UNIVERSITY OF VAASA 

FACULTY OF BUSINESS STUDIES 

DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emmi Jyly 

 

THE USE OF HUMOROUS BRANDED CONTENT IN ORDER 

TO IMPROVE BRAND IMAGE–  

Case: Brändärit and Crazy Ones 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Master ´s Degree Programme in 

International Business 

 

 

 

 

 

VAASA 2015 



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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

 

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ............................................................................ 7 

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. 11 

1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 13 

1.1. Background of the study .....................................................................................................15 

1.2. Purpose and objectives of the study ...............................................................................17 

1.3. Delimitations and the key concepts of the study .......................................................17 

1.4. Structure of the study ...........................................................................................................19 

1.5. Methodological choice .........................................................................................................20 

2. FROM THE USE OF SPONSORSHIP AND PRODUCT PLACEMENT TO 

THE USE OF BRANDED CONTENT IN ORDER TO IMPROVE BRAND 

IMAGE .......................................................................................................................... 23 

2.1. Definition of a brand ............................................................................................................23 

2.2. Brand image .............................................................................................................................25 

2.2.1. Things affecting brand image ............................................................................................... 25 

2.2.2. Differences between an image and an identity ............................................................ 28 

2.2.3. How to bring the brand image closer to the identity ................................................ 29 

2.3. Meaningful marketing communication .........................................................................30 

2.3.1. Sender and receiver on marketing communication ................................................... 32 

2.3.2. Goals of marketing communication on three different levels .............................. 33 

2.3.3. Mass communication ................................................................................................................ 35 

2.4. Sponsorship .............................................................................................................................36 

2.4.1. Consumer focus ........................................................................................................................... 38 

2.5. Product placements ...............................................................................................................40 

2.6. Branded content......................................................................................................................43 

2.6.1. Originals .......................................................................................................................................... 47 

2.6.2. Platforms ......................................................................................................................................... 47 

2.6.3. Why branded content? ............................................................................................................. 48 

2.6.4. The risks of branded content................................................................................................. 49 

3. HUMOR AND CULTURE .................................................................................... 51 

3.1. Finnish and American culture ...........................................................................................52 

3.1.1. Power distance ............................................................................................................................. 52 

3.1.2. Individualism vs collectivism ............................................................................................... 52 

3.1.3. Masculinity vs femininity ....................................................................................................... 53 

3.2. Theories and styles of humor in Finnish and American cultures ........................54 

3.2.1. Superiority, relief and opposites ......................................................................................... 54 

3.2.2. Affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive and self-defeating humor ...................... 55 

3.3. Humorous advertising .........................................................................................................57 

3.4. Summary of the theoretical framework .........................................................................59 

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES ....................................................................... 60 



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4.1. Data collection ........................................................................................................................60 

4.1.1. Questionnaires ............................................................................................................................. 61 

4.2. Data analysis ............................................................................................................................64 

4.3. Reliability and validity ........................................................................................................65 

5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................................ 66 

5.1. Case Brändärit .........................................................................................................................66 

5.2. Case Crazy Ones .....................................................................................................................77 

5.3. Finnish group interview about Brändärit .....................................................................79 

5.4. Finnish group interview about Crazy Ones .................................................................80 

6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ................................................................... 82 

6.1. Summary ...................................................................................................................................82 

6.2. Conclusions ..............................................................................................................................84 

APPENDICES .............................................................................................................. 88 

Appendix 1. Mainostoimisto Official´s Brändärit ads on Youtube, the amount of 

views 20.2.2015. ............................................................................................................ 88 

Appendix 2. The shorter version of Michael Monroe´s advice, the amount of 

views 20.2.2015 ............................................................................................................. 90 

Appendix 3. The questionnaire Brändärit ............................................................... 91 

Appendix 4. The questionnaire Crazy Ones ........................................................... 97 

Appendix 5. Group interview. .................................................................................. 98 

LIST OF REFERENCES ............................................................................................. 99 

 

 

 



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LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES 

 

 

Figure 1. Brand Value Pyramid.                                                                                 25 

Figure 2. AIDA-model.                                                                                                33 

Figure 3. DAGMAR-model.                                                                                        33 

Figure 4. Hierarchy of communication effects.                                                        34 

Figure 5.  The recognition scores.                                                                               41 

Figure 6. Attitude change scores.                                                                               41 

Figure 7. Viewers´ opinion about Super Bowl TV commercials.                          44                              

Figure 8. Age of the respondents.                                                                              65 

 

 

Table 1. Differences between a Finnish and American cultures according to 

Hofstede´s dimensions.                                                                                    53 

Table 2. Current attitudes towards humorous TV shows.                                     66 

Table 3. Current image about the brands.                                                                67 

Table 4. Current attitudes towards the brands.                                                       68 

Table 5. Episodes watched.                                                                                         69 

Table 6. Attitudes towards the humor used on Brändärit.                                    70 

  



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Table 7. Adjectives that describe Brändärit.                                                             71 

Table 8. Seen advertisements.                                                                                    72 

Table 9.  The number of views on Youtube per publisher.                                    72 

Table 10. The most liked advertisements.                                                                73 

Table 11. Attitudes towards the humor used on the advertisements.                 74 

Table 12. Changed image after seeing the episode and/or the advertisement.  75 

Table 13. Changed attitudes after seeing the episode and/or the    

advertisement.                                                                                                               76                                                                                                                                              

Table 14. Episodes watched.                                                                                       77 

Table 15. Attitudes towards the humor used on Crazy Ones.                              77 

Table 16. Adjectives that describe Crazy Ones.                                                       78 

 

 

  



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UNIVERSITY OF VAASA 

Faculty of Business Studies

Author: 

Topic of the Thesis: 

 

 

 

Name of the Supervisor: 

Degree: 

 

Department: 

Degree Programme: 

Year of Entering the University: 

Year of Completing the Thesis: 

Emmi Jyly 

The use of humorous branded 

content in order to improve brand 

image – Case: Brändärit and Crazy 

Ones 

Minnie Kontkanen 

Master of Science in Economics and 

Business Administration 

Marketing 

International Business 

2010 

2015                                     Pages:  112

 

 

ABSTRACT: 
 

It is easier than ever before to avoid advertising. Current market situation forces 

the brands to invent new ways to reach and attract consumers´ attention. It is 

nowadays important to be able to evoke feelings, arouse conversations, amuse 

people and engage them in order to differentiate from the competitors.  The 

content of the marketing message is today the thing to be focused on. Branded 

content is today “the marketing communication method” and it is becoming 

more utilized every day. Only few bands have been able to utilize it successfully 

for years. Also a humor is a popular way to communicate with consumers and 

its effectiveness have also been proved with several studies. For that reason the 

purpose of this study is to find out if it is possible to improve brand image by 

utilizing branded content and humor together and how does Finnish and 

American culture affect on an individuals´ sense of humor or does it. Two cases 

called sitcoms were studied; Brändärit and Crazy Ones. The focus of the 

theoretical framework will be on sponsorship, product placement, branded 

content, brand image, humor and culture. Several books, articles and other online 

content were used as a source of information. Methods that were used in this 

study were mostly descriptive. The results were collected through questionnaires 

and group interview. The objectives were achieved and the research question 

were answered. The results were strongly related to the previous studies and 

supported the theoretical framework. 

 

KEYWORDS: branded content, brand image, humor, culture  



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1. INTRODUCTION 
 

 

 

It is easier than ever before to avoid advertising. (Valiquette 2013). Some 

recording devices have made traditional television advertisements useless 

because they allow consumers to fast forward through the commercials. (Marken 

2006). According to Grey (2006) “…it is becoming harder to make an impact using 

traditional advertising”. Also Myung-Jin and Hye-Jin (2013) argued ”… media 

digitalization has progressed and consumers have become able to voluntarily 

select desired information, businesses are changing marketing paradigms in line 

with the changes in the media environment.” 

 

On top of the basic advertisements people are used to see on TV, printed media 

and bus stops, people are nowadays forced to see advertisements all around 

them, such as on movie tickets, on movies, receipts, inside the busses, on the 

busses, inside of an aircraft, on side of an aircraft, all over the Internet and so on. 

Most of these advertisements people do not register at all. People are 

unconsciously selecting and processing information they see. It is a self-defense 

mechanism they use because people´s brains cannot process all the information 

they see around them every day. The filter selects the information that it wants 

to be processed. This is also the reason why people are mostly reading and 

watching things they are interested in; to deliberately select certain information. 

There is way too much information for a human brain to process at the same time, 

so the brains are forced to choose only a small percentage of all the stimuli they 

see. That is one of the reasons why companies are struggling every day to get the 

consumers´ attention. (Aaker 1996:16.) 

Almost 20 years ago, Aaker said, ”in the coming decades, the firms that become 

skilled at operating outside the normal media channels … will be the most 

successful in building brand awareness.” With this “outside the normal media 

channels”, he meant for example promotion, sponsorship, publicity, sampling, 

and other attention-getting approaches. (Aaker 1996:16). Companies should all 

the time think new innovative ways to execute marketing communication. Still, 

even if they did, many times they are not able to get the attention of their target 

audience. Methods of marketing are changing and keeping companies on their 

toes. It forces the brands to invent new ways to reach and attract current and 



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potential consumers. It is more and more difficult to get people´s attention and 

create interest towards their own products or services, so brands are forced to 

find new ways to find and reach the consumers and affect their emotions. The 

role of marketing is changing and advertising becomes harder and harder to 

execute. A bias can also be a huge burden to a company. A bias towards changes 

may prevent innovations and companies dare to try something new. Because the 

changes may also be risky and cost a lot of money, companies are more likely to 

keep the battleground unchanged. Also, it is not rare that the companies become 

blind to the changes in the competitive situation. By ignoring these changes or 

possibilities companies make their brands vulnerable and face the risk of missing 

huge opportunities. (Aaker 1996:32.) 

