 Tolerable Humor: To What Extent Do Free Speech Laws Allow for Irony and Sarcasm in Ads?Fatih Buğra Erdem () and
Melek Saral
Chapter Chapter 6 in Rethinking Advertising, 2025, pp 95-114 from Springer Abstract: Abstract This chapter explores the use of humor, particularly irony and sarcasm, in advertising and its intersection with legal and ethical considerations. It argues that humorous advertising has a strong influence on consumer engagement and brand recall, but its legal boundaries are ambiguous due to the subjective nature of humor. They analyze the extent to which freedom of expression protects humorous content in ads, focusing on comparative advertising, where humor is often used to highlight a product's superiority without disparaging competitors. Drawing on international legal frameworks such as the European Convention on Human Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the article addresses the challenges of regulating humor in advertisements to avoid misleading or harmful content. The authors conclude that humor in ads should balance creativity and ethics, respecting both legal limitations and cultural sensitivities. They emphasize that humor in advertising can be effective, but must be applied cautiously to prevent ethical violations and avoid unintended negative consequences on competitors and consumers. Date: 2025 There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it. Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-031-86536-7_6 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-86536-7_6 Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Springer Books from Springer |
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