ASSESSMENT OF ROLE OF HUMOUR IN INDIAN ADVERTISEMENTS By APEKSHA J NAYAK (Reg.

No 08VWCM6006) This dissertation report is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the MBA program of Bangalore University

Under the guidance of Prof. Prabhakaran Alliance Business Academy

Alliance Business Academy

Bangalore 560076 (2008 2010)

STUDENTS DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this Dissertation titled Assessing the role of humour in Indian advertisements submitted by me to the Department of Management, Bangalore University in the partial fulfillment of the requirement of MBA programme is a bonafide work carried by me under the guidance of Prof. Prabhakaran. any degree/certificate or published any time before. This has not been submitted earlier to any other University or Institute for the award of

Date: Place: Bangalore APEKSHA J NAYAK Register No.08VWCM6006

CONTENTS

DESCRIPTION
Acknowledgement

PAGE NO. I

Executive Summary

Chapter-1 Introduction to Advertising Industry

1.1 Outlook of major segments of the Indian E&M Industry 1.2 Outlook of Indian Advertising spending (2009-13) 1.3 Indias advertising expenditure and GDP 1.4 PEST analysis 1.4.1 Political Factors 1.4.2 Economic Factors 1.4.3 Social Factors 1.4.4 Technological Factors 1.5 Top Advertising Companies Of India 1.6 Indian Advertising Industry using Humour in TV commercials

II 1-16
5 6 7 9-13 9 11 12 12 14 16

Chapter-2 Research Design

2.1 Background to the research 2.2 Review of few previous studies 2.3 Research problem 2.4 Introduction to the study 2.5 Need for the study 2.6 Objectives of the study 2.7 Scope of the Study 2.8 Research Methodology 2.9 Limitations of the Study

18-34
19 22 23 24 24 24 25 25 33

Chapter-3 Theoretical Background

3.1 Effectiveness of humour in advertising 3.2 A framework for examining advertising humour (Speck, 1991) 3.3 Application of PCM and Specks (1991) humour typology 3.4 Humorous ads and the psychology of the consumer 3.4.1 Humour expectancy and Humour relevancy 3.4.2 Need for humour (NFH) and Need for cognition (NFC 3.4.3 Information (message) processing 3.4.4 Prior-brand evaluation 3.5 Gaps in the existing research and research questions 3.6 Conclusion

35-68
39 44 56 58-66 59 60 63 66 67 68

Chapter-4 Analysis & Interpretation of Data

4.1 Case Studies 4.1.1 Case study 1: Mentos - mint (yellow product) 4.1.2 Case study 2: Sprite -soft drink (yellow product) 4.1.3 Case study 3: Fevicol Adhesive (blue product) 4.2 Analysis of Case Studies

69-93
70 71 75 78 84

Chapter-5 Summary of Findings, conclusions and recommendations:

5.1 Findings 5.2 Conclusion 5.3 Recommendations

94-98
95 97 98

Bibliography

99-104

LIST OF TABLES & CHARTS PAGE NO.

1.1 2.1 2.2 3.1 4.1 4.2 4.3

TITLE OF TABLE
Indias advertising expenditure and GDP A framework for categorizing the scientific paradigms Relevant situations for different research strategies Product characteristics within PCM Low risk products of the PCM Humour mechanisms and types used by different brands Relatedness of humour in Blue products

NO.
7 26 28 56 70 84 85

TITLE OF FIGURES
1.1 1.2 2.1 3.1 3.2 3.3 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Advertising expenditure as a percentage of GDP Share of advertising spending by medium Different kinds of humour Tactical considerations for humour in advertising A framework for advertising humour Product Colour Matrix Storyboard 1 of Mentos Storyboard 2 of Mentos Storyboard of Sprite Storyboard of Fevicol 8 8 21 42 45 53 72 73 77 81

ANNEXURE
Storyboard 1 - Naukri.com Storyboard 2 - Virgin Mobile Storyboard 3 - Bingo Live Wires Storyboard 4 - Happydent White Storyboard 5 - Saint Gobain ii iii iv v vi