Collaboration between several different parties from several different fields is 

nowadays really common. Companies need experts from different fields in order 

to execute successful marketing campaigns. This collaboration is priceless when 

each party gives their best and the parties share the same goal. For example the 

broadcasters are used to pay large amounts of money about different 

productions but sometimes they cannot afford it, mostly because they are 

supporting so many different shows at the same time. It is not that rare anymore 

that at least some of the costs are provided straight by the brands. This can be 

seen as clear changes in working methods. (Canter 2011). A couple of good 

examples are Lidl´s Challenge Hans and Jamie Oliver by Tefal. Canter (2011) also 

argued that “the trend is for broadcasters to commission on the basis of "deficit 

funding", where a broadcaster has decided that it wants to commission a 

program but is only prepared to cover a proportion of the cost itself. It is then up 

to the production company to find the remaining funding from a brand.” 

Also the way of thinking has been changed from product-centered closer to the 

value chain approach. It is important to know and understand what the 

consumers really want and appreciate. It is important to affect them and evoke 

feelings in order to differentiate from the competitors. According to Stewart 

(2014) “in a world of fragmented audiences and constant disruption, branded 

content is a key link to establish and cement relationships with customers and 

brands.” Though according to Grey (2006) “engaging with consumers is still one 

area where many brands fall short.” 

 

 



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1.1. Background of the study 

 

 

This study has been assigned by Juha-Matti Raunio ja Theodor Arhio, from 

TBWA\Helsinki. They invented and own the original idea of a Finnish sitcom 

called Brändärit. Also an American sitcom called Crazy Ones is included into this 

study so that these two cases could be compared and the possible role of culture 

could be identified when utilizing humor. It is assumed that the role of culture 

needs to be taken into account when planning to use a certain type of humor and 

identifying the target group. 

The topic is relatively new in this field. Both Brändärit and Crazy Ones are new 

TV series called sitcoms which are based on humor. It is interesting to find out 

what the Finnish and American consumers feel about these humorous marketing 

communication methods, and is it possible to improve brand image on 

consumers´ minds by utilizing branded content. That is going to be examined in 

this study.  What makes this study current is that conversations about branded 

content have already started and it is becoming a quite hot topic. Brändärit has 

already started a lot of conversations and reached a lot of attention in Finland 

and also overseas. The format has already won a number of respected national 

and international awards. Crazy Ones started to air in Finland 16th of February. 

The traditional marketing communication methods that were mentioned earlier 

include channels such as television, radio, print and outdoor advertisements. 

Traditional communication methods also include the utilization of publicity and 

word-of-mouth. Nowadays companies are also commonly executing case videos 

on Youtube and Vimeo, companies are internally managing their own Facebook 

pages, and innovative events and tastings are organized all the time. Companies 

are relatively used to execute passive marketing methods, such as sponsorship 

and traditional product placements in their marketing communication plan. 

Now a new kind of marketing method is starting to increase its popularity. This 

method is called an active marketing communication method, branded content. 

Some brands, such as Red Bull and Manolo Blahniks in Sex and the City have 

already found out years ago how to utilize branded content successfully. All of 

these three methods; sponsorship, product placement and branded content will 

be explained later in the chapter two. 



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 “The real challenge is not to get your advertisement on a newspaper, though it 

is to attract the interest of the media”. (Kotler 2005:167). The biggest challenge is 

not only to attract the media anymore, though it is to get the attention of the 

consumers and create interest towards your brand. Consumers are nowadays the 

most important ones who are sharing the stories, messages and any other content 

companies are publishing online, not just media. A media has many times 

become a secondary source since people had an access on the information that 

can be shared and found on the Internet. In order to get their content shared 

among other consumers, companies need to be able to evoke feelings, stimulate 

discussion and entertain the viewers. 

Traditional marketing methods are increasingly becoming less profitable. 

(O´Leary 2014). Products can no longer speak for themselves and according to 

Salzer-Mörling & Strannegård (2004) “the real route to commercial success is 

supposed to be found in the artful creation of images and brands…  When 

branding is the core business, the activities of marketing, advertising and 

branding are no longer categorized as supportive functions, but rather as the 

essence of the enterprise”. 

From the consumers´ point of view, many brands and companies are nowadays 

seen as a bit old-fashioned and boring. By being innovative companies are able 

to change their image, evoke emotions and conversation, and then appear to be 

more up-to-date. Emotions are a big part of remembering the received 

information.  People are most likely to remember the information, when there 

have been enough emotions attached to it. People also make a lot purchasing 

decisions based on emotions, which is why a good brand image is priceless for a 

company. (Laakso 2003:66&71-72). 

Late 90´s advertising methods have also proven that using humor is an effective 

way to succeed in marketing communication. The marketing message will more 

likely be remembered, especially when the humor has been understood. (Laakso 

2002:67). The role of culture when utilizing humor will be studied and discussed 

on chapter three. 

Stewart (2014) argues that “for businesses, having a website, being easily found 

online, interacting with consumers on social media and having a local online 

presence are no longer optional – these are the foundations.” The effective 

content on strategic marketing messages is now the thing to be focused on. The 



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role of Youtube and Vimeo, and consumers´ will to share these videos should not 

be ignored when planning on the content of the marketing message. People need 

to entertained and impressed. 

 

 

1.2. Purpose and objectives of the study 

 

 

The purpose of this study is to find out is it possible to improve brand image by 

utilizing branded content and humor together and how does Finnish and 

American culture affect on an individuals´ sense of humor. 

The research question is that what is the effect of humorous branded content on 

brand image and how does the culture effect on Finnish and American 

consumers´ sense of humor? 

In order to be able to answer the research question, I have identified four (4) 

objectives that I try to achieve. 

1. The first goal is to define and explain brand image as a term. 

2. The second goal is to define and explain the term branded content through 

sponsorship and product placement. 

3. The third goal is find out the role of culture when trying to utilize humor on 

branded content.  

4. The fourth and final goal is to find out through questionnaires and interview 

if branded content combined with humor can improve brand image on 

consumers´ minds and how culture affects individuals´ sense of humor. 

 

1.3. Delimitations and the key concepts of the study 

 

 

From all marketing communication methods, only sponsorship, product 

placement and branded content will be studied. The reason why only 

sponsorship and product placement will be studied is that the branded content 



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is kind of like a modern combination or up-to-date version of those two methods. 

The case studies Brändärit and Crazy Ones are based on branded content. both 

of them will be included into this study in order to be able to identify the role of 

humor on consumers´ sense of humor. 

 

When defining the basics of marketing communication the focus will be on mass 

communication because all of these three methods; sponsorship, product 

placement and branded content, are utilizing and based on mass communication. 

 

Sponsorship will be seen as a consumer-focused, from a commercial point of 

view. The focus will be on sponsorship in television programs. The focus area 

was chosen based on the case study Brändärit and Crazy Ones which are TV 

shows. The study about product placement will be focused on television 

programs, for the same reason as the previous one. 

Branded content will include the definitions and examples of platforms and 

originals, which will be explained later. Also the positive features and challenges 

of branded content will be studied and discussed. 

When defining a brand as a term the focus will be on brand image. This term is 

included into a research question so it is a really important term in this study. 

Products and services will not be studied separately. Only the term “products” 

will be used. 

The meaning of humor and role of culture when trying to utilize humor on 

branded content will be examined. The relationship between these two features 

is trying to be identified. 

This study will be executed from the consumers´ point of view. That is why a 

consumer research will be executed through questionnaires and group interview. 

Both Finnish and American consumers will be included into this study. 

The focus of theoretical approach will be on sponsorship, product placement, 

branded content, brand image, humor and culture. Several books, articles and 

other online content will be used as a source of information. 

 



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1.4. Structure of the study 

 

 

The first chapter is the introduction of this study. This chapter includes the 

background of the study, the purpose and objectives of the study, the 

delimitations and key concepts of the study, the structure of the study and it also 

introduces the methodological choice of this study. 

The second chapter includes the definition of a brand and brand image. Also the 

differences between an image and identity will be discussed. This chapter also 

includes the definitions of passive and active marketing communication 

methods. The chapter will explain the differences and similarities between 

sponsorship, product placement and branded content. The sender and receiver 

on marketing communications will be explained and the definition of mass 

communication will be studied. The main focus of this chapter will be on branded 

content. The positive features and challenges of branded content will be 

examined at the end of this chapter. 

The third chapter includes the final part of the theoretical framework. Theories 

and styles of humor will be examined and explained at this chapter. The focus 

will be on humor that can be found from television shows. This chapter will also 

present three cultural dimensions and will study the relationship between these 

dimensions and the preferable style of humor in Finnish and American cultures. 

At the end of this chapter the summary of the theoretical framework and 

hypotheses will be presented. 

The fourth chapter will present the chosen research methodology. At this chapter 

the chosen method to collect data will be explained. The chapter also includes the 

analysis, reliability and validity of the data. 

In the fifth chapter the results will be presented and described. The analysis will 

be mostly descriptive. 

The sixth chapter includes the summary and final conclusions of this study. 

Objectives and research question will be answered and hypotheses will be tested. 

 

 

  



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1.5. Methodological choice 

 

 

A new kind of marketing concept has born during the past few years and it is 

bringing together the TV series, marketing agencies, their clients, and the 

products and brands of the their clients through a fictional, humorous way. 

