do a quick review of the communication theory, where we summarize its main ideas. Second, we link them to different marketing principles and new trends that are important to marketing. Third, we tell the reader how to use the theory by explaining what it does well and where it falls short.Findings: We find that humor evokes emotion and generates a mental model that catalyzes brand recall during the moment of truth.Practical Implications: Humorous communication theory finds its relevance in meme marketing, stand-up comedy as an entrepreneurial endeavor, and machine joking.Originality/Value: Even though HCT have been around for a long time, they are mostly talked about in academic journals. Managers in the real world rarely have access to these information sources. This article is aimed for practitioners to uncover the most important parts of HCT as a modern persuasive tool for marketers to excel in the digital era