Meme advertising for luxury brands: effects on perceived funniness and sharing intention

Luxury brands have increasingly embraced meme content as an innovative way to engage with consumers. However, our understanding of consumer reactions to luxury-branded memes is limited. Four experiments were conducted to examine the influence of luxury-branded memes on perceived funniness and sharing intention. Study 1 (N = 374) revealed that consumers’ perceived funniness increased when exposed to a branded meme, with perceived unexpectedness mediating the impact. Study 2 (N = 184) replicated the findings of Study 1 and demonstrated the influence of branded meme exposure on sharing intention through perceived unexpectedness and funniness. In Study 3, a field experiment using Facebook A/B testing demonstrated that a luxury brand post featuring a meme (vs. a non-meme) significantly increased social media users’ clicks and post-engagement. Study 4 (N = 425) revealed that exposure to a branded meme increased sharing intention for luxury brands but not for non-luxury brands. Theoretical and practical implications for luxury brand advertisers are discussed.