 

”Brändärit” is a Finnish sitcom, which started September 7th 2014. Brändärit is 

also a new kind of comedy TV-series that takes you to an adventure into a 

fictional advertising agency called “Mainostoimisto!”. Brändärit is a co-operation 

project between TBWA\Helsinki, Maikkari and Fremantle Media Finland. Even 

though the whole “Mainostoimisto!” and its employees are fictional, the 

products and projects are real cases. Some of the brands that participated in this 

project were Paulig, Gigantti, Nissan, Fazer, Atria, Lambi and Lidl. (MTV 2014.) 

 

”The Crazy Ones” is an American sitcom, which started September 26th 2013 and 

aired until April 17th 2014. It is a story of a fictional advertising agency and its 

employees who are trying to fulfill all the crazy needs of their customers. In order 

to be creative they are always planning and executing the craziest ideas, case after 

case. According to the Futon Critic (2013) the Crazy Ones is ”a single-camera 

workplace comedy about a larger-than-life advertising genius whose 

unorthodox methods and unpredictable behavior would get him fired... if he 

weren't the boss“. The series was starred by Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle 

Geller. The series used the real big brand names in order to make the show more 

believable, but the companies behind these brands did not pay anything for 

them. Since the first episode the series has received both positive and negative 

feedback and reviews. (The Futon Critic 2013; Hochman 2013.) 

 

At this study a quantitative and descriptive method will be executed. This 

method were chosen because the received information is not that statistic and 

certain computer programs such as SPSS were not available. Some statistic 

methods were utilized in this study in order to make the study more scholarly. 

The topic is relatively new and specific information about consumers´ attitudes 

towards certain brands and sense of humor were needed in order to execute this 

study. 



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When talking about succeeded marketing communication methods, the 

increased amount of sales and/or market share is easy to prove statistically. But 

it is lot more difficult to see and prove the difference when talking about 

improved brand image. (Vuokko 1997:24.) That is why the focus of this study is 

on consumers´ point of views rather than on statistics of the companies. So, on 

this study two questionnaires and group interview were executed and statistics 

were not included. 

Structured and semi-structured questionnaires were organized for both Finnish 

and American consumers. The questionnaire for Finnish consumers was about 

Brändärit and the questionnaire for American consumers was about Crazy Ones. 

The first questionnaire was executed to a group of Finnish consumers who had 

watched at least two to four episodes of the Brändärit. The goal was to receive at 

least 50 answers. All of the episodes and advertisements were included into the 

questionnaire in order to receive as reliable information as possible about 

consumers´ attitudes towards humorous branded content and their sense of 

humor. The second questionnaire was executed to a group of people who had 

watched at least one episode of Crazy Ones. The goal was to receive at least 30 

answers. This second questionnaire was made in order to receive more 

information about how people feel about branded content combined with 

humor, how Finnish and American consumers´ feelings may differ and to make 

the survey international. These people were contacted through an American 

friend who was willing to invite his American friends to answer to the 

questionnaire. The questions were not randomly chosen rather they were the 

quite the same questions that were used in some of the similar studies. The 

findings are based on a relatively small sample however they provide a useful 

framework for future research. 

 

In both cases the respondents were contacted through Facebook in order to reach 

people fast and remind them to answer to the questionnaire if needed. The 

people were not chosen randomly though it was taken into account how likely 

they would be willing to the answer to the questionnaire. 

 

Also a group interview about Brändärit and Crazy Ones was organized for a 

small group of Finnish consumers. The group interview were executed at the 

interviewer´s home. 10 people were invited to participate in a group meeting and 

talk about Brändärit and Crazy Ones. Only a few questions were prepared 



22 
 

beforehand but otherwise the interviewees were able to discuss and comment 

freely. In order to minimize tension the interviewees were familiar with each 

other. The participated interviewees will be presented at chapter four. Their 

comments about Brändärit and Crazy Ones will be presented at chapter five. 

 

The data for this paper was collected through secondary sources such as 

academic journals, books and other online sources. 

 

 

 

 

  



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2. FROM THE USE OF SPONSORSHIP AND PRODUCT 

PLACEMENT TO THE USE OF BRANDED CONTENT IN 

ORDER TO IMPROVE BRAND IMAGE 

 

 

 

“There is coffee. And then there is Starbucks´ coffee” said Russel Hanlin, the CEO 

of Sunkist Growers. (Kotler 2005:166.) “An orange…is an orange. Unless, of 

course that orange happens to be a Sunkist, a name eighty percent of consumers 

know and trust.” (Aaker 1996:1). “Even though all of our manufactures would 

burn to the ground tomorrow, it would not affect the value of our company 

because it is based on our brand.” (Kotler 2005:166.) 

 

This chapter will discuss about the definition of brand and brand image. Also the 

differences between an image and identity will be discussed. 

 

Advertising agencies are increasingly looking for new innovative ways to engage 

and “wow” their audiences. (Day 2010). The line between the entertainment and 

marketing communication methods has become increasingly blended. (Zhang 

2010). This chapter will also introduce an active marketing communication 

method called branded content. Branded content as we know it today combines 

two traditional marketing communication methods; sponsorship and product 

placement. (Pena 2011.) 

 

 

2.1. Definition of a brand 

 

 

Almost anything can be a brand; a person, product, store, symbol and so on. A 

brand has a meaning and different associations on people´s minds.  A strong 

brand is one of the most important resources for a company, because it cannot be 

stolen like so many other resources, such as employees, welfare and production 

equipment of a company. Creating a brand is a long-term process that can take 

years and a lot of resources. Most of the times a strong brand creates brand 

loyalty and increases sales of a company. A successful brand needs to have an 

interesting name, maybe a totally new category and it needs to tell a story. There 



24 
 

needs to be commitment to quality, maintenance of brand awareness and loyalty, 

and a strong and clear brand identity. (Kotler 2005:166-167; Aaker 1996:2.) 

 

A certain brand represents a certain status, image and values. Through a certain 

brand people can express themselves and create, maintain or strengthen their 

own personal brand and image. All the attributes of a product, such as color, 

packaging and design, communicate something to the consumers. Just the name 

of a brand can represent something about the quality, manufacturer, country of 

origin or the price category of the product. (Vuokko 1997:12.) A brand includes 

several different characteristics, such as the brand personality, organizational 

associations, the country-of-origin, self-expressive and emotional benefits, and 

brand-customer relationship. (Aaker 1996:74.) 

 

When talking about a brand as organization, rather than focusing on the 

attributes of a product, the focus will be on the attributes of an organization. 

These attributes include for example innovation, pursuit of quality and 

environmental responsibility. These attributes are based on the people, culture, 

values or programs of the company. Organizational attributes are more resistant 

than product attributes to a competition, mostly because they are much more 

difficult, or even impossible to copy or imitate. Some of the attributes, such as 

innovativeness are hard to evaluate and to compare. (Aaker 1996:82-83.) 

 

A brand as a person is based on a more interesting brand identity than when it is 

based on just product attributes. Brand can be seen as fun, trustworthy, 

humorous, active, impressive, and so on. The personality of the brand may create 

even a stronger brand. Through the brand´s personality people can express their 

own personality by using the brand. These kinds of brand personalities may 

create or increase the brand loyalty of the consumers because the brand is part of 

who they are or what they want to be. When certain type of people are using the 

product it may also tell both to the company and consumers whether the brand 

is modern or old-fashioned, interesting or boring and ordinary or exotic. (Aaker 

1996:83-84; Laakso 2003:116.) 

 

A brand as a symbol helps to create a structure to the identity. This kind of 

structure makes it easier for the consumers to recognize and recall the brand. A 

symbol is one of the key elements when developing a brand and it can be 

anything that represents the brand. Symbols that include a visual imagery are 



25 
 

usually the most powerful and easiest to recognize and recall. With a metaphor 

the symbols can be even more powerful and meaningful. Even the heritage of a 

brand can create a meaningful and strong symbol, so strong that it can increase 

the brand image and equity, and consumers´ brand loyalty. (Aaker 1996:84-85.) 

A well-planned and recognizable symbol can make a brand even stronger and 

create competitive advantage towards the competitors. The meaning of symbols 

has not changed during all these years. The cognitive outcomes of information 

process are called brand awareness and image. The latter one will be presented 

below. 

 

 

2.2. Brand image 

 

 

According to Keller (1993:2) ”brand image refers to the set of associations linked 

to the brand that consumers hold in memory". The brand image is a current 

reality of a brand. How the brand is seen on the eyes of a consumer? How does 

it differ from the competitors? What kind of associations the brand is linked on? 

What kind of benefits the brand is offering? What kind of attitudes the consumers 

have towards the brand? (Keller 1993:2; Laakso 2003:112.) 

 

If the brand image is negative, there will be no demand towards the brand. 

(Vuokko 1997:10). Brand image relates to the consumer perspective and it is 

based on the consumers´ subjective attitudes towards a company and its 

products. (Lindberg-Repo 2005:67.) 

 

As the use of Internet is becoming more widespread the companies are facing a 

lot of challenges in order to keep their brands´ images strong and positive. It is 

not that easy to lie to the consumers anymore because the user reviews spread 

rapidly on the Internet. These bad and disappointed user reviews can easily 

damage or destroy the brand image for good. 

 

 

2.2.1. Things affecting brand image 

 

”Attributes, benefits, and attitudes developed over time—essentially other 

informational nodes linked to the brand and containing meaning—can be 



26 
 

considered to be brand associations”. (Cornwell et al. 2005). Brand value pyramid 

contains attributes and functional, emotional and self-expressive benefits. 

