Abstract

This study attempted to verify the mechanism and impact of ‘non-context’ and ‘dumbfounded’ among the characteristics of B-class emotional ads that are attracting attention along with the trend of modern consumers’ pursuit of fun. The mechanism by which B-class emotional occurs was operatively defined, and it was considered that consumers would perceive inconsistency in expectations for ad that appear throughout the course of ad, and thus non-contextual and absurd in the change in arousal caused by ad. It was expected that the complex action of expectation disconfirmation and ad-induced arousal would have a significant effect on consumer attitudes, including fun emotions, which are responses to B-class emotions, and consumer’s fun emotions would play a mediating role in the relationship on consumer attitudes. It is a design between participants of 2 (expectation disconfirmation: consistency/ inconsistency)×2 (ad-induced arousal: high/low), and the influence on perceived fun emotions, product․brand․ad attitudes was confirmed using video stimulation. As a result of the study, participants experienced more fun when the expectation was inconsistent and the ad was high-arousal, but the product․brand attitudes were the most positive under the condition that the expectation was inconsistent and the ad was high-arousal. The interaction of the two variables with the ad attitude was not significant. Meanwhile, the effect of the interaction of expectation disconfirmation-ad arousal on consumer attitudes was partially mediated by perceived fun. Specifically, in the case of ad with inconsistent expectations and high-arousal, perceived fun increased and led to a positive attitude, but it was confirmed that the more consistent and low-arousal ads were, the perceived fun decreased and this had a significant effect on attitude. This study attempted to explore and theoretically expand the influence of ad components as well as the overall ad effect, targeting ad with non-contextual and absurd characteristics among various types of B-class emotional ads. In addition, it is proposed to consider the influence of specific emotions in effective ad execution by confirming the mediating effect of consumer’s emotion ‘fun’ considering the ‘fun-seeking tendency’ of modern consumers. Finally, through research on ads with non-contextual and absurd characteristics among B-class emotional ads, it can provide meaningful insights in implementing B-class emotional ads in the future and expect a wide use of B-class emotional ads through a combination of various ad elements in the marketing field.