Can Memes be Leveraged to Improve Audience Response to Film Advertising Posters? The Impact of Incongruity Between Film Type and Poster Meme Type

Haoyue Xiang (Ph.D. student) and Hye Jin Yoon, “Can Memes be Leveraged to Improve Audience Response to Film Advertising Posters? The Impact of Incongruity Between Film Type and Poster Meme Type.” Accepted for presentation at the 2025 American Academy of Advertising annual conference, Pittsburgh, March. 

Abstract: This study examined the effectiveness of humorous memes in film marketing, particularly analyzing their impact across different film types. Inspired by the 2023 “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, this study used an online factorial design of 2 (humorous film vs. serious film) x 3 (non-meme vs. marketing memes vs. non-marketing memes), explored how incongruity between memes and film types influenced audience responses. The research also gave some support to the Persuasive Knowledge Model, showing its relevance in meme marketing, and extended Alden et al.’s (2000) “Incongruity Resolution Model” to social media contexts. The study also highlighted the potential of humorous memes to enhance film marketing efforts, especially for serious films.