(Figure 1.) 

 

 

 

Figure 1. Brand Value Pyramid. (Davis 2002.) 

 

 

When trying to examine the current brand image, consumers can be asked what 

kind of associations they get when they see the logo or hear the name of the 

brand. (Laakso 2003:115). Brand associations have a direct link to the overall 

image of a brand. Associations can either create competitive benefits or decrease 

the value of the brand on consumers´ minds. If the associations are negative, it is 

highly important to change these associations to positive. If the associations are 

positive, it is highly important to strengthen these associations. (Laakso 2003:149-

151). Associations give a reason to buy a certain brand. They can be anything a 

consumer links to a brand or the company behind the brand. Associations are 

important because they are a way to differentiate from the competitors. (Laakso 

2003:160-161.) 

 

Attributes are product-related. They are directly linked to the brand choice 

decisions and the use experience. Attributes can provide functional or emotional 

benefits for consumers and they can create a value proposition by offering 

something extra or by offering something better than the competitors. Quality is 

one of the most important product-related attributes, which and it is usually used 

as a core identity element. Link to country or a certain region, which will add 

more credibility or quality for the product, is one of most used strategic option. 

Emotional and 
self-expressive 

benefits

Functional Benefits

Attributes



27 
 

So the associations included on this category are: a brand differentiates with a 

certain product feature, a brand provides certain benefits from using the product 

or a brand has a competitive advantage based on the price of a product. (Aaker 

1996:78&80-81; Laakso 2003:162; Davis 2002.) 

 

Functional benefits have a direct link to a decision-making process of the 

consumers and use experience. These kinds of decisions are based on rational 

motives. People are buying certain products because their functional features 

fulfill consumers´ needs. When a consumer is purchasing a certain brand because 

the brand is providing a positive feeling for the consumer, it is called an 

emotional benefit. These kinds of purchasing decisions can be made even 

unconsciously. Consumers may also use certain brands in order to express 

themselves. This is called a self-expressive benefit that a brand provides to a 

consumer. By using a certain brand they are able to express their own self-image. 

These benefits are highlighted especially during economic boom. Emotional and 

self-expressive benefits are as important as the functional benefits. (Aaker 

1996:25&96-99; Laakso 2003:93-97&162; Davis 2002). According to Aaker 

(1996:97) “the strongest brands identities have both functional and emotional 

benefits.” 

 

Functional, emotional and self-expressive benefits explain consumers buying 

behavior. But buying behavior is also driven by the values of the consumer, 

which are creating the base for attitudes. These values can be either extroverted 

or inward. Social acceptance is one example of extroverted values. Self-esteem 

and happiness are some examples of inward values. (Laakso 2003:119-120, 162; 

Davis 2002.) 

 

Attitudes can be positive, negative or neutral. Attitudes can also be the strongest 

of all the associations and they are really hard to be changed, especially if the 

three components of attitude; cognition, affect a conation, are in balance. 

Attitudes are based on the things that the brand represents; company´s heritage 

and values, the country of origin of the product and so on. It is a learned tendency 

to respond to a certain brand. Individuals´ attitudes are shaping their 

motivations. (Blythe 2000:9). At the introduction part it was presented that if a 

brand seems to be out-of-date on consumers´ minds and be less humorous than 

the competitors it may decrease also its desirability. 

 



28 
 

By entertaining and engaging consumers brands are able to affect on consumers´ 

attitudes and their image about the brand. Brands should evoke feelings, and 

cause discussions and sensations. A really good examples are Fazer Pantteri with 

their Gigolo advertisement and Instrumentarium with their Naisen katse 

advertisement. One person requested a statement from the Council of Ethics in 

Advertising because he felt that the advertisement strengthens the prejudices of 

immigrants and it is insulting. The Council of Ethics in Advertisin did not agree. 

This caused a lot of media attention for the advertisement and it got a lot of free 

visibility and evoke conversations. The Gigolo advertisement has been watched 

on Youtube almost 55 000 times. (Appendix 1). The second good example; 

Instrumentarium´s advertisement called Naisen katse also evoked a lot different 

feelings, emotions and opinions. Some people thought it was brilliant and some 

people thought it was totally out of line. The Naisen katse advertisement has 

been watched on Youtube almost 36 000 times. (Appendix 1). It will be studied 

and discussed in chapter four how these advertisements affected Fazer´s and 

Instrumentarium´s brand image. 

 

 

2.2.2. Differences between an image and an identity 

 

Image and identity can be considered as the two different sides of the same thing. 

As it was mentioned before, brand image relates more to the consumer 

perspective, while identity refers to the economic perspective. (Lindberg-Repo 

2005:67.) 

 

Brand identity can be built based on brand as a product (product scope, product 

attributes, quality, uses, users, country of origin), brand as an organization 

(organization attributes, local vs. global), brand as a person (personality, brand-

customer relationship) or brand as a symbol (visual imagery and metaphors, 

brand heritage). Brand identity is based on the name, slogans and symbols of the 

brand. (Aaker 1996:68&232.) 

 

The identity structure includes two identities; the core and extended identity. 

According to Aaker (1996:85-86) the core identity “is the center that remains after 

you peel away the layers of an onion or leaves of an artichoke.” The core does 

not change when the time goes by and it should represent the values of the 

company. The core identity makes the brand unique. (Aaker 1996:87) 



29 
 

 

Without developing a brand identity, companies are not able to build strong and 

successful brands. In order to be able to create brand equity, companies have to 

understand and manage the brand identity. (Aaker 1996:25&105.) 

 

Brand identity helps to identify the purpose, meaning and direction for the 

brand. “Brand identity is a unique set of brand associations that the brand 

strategist aspires to create or maintain.”(Aaker 1996:68). The brand identity 

reflects the soul of the brand also what it wants to achieve. (Aaker 1996:70.) 

  

Brand image is passive and it tells how the consumers see the brand. It is based 

on the previous campaigns, advertisements, promotions and so on. It is a current 

reality. (Aaker 1996:70&180.) Identity is active and it tells how the company sees 

the brand. Brand identity is a part of company´s business strategy and vision. Its 

focus is on the future. Identity can also be a goal what a brand wants to represent. 

(Aaker 1996:70&180.) 

 

Brand identity includes the important values a company wants to communicate 

to its consumers. The main purpose is to communicate the values to the 

consumers and also clarify the image of the brand. A brand identity is a 

combination of several factors such as the name, symbols, sponsors, products and 

the legacy of a brand. (Lindberg-Repo 2005:67-68.) 

 

 

2.2.3. How to bring the brand image closer to the identity 

 

If the company´s brand identity is too far away from the current brand image, 

there is a possibility to augment, reinforce or diffuse the brand image. The brand 

position should be actively communicated. (Aaker 1996:181-184.) 

 

Augmenting the brand image becomes useful when the current brand image is 

too restrictive. This means that the brand has seen to be focused on more narrow 

target audience that it actually is. For example Clinique has been a brand for 

young people who have an oily skin. The brand has been struggling to maintain 

its current strong image while trying to reach for a wider audience without any 

skin problems. (Aaker 1996:180-181.) 

 



30 
 

To be able to reinforce the brand image, it requires that the associations of the 

brand image are consistent with the identity. There is no point trying to create a 

new brand position if the consumers already have really strong image about the 

brand and its current position. These kinds of attempts can turn out to be really 

risky for a brand and its current brand image. Though, if the brand is already 

seen as fun and humorous, these kinds of features can and should be reinforced 

in order to increase the image strength. (Aaker 1996:180-181.) 

 

If the brand image is inconsistent with the brand identity, the image should be 

diffused, softened or deleted. According to Aaker (1996:181-182) it is not only 

important to communicate what the brand is, but also what it is not. 

 

 

2.3. Meaningful marketing communication 

 

 

Marketing communication is one of the competitive factors of companies and it 

has a certain meaning; it tries to create positive impact on consumers and it is 

focusing on external stakeholders in order to indirectly or directly create demand 

towards a brand. Without proper communication there can be no demand, 

especially if the consumers are not already familiar with the brand. Companies 

are using marketing communication in order to inform, convince or remind the 

consumers about their products or services. (Vuokko 1997:9-11).  

 

Most of the marketing communication methods are executed and targeted for big 

audiences, and the marketing message and the chosen communication method 

is impersonal. There is a change that sometimes the company´s understanding 

about their product does not coincide with the consumers´ understanding about 

the same product. By communicating to the consumers, companies are trying to 

narrow this gap and to create a mutual understanding about the product between 

the consumers and the company. There is also a chance that the understandings 

do not coincide with each other because consumers have never heard about the 

company, brand or the product before. (Vuokko 1997:13-16 & 92.) 

 

Anand&Shachar (2007) argue advertisements are especially noisy marketing 

communication methods. According to them marketing communication can be 

improved by just increasing the number of ads. They are not emphasizing the 



31 
 

content but the number of the ads. They also believe that even though 

advertisements are noisy they are able the deliver the wanted results and the 

right choice of marketing communication channel can ensure that consumers are 

fully informed. 

 

Keller (2009) and Gilbreath (2009) are today emphasizing the concept of 

meaningful marketing which means a noninterruptive marketing 

communication that “can be seen in most of the major modes of marketing 

communication”. According to Puligadda, DelVecchio & Gilbreath (2012) by 

utilizing a traditional marketing communication consumers are being 

interrupted with a marketing message while they are watching some other 

content, such as seeing ads between TV episodes. On the otherwise, meaningful 

marketing communication is something that consumers choose to engage with. 

