Forms and Functions of Puns on Packaging Product Names in TikTok Content

This study investigates the linguistic creativity of TikTok content creators who use puns based on the names of packaging products commonly found in supermarkets. Using a qualitative content analysis approach, the study examines the forms and functions of wordplay in selected TikTok videos. Five videos exceeding 1,000 views were selected as data, and the punning techniques were analyzed based on phonological forms, including homonymy, sound addition, sound elimination, sound substitution, and acronym use. A total of 32 pun examples were identified. Findings show that homonymy was the most frequently used form, followed by sound manipulation strategies. The puns served various communicative functions: entertainment, providing information, teasing, satire, and euphemism. The study concludes that such linguistic humor reflects both creative language use and sociocultural context, and it offers implications for media literacy, humor studies, and digital discourse analysis.