关键词: 双关广告语, 语义双关, 谐音双关, 品牌个性, 购买意愿

Abstract:

Advertising is the primary means of shaping a brand’s image and enhancing its influence. An important research topic is exploring how to effectively convey product and brand information through advertisements and establish a brand image in consumers' minds. In marketing practice, there have been numerous successful cases of using puns in advertising to shape brand image. While academic research has investigated the advantages of puns in advertising, neither how puns impact brand shaping nor the distinct effects of different types of puns on consumer psychology has been studied. This paper first categorizes puns in advertising as semantic puns or homophonic puns. It then examines the effect of pun type on the important brand personalities of sophistication and sincerity. Through six experiments (four laboratory experiments and two field experiments), this paper examines the matching effect between brand personality and pun type and its underlying mechanisms.

Experiment 1A used a one-factor (brand personality: sophistication vs. sincerity) between-subjects design. Participants were asked to select a slogan for either a sophisticated brand or a sincere brand. The findings indicated that consumers were more likely to choose a slogan with a semantic pun rather than a homophonic pun for a sophisticated brand compared to a sincere brand. Experiment 1B employed a one-factor (pun type: semantic vs. homophonic) between-subjects design. Participants were asked to judge brand personality after viewing an advertisement containing a slogan with a semantic or a homophonic pun. The results revealed that when a semantic (vs. homophonic) pun was used, consumers perceived a higher level of sophistication brand personality and a lower level of sincerity brand personality. Experiments 1A and 1B together confirmed there is a match between brand personality and pun type.

Experiments 2-4 examined the positive effects of the match between brand personality and pun type in brand advertising. Experiment 2 employed a 2 (brand personality: sophistication vs. sincerity) × 2 (pun type: semantic vs. homophonic) between-subjects design. The results showed that for a sophisticated brand, a semantic pun led to higher purchase intention compared to a homophonic pun, while for a sincere brand, a homophonic pun led to higher purchase intention and higher product attitude compared to a semantic pun. Experiments 3A and 3B were field experiments that utilized designs similar to that of Experiment 2. These studies demonstrated that when brand personality and pun type matched, consumers exhibited higher click-through rates on advertisements, enhancing the external validity of the research. Experiment 4 employed a 2 (brand personality: sophistication vs. sincerity) × 2 (altering the "brand personality-complexity" link: present vs. absent) × 2 (pun type: semantic vs. homophonic) between-subjects design. The results revealed that the belief that “advertising language for sophisticated brands should be more complex, and advertising language for sincere brands should be simpler” was changed, and the positive effects of the match between brand personality and pun type disappeared.

This research fills a gap in the marketing field regarding Chinese puns and investigates the influence of different pun types on consumer psychology for the first time. It shows that combining pun types with brand personality and showing the match between them leads to positive consumer responses. This research contributes to the fields of rhetorical studies and brand personality research. In terms of practical implications, the match effect of pun types and brand personality offers viable strategies for applying commonly used Chinese language pun rhetoric within the field of brand marketing. Brand owners and advertisers can shape brand personality and enhance brand attractiveness by selecting appropriately matched slogans.

Key words: pun, semantic pun, homophonic pun, brand personality, purchase intention