 

Meaningful marketing communication should add value to consumers’ lives 

instead of just pushing the companies´ products and services. The main goal of 

meaningful marketing communication is not to just inform about the benefits of 

the product but to build a relationship with the consumers by building up their 

trust towards the brand. (Puligadda et al. 2012). For example, after the launch of 

Nike+ which tracks running distance and time, uploads data to website, allows 

goal and challenge settings, Nike grew total profits by 8% in its first year and 

market share grew up from 48% to 61% between 2006 and 2008. (Gilbreath 2009).  

 

Typical features of meaningful marketing are that it normally involves an 

activity-based interaction, it does not explicitly inform about the features of a 

product, and the gained contribution is immediate and unconditional. It has also 

been argued that “consumers are willing to give brands credit for being 

benevolent and do not penalize them if they advertise themselves in the process.” 

(Puligadda et al. 2012). They also suggest that companies can use meaningful 

marketing “to build relationships with consumers even while advertising their 

brands”. 

 

 

 

 

 



32 
 

2.3.1. Sender and receiver on marketing communication  

 

Communication has been seen to involve four factors which are the sender 

(company), the message (stimuli), the receiver (consumer) and the response (the 

effect). (Sweeney, Soutar & Mazzarol 2008). 

 

The sender is the one who is somehow trying to affect the other party, the 

receiver. Senders have a motivation or a certain goal they are trying to achieve 

through the marketing communication. The sender plans and creates the 

message and then sends it to the receiver by using some of the marketing 

communication channels. (Vuokko 1997:22-23). By creating a marketing message 

a sender (company) can inform a receiver (consumer) about product attributes. 

(Anand&Shachar 2007). Also according to Anand&Shachar (2007) senders are 

facing a lot of competition when trying to communicate their message to the 

receivers and their fundamental problem is that the message they send might be 

misunderstood, in other words they cannot control the perceptions of the 

receivers of the message. 

 

The receiver can be either active or passive. An active receiver means a consumer 

who is interested about a certain thing, constantly looking for information about 

it and can be seen, for example, as a person who is watching certain type of TV 

programs (about cooking, traveling, extreme sports, documents and so on). 

These people are more likely to be interested also about the brands concerning 

these programs. (Vuokko 1997:22-24). For example people interested about 

fishing are more likely to be interested about the advertisement of the fishing 

gear. So it sounds more than logical that a fishing gear brand would utilize 

sponsorship, product placement and/or branded content on fishing programs.  

 

However, even the passive viewers are sometimes randomly watching these 

kinds of shows, so also they can occasionally be the receivers of the marketing 

message even though they are not actively looking for any new information. So, 

companies who are using sponsorship, product placement and/or branded 

content on TV formats and/or advertisements are able to reach both active and 

passive receivers. If the awareness of the brand will not increase after these kinds 

of marketing methods, something has gone wrong. (Vuokko 1997:22-24.) 

 



33 
 

Like in any communication, also marketing communication may face some 

disruptions. These disruptions include for example negative attitudes and 

images or ignorance towards each other, or there can be too much going on at 

the same time so it is impossible to get the receivers´ attention. Disruptions on 

marketing communication can be caused by the sender, receiver or the chosen 

marketing communication channel. (Vuokko 1997:24-25). According to 

Anand&Shachar (2007) disruptions and miscommunications can be due to 

several different reasons such as misread of a message, misinterpretation or the 

receiver is not paying enough attention towards the sender´s message. They also 

believe that in equilibrium situations “the content of the message is ignored by 

the receiver” which means that even though the sender´s product is not the type 

the receivers are looking for or prefers, they would still buy the product. 

According to Sweeney et al. (2008) the receivers and their responses are the most 

difficult to study. 

 

 

2.3.2. Goals of marketing communication on three different levels 

 

There are three different levels a marketing communication can affect on; a 

cognitive, affective or on a conative level. On a cognitive level people are familiar 

and aware of things. It represents knowledge. When a company is trying to affect 

on a cognitive level, some of its goals could be to share information, increase 

awareness or change the image among the consumers. (Vuokko 1997:35&93.) 

 

On an affective level people have certain attitudes, opinions and beliefs towards 

a certain brand, product or company. When a company is trying to affect on an 

affective level, some of its goals could be to change or strengthen people´s 

attitudes and beliefs about the product, brand or the company, or to create the 

interest to test a new product. (Vuokko 1997:35&93.) 

 

A conative level is based on people´s actions, such as their testing and buying 

behavior. When a company is trying to affect on a conative level, some of its goals 

could be to maintain brand loyalty, or to increase sales by using for example price 

reduction campaigns. (Vuokko 1997:35-36&93.) 

 

One of the most-known and still widely used models describing these levels is 

called the AIDA-model. (Figure 2). The letters stands for attention, interest, desire 



34 
 

and action. The attention is representing the cognitive level, the interest and 

desire are representing the affective level and the action is representing the 

conative level. This is a very simple model that does not take into account many 

different variables, such as the interplay between the marketing communication 

and its target audience. (Vuokko 1997:36-37; Blythe 2000:12.) 

 

Another of the most-known models is called the DAGMAR-model. (Figure 3). 

On that model the awareness is representing the cognitive level, the 

comprehension and conviction are representing the affective level and the action 

is representing the conative level. (Vuokko 1997:36-37.) 

 

 

Figure 2. AIDA-model. 

 

 

Figure 3. DAGMAR-model. 

 

 

According to Blythe (2000:3) the hierarchy of marketing communication effects 

has seven different levels that are called brand ignorance, awareness, knowledge, 

liking, preference, conviction and purchase. (Figure 4). This does not mean that 

ATTENTTION

- Cognitive

INTEREST

- Affective level

DESIRE

- Affective level

ACTION

- Conative level

AWARENESS

- Cognitive 
level

COMPREHENSION

-Affective level

CONVICTION

- Affective level

ACTION

- Conative level



35 
 

the process would always go directly from one level to next one. It depends on 

the situation and the brand. This hierarchy does not take into account impulse 

purchasing. 

 

Consumers may be ignorant towards a brand when they are either not familiar 

with the brand, or they do not care about to be familiar with the brand. 

Awareness is needed if the company wants to sell its products. Without the 

awareness there is no demand towards the products. 

 

 

Figure 4. Hierarchy of communication effects. (Blythe 2000:3.) 

 

 

2.3.3. Mass communication 

 

Several kinds of typical features can be identified when talking about mass 

communication. One significant feature is that instead of one or few people, the 

target group can be anything from zero to N. One of the benefits of mass 

communication is that the same message can be delivered directly at the same 

time to a various number of people. It has been argued that by using mass 

communication methods it is quite easy to effect on people´s emotions, and use 

different kind of associations and symbols. (Vuokko 1997:26-28.) 

 

Some challenges can also be identified. Feedback is indirect and certain 

situations, for example the ads of competitors on the same channel cannot be 

controlled so they should be somehow to be predicted. Most of the disruptions 

the marketing communication faces cannot be controlled and the ability of the 

receivers to end the communication whenever they want is rather high. Even 

Brand 
ignoranc
e

Awareness

Knowledge

Liking

Preference

Conviction

Purchase



36 
 

though through television programs it is quite easy to affect on people´s emotions 

and use different kind of associations and symbols, one of the biggest challenges 

is that there is no guarantee that all of the receivers will see or understand the 

message the way it was supposed to be. (Vuokko 1997:27-29.) 

 

Between 1994-2000 several people predicted that a mass communication is a 

dying communication method. (Laakso 2003:131-132). But over 20 years later, it 

is still commonly used. Rappaport (2007) argues mass communication is not a 

dying communication method but the conventional “interrupt and repeat” is 

going to change more engaging, on-demand advertising. 

 

Sponsorship, product placement and branded content are based on mass 

communication and they will be studied below. 

 

 

2.4. Sponsorship 

 

 

A sponsor means a subject, individual or a group of people, who is financially 

supporting an event, activity, person or organization by buying someone else´s 

image. It normally has a big target audience. (IEG 2000; Vuokko 1997:75). 

Sponsorship has been defined as "a cash and/or in-kind fee paid to a property 

such as sports, entertainment, non-profit event or organization, in return for 

access to the exploitable commercial potential associated with that property". 

(IEG 2000). According to Tuori (1995) “a sponsorship means renting an image of 

an individual, group or an event and utilizing it for some marketing 

communication purposes.” According to Meenaghan (1991) sponsorship is ”an 

investment, in cash or kind, in an activity in return for access to the exploitable 

commercial potential associated with this activity”. It is commonly used 

marketing method and both of the parties, the sponsor and the sponsored party, 

are actively looking for a partner. (IEG 2000; Kotler 2005:131). Especially the 

event sponsorship is a highly popular way to increase the awareness and image 

of a brand. (Blythe 2000:115). According Meenaghan and Shipley (1999) 

“Sponsors´ motives are perceived as being more altruistic than commercial”. 

 

The main point of being someone´s sponsor, is to get more positive visibility for 

your own brand. Companies are using sponsorship in order to achieve media 



37 
 

attention and to benefit from its positive effects. For example Coca-Cola has 

sponsored Olympics, World Championships and Super Bowl for years, mostly 

because they are trying to increase the positive visibility of their brand. Through 

sponsorship it is possible to increase positive visibility, media attention, brand 

awareness, brand image, brand loyalty and sales. (Kotler 2005:131; Vuokko 

1997:76-77). According to Blythe (2000:116) at 1998 the top four reasons for 

executing sponsorship were the press exposure, TV exposure, to promote brand 

awareness and to promote corporate image. According to Vuokko (1997:76) 

several different objectives can be identified when a company is thinking about 

choosing a sponsorship as their marketing communication method. They may 

want to increase the brand awareness, change or improve the brand image, or 

increase the sales of their product. They may also want to improve their customer 

relationships or show social responsibility. The objective is totally dependent on 

the subject the company is trying to affect on; the consumers, business partners, 

a huge audience or its own employees. 

