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Interest in the use of comedic violence in advertising has risen, but the research on this topic has been limited. Past studies have found positive effects of comedic violence in ads, with higher levels of violence increasing positive responses. However, given that the violence depicted in these ads is a violation of social norms, following the Social Norms Theory, it is proposed that individual norm beliefs about violence in advertising could be a significant factor in influencing ad outcome. Using an online panel of general consumers across two experiments, this study revealed that norm beliefs had a positive influence on comedic violence ad responses. In addition, when violence intensities of the ads were varied, individuals with lower norm beliefs responded more positively to low violence ads than high violence ads, whereas individuals with higher norm beliefs did not exhibit different responses to the two violence intensities. Mediation analyses were conducted to test for the underlying mechanisms. As comedic violence advertising may offend audiences, the findings provide targeting and design implications for advertisers interested in this strategy.
