The Effect of Power Distance Orientation on the Willingness to Share Parody Advertisements
Shaoqing Zhang, Sihong Zhang, Yuan Zhang

Abstract
The parody advertisement is a unique communication strategy to attract consumers. Three studies confirmed that power distance orientation had a negative effect on the willingness to share parody advertisements. This black humor effect could be attenuated by the degree of offensiveness (Study 1). When the parody ad with low degree of offensiveness was presented to participants, compared to the parody ad with high degree of offensiveness, power distance orientation no longer had an impact on the willingness to share. Impression management was confirmed the underlying mechanism of the black humor effect (Study 2).

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