 

Still, sponsorship is not an ordinary advertising because the sponsor cannot 

advertise or communicate any specific information about its products. It is 

indirect advertising. (Vuokko 1997:78-79). Cornwell, Weeks and Roy (2005) has 

explained the difference between the sponsorship and advertising the following 

way: “Sponsorship involves a fee paid in advance for future potential 

communication values, while advertising offers a more knowable and more 

controlled communication”. 

 

It is very common that brands are utilizing the positive reputation of the 

celebrities´ because most of the times they can give the product more positive 

visibility and credibility. (Kotler 2005:131). It has been proved that “sponsorship 

generally creates positive consumer perceptions”. (Meenaghan & Shipley 1999). 

But sponsorship can also turn up to be more a burden than an investment. (Kotler 

2005:132.) 

 

According to Laakso (2003:72-73) sponsorship is part of testimonial and “the 

effect of experts” marketing. This means that when for example a celebrity or a 

doctor recommends for some sort of product, people are more likely to believe it 

and the message becomes more reliable on the eyes of the consumers. 

 



38 
 

Sponsorship is anything but cheap. Some researchers have estimated that 

companies are sometimes forced to use two or three times more money on 

advertising about being a sponsor, than they are using for the sponsored party. 

Sponsorship is more likely to be understood and work as it was supposed to, 

when there is a clear and understandable link between the sponsor and the 

sponsored party. (Blythe 2000:116). Blythe (2000:116-117) has represented four 

criteria that need to apply when a company is considering of utilizing 

sponsorship. Most of all, the sponsorship needs to be cost-effective. The 

sponsored party or event needs to be also consistent with the company´s brand 

image and the overall marketing communication plan. It needs to be considered 

that it should be possible to reach the target audience through the sponsored 

party and the sponsored event. And if the event has been sponsored before, there 

is a possibility to benefit from the earlier sponsors or to be mixed up with the 

other current sponsors. 

 

There are two different forms of sponsorship; providing a financial or in-kind 

assistance. (Carrillat & d’Astous 2012; Cornwell, Weeks & Roy 2005). According 

to Carrillat & d´Astous (2013) the official partners, who buy property rights and 

provide a financial assistance “benefit from the presence of their name or logo on 

the event site. Their objectives in these cases are mainly image or reputation 

improvement and increased awareness”. When implementing in-kind assistance 

”…the sponsor´s products or services are used to support the event 

logistically…to demonstrate the functional soundness of the products…”. 

Program sponsorship is a really good communication method when the target 

group is well defined and the main goal is to increase brand awareness. (Laakso 

2003:142-143.) 

 

 

2.4.1. Consumer focus 

 

Sponsorship is a commonly used marketing communication strategy. The main 

goal of the consumer-focused sponsorships is to improve brand awareness, 

attitude, image, or behavioral intention to purchase products among the current 

and potential consumers. As it was mentioned earlier, sponsorship generally 

creates positive consumer perceptions and that is because the company is seen as 

supporting a good cause, so it also has a huge impact on the brand image on the 

consumers´ minds. (Carrillat & d’Astous 2013.) According to Meenaghan and 



39 
 

Shipley (1999) sponsors´ motives are perceived as being "more altruistic than 

commercial”.  

 

Several different marketing communication actions have been proved (McDaniel 

1999; Olson & Thjømøe 2009; Quester & Thompson 2001) to increase consumer 

awareness and attitude towards the sponsor, such as sales, promotion activities 

and actively advertise their engagement as event partner. (Carrillat & d’Astous 

2013). 

 

In marketing literature (e.g. Carrillat, d’Astous, & Colbert 2008; Cianfrone & 

Zhang 2006; Meenaghan 2001; Meenaghan & Shipley 1999; Prendergast, Poon & 

West 2010; Rajaretnam 1993; Stipp 1998) it has been proved that a consumer-

focused sponsorship is an effective marketing communication tool when trying 

to increase brand awareness and image without executing traditional advertising 

on TV, radio, and print. (Carrillat & d’Astous 2013.) 

 

A several different kinds of psychological and communication theories have been 

used to explain the links between the sponsor and the consumers. Carrillat & 

d’Astous (2013) argue that one of the most important findings of the different 

studies of commercial sponsorship is that the brand will achieve the best possible 

outcome from the sponsorship when there is logical link between the sponsor 

and sponsored party. This link means that when the consumers are thinking of 

the brand it may trigger event-linked associations, and when they are thinking 

of the event it may trigger brand-linked associations. However, Cornwell, Weeks 

and Roy (2005) have shown that it is possible for the brands to benefit from the 

sponsorship also without the logical link, for example through the effect of the 

memory of the consumers, as explained a little bit earlier. 

 

When a brand is using a sponsorship on television it is financially supporting the 

television program and it has a control over the TV shows´ story lines or how the 

products are presented on the show. (Russell 2002.) According to Laakso 

(2003:140) the better the program has been targeted the more the program 

sponsorship will increase the awareness of the brand among the consumers. 

Program sponsorship is a really good communication method when the target 

group is well defined and the main goal is to increase brand awareness. (Laakso 

2003:142-143.) 

 



40 
 

2.5. Product placements 

 

 

Product placement is executed in order to create a positive image for a brand. It 

means placing the products in movies and TV shows. The main difference 

between the sponsorship on television programs and the product placement is 

the control of the brands. By using a sponsorship a brand is financially 

supporting the television program and it has a control over the TV shows´ story 

lines or how the products are presented on the show. But when the brands are 

willing to execute product placement on the television shows, they are only 

paying for the produce of a movie or TV show in order to get their products to 

be seen somewhere in the show. The second biggest difference is that on 

sponsorship the brand is clearly seen and visible. Product placements are 

sometimes so subtle that people notice them only on unconscious level. (Blythe 

2000:114; Russell 2002). According to Avery and Ferraro (2000) companies are 

utilizing product placement in order to sway the consumers´ brand attitudes. 

 

According to Blythe (2000:115) and Pena (2011) product placement is based on 

associations people have linked on for example celebrities. When they have 

positive associations towards celebrities, they will most likely also feel positive 

about the product they are using on the show. But of course this is not always the 

case. For example a consumer may have so strong attitudes and negative image 

about a brand, that it makes no difference who uses the brand in a movie or TV 

show. 

 

Product placement is seen to be a relatively easy way to expose consumers to 

companies´ products, but it is not the cheapest one. According to Blythe 

(2000:115) “product placement is academically under-researched.” He also 

argues “there is a high entry level in terms of cost because the cost of funding a 

movie or TV shows is high, even when the firm placing the products is only 

meeting a fraction of the cost… “. Not all companies can afford to do product 

placement. It usually requires a lot of time through extensive negotiations. 

(Blythe 2000:115.) 

 

Usually the companies´ main goal is to affect on a brand´s image by using the 

product placements on the various TV shows. Often the product placement is 

invisible to the audience because it fits to the show and to the specific scene so 



41 
 

well. Though sometimes the product placement can also affect negatively on 

consumers´ attitudes towards the brand. Although product placement has been 

studied a lot, only a little evidence has been found how it affects on people. 

(Russell 2002.) 

 

DeLorme´s and Reid´s (1999) qualitative investigation of product placements 

suggests that “consumers welcome the reality-enhancement aspect of product 

placement”. On the other hand, Gupta´s and Gould´s (1997) survey 

“investigating viewers' attitudes toward the practice of product placement also 

indicate that too much repetition, obvious commercial motivations, or the use of 

ethically charged products, are less acceptable”. (Russell 2002.) 

 

According to Kim, Kim, Song, & Tak (2002) a product placement can be defined 

either in a narrow or a broad sense. A narrow sense usually refers to a product 

that is used as a prop on a broadcast set. A broad sense refers more to an “indirect 

advertisement that promotes any product but the sponsors´. Product placement 

could be used to develop a marketing campaign strategy that uses indirect 

methods to promote the sponsors by exposing consumers to their images, names, 

or location. 

 

According to Shashidhar (2014) the easiest way to utilize product placement is to 

place a product of a brand within a popular TV show. And “a more clever way 

is to integrate the brand with the show's script so that actors use the product and 

talk about it… The consumer has so many options to consume content today that 

if the brand doesn't look at participating in the content creation process it could 

face the risk of completely missing out its target audience.” By engaging the 

consumers of a brand, it is possible to create immense value for the brand. This 

engagement can be achieved by utilizing branded content in marketing 

communication. 

 

Product placements can be categorized along three dimensions. These 

dimensions are called visual, auditory and plot connection. “The visual 

dimension refers to the appearance of the brand on the screen”. The second 

“refers to the brand being mentioned in a dialogue” … and the third “refers to 

the degree to which the brand is integrated in the plot of the story…the level of 

plot connection will determine the role and meaningfulness of a placement in a 

story”. (Russell 1998; Russell 2002). Some of the previous researches have focused 



42 
 

primarily on “encoding the differences between visual and auditory 

information”. (Russell 2002.) 

 

Russell (2002) used a theater methodology and experiment to study the 

effectiveness of product placements. The purpose of the study was to 

“investigate whether the ways a brand is placed within audiovisual media 

programming affect memory for the brands and attitudes toward those brands”. 

