Humorous advertising is the most popular way to communicate with prospective buyers. However, there is a lack of consensus among scholars regarding the contribution of humor on advertising effectiveness. Based on Speck's Humorous Message Taxonomy, the present study explores the role of the various humor types on the memory of TV commercials, the attitude towards the ads and the associated advertised brand. Emotional reactions to the advertising stimuli are also examined. The findings indicate that comic wit is the most effective humor type as it can meet the communication goals (ad and brand recall and positive attitude towards the ad), while minimizing negative emotions.