Abstract:Advertising has already penetrated into every corner of our society and gradually become an essential part of people’s daily life. In this case, in order to meet people’s aesthetic and psychological needs, advertising has transformed from a rigid and boring structure to a more flexible and attractive model. Therefore, humorous advertising becomes prosperous. The study on humor has originated from the Aristotle era and draws much attention of the scholars from multi-disciplines. Since the 1950s, the applied study on humor has begun to make a conspicuous figure, including the humorous words in oral communication, the humorous text in famous works, and the subtitle translations of humorous films and so on. This thesis is intended to briefly analyze the humor in Chinese advertisements from the perspective of violating the Cooperative Principle. On the one hand, the conclusion this paper has come to is able to help consumers understand overtones of humorous advertisements and avoid being tempted into buying some poor quality products by some deceptive advertising. On the other hand, it offers a wider way for advertising designers to create excellent ads. 

Key Words: advertising; humor; the Cooperative Principle

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. Literature Review-2

3. Brief Introduction of Advertising-3

3.1 Definition of advertising-3

3.2 Classification of advertising-4

4. Humor and Humor Theory-4

4.1 Definition of humor-5

4.2 General review of humor-5

5. The Theory of the Cooperative Principle-7

5.1 Notion of the CP-7

5.2 Specifications of the CP-7

5.3 Flouting of the CP-8

6. Realization of Humor in Chinese Advertising by Flouting the CP-9

6.1 Flouting the Maxim of Quantity-10

6.2 Flouting the Maxim of Quality-11

6.3 Flouting the Maxim of Relation-12

6.4 Flouting the Maxim of Manner-13

7. Conclusion-14

Works Cited-16