107 marketing students were invited to join a live performance. “The stage 

readings were presented as the pilot of a new television sitcom”. Afterwards the 

students completed a five-paged survey. The main point was to measure their 

attitudes towards the show. The experiment included five one-hour laboratory 

sessions with approximately 30 undergraduate marketing students. The students 

watched 27-minute sitcom and afterwards completed a questionnaire. 

 

According to Russell´s study (2002) auditory placements are better recalled than 

visual placements in both the lower and higher plot connection but there was no 

significant difference between higher and lower plot auditory placements. 

(Figure 5). Though higher plot visual placements were better remembered then 

the lower plot visual placements. 

 

 

Figure 5. The recognition scores. (Russell 2002.) 

  

 

Russell´s study (2002) also presented that lower plot visual placements were 

more persuasive than higher plot visual placements. (Figure 6). Russell also 



43 
 

argued that that higher plot auditory placements were more persuasive than 

lower plot auditory placements. H congruous placements were more persuasive 

in this study than incongruous ones. In this study incongruent placements were 

found to adversely affect brand attitudes because such placements appear 

unnatural. 

 

 

Figure 6. Attitude change scores. (Russell 2002.) 

 

 

2.6. Branded content 

 

 

On 2009 Schweppes launched a short movie called “Signs”.  In 2009 Red Bull 

created an online series based on mountain bikes, targeted to extreme-sports 

fans. In 2012 Red Bull executed “Stratos” together with Austian skydiver and 

base jumper Felix Baumgartner. In 2014 Brändärit was launched. 

 

Branded content refers to an advertiser who is either taking part of the funding 

or the creation of a TV show rather than just buying s traditional ad. When done 

properly products can be even embedded within the chosen TV show. 

(Shashidhar 2014). Unlike the traditional editorial content, branded content is 

generally funded entirely by a brand. Branded content is also known as branded 

entertainment because it is an entertainment-based marketing tool. Branden 

entertainment can be used on several channels, such as on television shows, 

movies, video games and online. According to Vincento (2010) the main 

difference between sponsorship and branded content is that “sponsorship is 



44 
 

adding a brand’s logo to an already existing event or entertainment property, 

whereas branded content involves coming up with the creative idea together 

with the brand and the producers. It is an effort of collaboration in order to bring 

consumers entertainment that they want, in the form that they want it.” 

According to Pavlou (2010) branded content “is the technique used by brands to 

create a direct relationship with a type of entertainment through funding or 

creative content.” Pavlou also argues that branded content “allows brands to 

play a much more central part in the project, tailoring content to fit its message 

and reflecting the brands personality.” Branded content projects are based on 

content partnerships between brands, advertising agencies, producers and 

broadcasters. 

 

Even though the meaning of engaging the consumers has been recognized for 

decades, the term branded content was born in 2001 when the BMW project 

called Hire was launched. The Hire was a collection of eight short movies starred 

by Clive Owen and the BMW car was the real star of the action. According to 

Vincenzo (2010) “as consumers had begun to be engaged with much more 

interesting, relevant and definitely longer content, in 2001 this was considered a 

breakthrough innovation… The new decade has definitely started with a BANG 

within this marketing environment… 2010 being the year for branded content.” 

The history of branded content goes way back when brands used to sponsor 

radio shows so the audiences were able to receive free entertainment and from 

time to time they had listen to the marketing messages of the sponsoring brand. 

Stay-at-home moms used to enjoy day time radio shows featuring dramatic story 

lines and they were consistently interrupted with ads of the sponsoring brand. 

These ads were intentionally engaged with specific radio programs in order to 

reach their target audiences. This was the first introduction to the branded 

content as we know it today. (Pena 2011.) 

 

Branded content is not a new way to execute active marketing communication 

but its popularity is increasing. It kind of combines the positive effects 

sponsorship and product placement and it is “more evolved form of 

advertising… because it takes the association between advertisers and content 

producers to a whole new level.” (Shashidhar 2014; Pena 2011.) 

 

 



45 
 

A humor and entertainment has a huge role in branded content.  As it can be seen 

below, viewers can see advertisements as part of entertainment. (Figure 7). On 

Super Bowl 2015 over 77% looked the advertisements as entertainment and only 

4,5 said that the advertisements bothered them. 

 

 

 

Figure 7. Viewers´ opinion about Super Bowl TV commercials. (Marketing 

Charts 2015.) 

 

 

When companies are utilizing branded content “consumers can expect to be 

informed, entertained and get more involved in communication than they could 

with traditional marketing”. (Goodale 2014). According to Stewart (2014) “It is 

important to create content that customers want to see rather than what we as 

marketers want to say”. According to Bernardo (2010) “branded entertainment 

is becoming more and more important as audience habits shift from live, linear 

broadcasts, to an on-demand, PVR based or Internet based consumption of 

moving images.” Cresswell (2011) argues that it can be expected to see an 

increase in advertiser-funded content, both on TV and online and “there is a 

growing need for collaboration between broadcasters, commissioners, 

schedulers, advertisers and their agencies.” One-time deals have changed into 

long-term commitments. (Atkinson 2008). According to “as commercial ratings 

continue to decline, and companies constantly struggle to maintain viewership 



46 
 

during ad breaks, this sort of partnership is a very valuable mechanism.” 

(Hampp 2008). Atkinson (2008) believed that branded content is quickly 

becoming the most effective form of advertising. 

 

The main goal of branded content is to create relevant and valuable content 

which attracts, acquires and engages the target audience. The goal is to target 

potential consumers better and win consumers´ heart. (Shashidhar 2014; Stewart 

2014). Stewart also argues that useful content is one of the main reasons people 

follow brands in the first place. Branded content “influences purchase decisions, 

improve brand loyalty and ultimately increase the long-term value of brands”. 

Content should always be consistent and allow the consumers to interact with 

the brand. Content should include a story that is interesting or somehow relevant 

to the target audience. It should also have a strong voice or a personality that has 

an effect on people. According to Gray (2006) “branded content can add 

entertainment value to brands by integrating them into the editorial content of 

media channels”. Stewart had a strong opinion that those that invest in great 

content will have an advantage over their competitors. (Stewart 2014.) 

 

 “If people are skipping commercials to get to the programming they want, we're 

naturally going to try to embed ourselves in that programming”, argues 

Valiquette (2013). He also argued that “the problem is that people who have a 

story they want to tell think about characters, plot, and pacing -- not brands”. 

According to Valiquette, the biggest problem of advertising agencies is that they 

are trying to be movie makers instead of focusing on a content starred by brands. 

He also argues that too many times agencies first design and make the content, 

and after that they try to brand it. 

 

It is also really hard to create s successful TV show and according to Wood (2010) 

and when these attempts are made based on a brand brief it is even more 

challenging and extremely difficult. The best results of branded content can be 

achieved when a brand is buying wider media strategy, such as radio, television 

and blogs, rather than just the branded entertainment program. (Marlow 2010; 

Marken 2006).  

 

When talking about branded content two different categories can be identified. 

These categories are called the originals and platforms. Both of them will be 

examined below. 



47 
 

2.6.1. Originals 

 

Originals are based on one product, one brand and one concept. This means it 

does not matter whether the Lego-movie is popular or not. If the concept of Legos 

will change, there will not be a sequel. This means that there is a full dependence 

of the one brand. The concept is totally dependent on the original brand and 

product that was used in the original program. Branded content originals are 

quite expensive to execute and are tend to be executed online. Only few brands 

can afford to execute originals on TV. (Raunio&Arhio 2014.) 

 

Red Bull is one of the brands that has executed interesting and exciting content 

for a really long time by collaborating with some of the most adventurous people 

of the world (Stewart 2014) such as previously mentioned Red Bull and Strato 

and Red Bull Crashed Ice. 

 

 

2.6.2. Platforms 
 

Platforms can be also called extended product placements. Branded content 

platforms have several positive features. One is that the format owner owns the 

whole story. Brand platforms are not dependent on a certain brand which makes 

it flexible and adaptable. Platforms can be scaled also for a smaller markets. 

(Raunio&Arhio 2014.) 

 

Brand content platforms have also some negative features. Brands need to be able 

to negotiate and be flexible. Usually there are a lot of different parties to work 

and deal with. Timing is crucial on platforms. Also, only few brands have money 

to be proper broadcasters by themselves. (Raunio&Arhio 2014.) 

 

Manolo Blahniks in Sex and the City has proven the effectiveness of the brand 

platforms. Manolo Blahniks has been placed in Sex and the City since the TV 

show started to air over 10 years ago. The brand is really part of the show and it 

is mentioned numerous times by the main character, fashion icon Sarah-Jessica 

Parker who also wears Manolo Blahniks in most of the episodes. The brand has 

a direct link to the television show, the Sex and the City-movies, the main 

character called Carrie and even to Sarah-Jessica Parker in real life. After so many 

years people have a lot of associations towards the brand. It cannot be separated 



48 
 

from the show anymore. This is an excellent example of a highly succeeded brand 

content platforms. 

 

Challenge Hans is a Finnish TV program that started to air in 2014. It is totally 

sponsored by Lidl. Brändärit is a platform where brands have an active role in a 

scripted sitcom. 

 

 

2.6.3. Why branded content? 
 

The pros of using advertiser-funded programming is that advertiser-funded 

content can entertain and inform like few other media. (Gray 2006). People are 

nowadays watching a lot of shows on the Internet, so they are also seeing a lot 

less ads than before. Sometimes they are able to even skip the ads on the Internet 

if they want to. That is why the content and engagement are so important. By 

using branded content companies are able to engage their consumers, increase 

brand awareness and improve their brand image and consumers´ attitudes 

towards a brand. 

 

On Cannes Lions categories there is own entry category for branded content and 

entertainment.  One thing is for sure; branded content is here to stay. “The 

definition of branded content and entertainment for the purpose of Cannes Lions 

is the creation of, or natural integration into, original content by a brand. Entrants 

will show how a brand has successfully worked independently or in association 

with a content producer or publisher to develop and create or co-create 

entertaining and engaging content for their audience. This could be either by 

creating original content or programming for a brand or by naturally integrating 

a brand into existing formats by partnering with a publisher or media partner”. 

(Cannes Lions 2014.) 

 

According to Stewart (2014) “if advertising helps win minds then content helps 

win hearts … The evolution of content has opened up a world of possibilities for 

business. But only companies that harness the power of technological 

advancement and adapt to change quickly will flourish and future-proof their 

profitability”. 

 



49 
 

It is very common that brands want to move away from the traditional marketing 

communication methods and advertisement because of the endless amount of 

competition. According to Shashidhar (2014) companies can no longer afford to 

ignore the meaning of branded content, mainly because the consumers already 

have so many options to consume content. A company can face a risk of missing 

out. According to Hackley (2008) branded content has become an extremely 

effective marketing communication tool. “The most successful branded content 

programs are able to blend the advertising message… and make it a part of the 

storytelling…” 

 

A study has shown that over one-third of people are skeptical about traditional 

ads and only one-tenth trust the companies producing such adverts. According 

to the study "in the overwhelming majority of cases consumers preferred the 

more innovative approach compared with traditional advertising. (Branded 

Content Marketing Association 2008.) 

 

 

2.6.4. The risks of branded content 
 

Simple product placement or boring and un-engaging content can create 

unwanted results.  Like in any business, also branded content includes some 

risks. Even though the branded content has been seen to be extremely effective 

tool, there are risks involved if the content has not made properly. (Hackley 2008; 

Pavlou 2010). Gray argues that the cons of using advertiser-funded programming 

is that “most proposals fail to make it to the screen, falling foul of product-

placement regulations or broadcasters' demands for content that is engaging and 

impartial”. (Gray 2006.) 

 

Brands should have enough time and money to create long-term strategic 

commitments. If not, it is likely that branded content fails. Developing the right 

content and reaching the target audience is rather challenging. There is also a risk 

of breaking product placement regulations. (Pavlou 2010). The target audience 

should also be able to see the content as something more than just an 

advertisement. (Hackley 2008.)  

 

According to Cresswell (2011) one of the biggest challenges of branded content 

is that usually the brand owners want to see returns for their media budgets after 



50 
 

a certain timeframe and most of the times when dealing with branded content 

campaigns this cannot be guaranteed to happen in that given timeframe. 

 

According to some people, branded entertainment has gotten some mixed 

reviews and it has lost its shine. Some people have even argued that mobile 

marketing has already supplanted branded entertainment as a marketing 

method. Some people argue that it will take years until someone make branded 

entertainment work as it should. 

 

  



51 
 

3. HUMOR AND CULTURE 

 

 

 

The role of culture when utilizing humor will be studied in this chapter. The three 

dimensions that are included into this study are Hofstede´s power distance, 

individualism vs collectivism and masculinity vs femininity because the humor 

used in a certain culture are highly linked to those three dimensions. 

 

Humor is a way to communicate and interact with its audience through funny 

and entertaining ways. The main purpose is to make people laugh and 

entertained. (Leins & Müller 2013). Humor is specific kind of mood on people 

that determines the way people deal with life and humorous situations. Preferred 

styles of humor in Finnish and American cultures will be studied in this chapter. 

 

Several different factors can be identified that are affecting how different people 

may see the same humorous situations differently. Some of these factors are the 

culture, age, gender, level of education and intelligence of people and also the 

personal sense of humor of an individual. (Kalliny, Cruthirds, and Minor, 2006; 

Martin et al.2003; Wang 2014). The sense of humor is also based on individuals´ 

intellectual talent, aesthetic sensitivity, way to behave, temper, attitudes and 

defense mechanisms. Intellectual talent means an individual´s ability to 

understand jokes. Aesthetic sensitivity means that an individual is also enjoying 

jokes. A way to behave includes certain characters such as telling jokes and 

sensitivity to laugh other people´s jokes. The good sense of humor requires also 

a certain temper, such as hilarity. Attitude towards life is positive and playful. 

Defense mechanisms include the ability to laugh at difficulties and challenges the 

life brings along. Several studies have proved that a good sense of humor will 

most likely increase the quality of life, stress control and social relationships. It 

will also help an individual to overcome stressful life situations.  (Leins & Müller 

2013; Kuiper & Martin 1998:159). How people see the world, determines their 

sense of humor. According to Critchley (2002:14) a good sense of humor includes 

the ability to separate good and bad humor. A good type of humor will never 

insult anyone or enjoy other´s misfortune. A good type of humor always includes 

a little bit of self-irony. Humor is a not a direct communication, it needs to be 

understood. Humor is a good way to change people´s attitudes and perceptions 



52 
 

about brands that seem old-fashioned and boring to them. It is good and an 

effective way to differentiate from the competitors by making bold decisions. 

 

 

3.1. Finnish and American culture 

 

 

After presented the three dimensions, the table one presents more clearly the 

dimensional differences between the Finnish and American cultures. The 

Hofstede´s dimensions were used because they are the most-known and used 

dimensions that has many times proved to be still functional and useful.  

 

 

3.1.1. Power distance 
 

Cultures with high power distance have very centralized management that 

moves from top to down. An individual´s possibilities to effect on things a rather 

low and there are no possibilities to influence on decision-making processes. This 

dimension also tells how much an individual expects equality on a daily basis. 

People working in cultures with high power distance feels inequality is natural 

and acceptable. Everybody has a certain role in their family and men and women 

are not seen as equal. Attitudes towards authorities are clearly shown and 

authorities are respected. (Hofstede 1993:46-47, 54-56.) 

 

Cultures with low power distance have more shared management which gives a 

lot more possibilities to effect on different decision-making processes. Equality is 

expected and valued and the role of management is not that controlling, The role 

of children are much more equal with their parents and rising a child is not as 

strict as in cultures with high power distance. Both Finland and America are 

examples of cultures with low power distance. (Hofstede 1993:46-47,56.) 

 

 

3.1.2. Individualism vs collectivism 

 

This dimension studies the relationship between an individual and the 

surrounding society. An individualistic culture highlights the rights of an 

individual rather than focusing on a whole group of people. An individual is 



53 
 

seen more important than a group and people are trying to pursue their own 

interest and fulfill their own needs. Sometimes these actions made by someone´s 

else expense. Independence and financial solidity are highly appreciated and 

valued. America is one good example of an individualistic culture. But as 

presented earlier also Finland has more individualistic than collectivistic culture. 

(Hofstede 2001:209; Hofstede 1993:78.) 

 

A collectivistic culture highlights the rights of a whole group of people. The 

meaning of an individual is lot less important and social cohesion is highlighted. 

Individual´s loyalty towards a group is expected and highly important. The 

benefits of a group are highly more important than the benefits of an individual. 

A social network has a huge importance when an individual is building up one´s 

identity. (Hofstede 1993:81-87) 

 

 

3.1.3. Masculinity vs femininity 

 

The third dimension divides cultures based on their feminine and masculine 

features. This dimension examines how much the traditional gender roles are 

appreciated in a certain culture. In masculine cultures money and power are 

highlighted and appreciated. Men are seen as competitive and aggressive 

whereas women are seen as caring and gentle. American culture is seen as a 

masculine culture. (Hofstede 1993:130-135.) 

 

In feminine cultures women have broken their traditional roles. They are allowed 

to build up a career or stay at home with their children. In feminine cultures also 

men can be seen as househusbands and their masculinity is not based on only 

their status or a role in a company. In feminine cultures competition and 

inequality are not appreciated. High quality of life and helping others is what 

people are trying to do and achieve. People do not boast about their economic 

success, it is not appropriate in feminine cultures. Finland is seen a lot more 

feminine than masculine culture. (Hofstede 1993:130-135.) 

 

 

  



54 
 

Table 1. Differences between a Finnish and American cultures according to 

Hofstede´s dimensions. 

COUNTRY Power distance Individualism vs 

collectivism 

 

Masculinity vs 

femininity 

Finland 33 63 26 

USA 40 91 62 

The dimensions are presented on a scale from 0-100. 

Power distance: 0= low power distance, 100= high power distance. 

Individualism vs collectivism: 0=highly collectivistic, 100=highly individualistic. 

Masculinity vs femininity: 0=highly feminine, 100=highly masculine. 

 

 

3.2. Theories and styles of humor in Finnish and American cultures 

 

 

When talking about humor, three types of theories and four styles of humor can 

be identified. These theories and styles provide the basic information in order to 

understand humor theoretically. The preferred theories and styles of humor in 

Finnish and American cultures will be studied below. 

 

 

3.2.1. Superiority, relief and opposites 

 

The theory of superiority is very close to a term called schadenfreude, which means 

that a person is laughing about an accident that happens to someone else. 

Superiority is based on a situation where a person is seeing himself better than 

anyone else. Superiority can be based on for example culture, ethnicity and lack 

of intelligence. (Laes 1998:278; Wang 2014). Youtube is full of American videos 

where people scare each other on a daily basis and laugh at each other when 

someone gets hurt. America is an example of an individualistic culture and its 

humor is many times based on the theory of superiority. 

 

Laughing release tension and creates more positive energy. A negative feeling 

that follows after a negative experience, such as falling on an icy road can be 

turned to more positive by laughing at the accident. Laughing creates relief and