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Make me laugh
6/16/2011 10:18:32 AM
Humor in advertising is nothing new. Advertisers have been using humor to grab the attention of their audience for decades. If you can make someone laugh, you have caught their attention. This is foremost in marketing: get the attention of your audience, make them feel good about your product, and help them remember the brand long enough to purchase it. Humor can do this.

Humor in advertising is easier today because of social media that is primarily seen as an entertainment venue. YouTube has made overnight successes of anyone with a video camera and an idea. Video on the web has become one of the most viewed sources of media across all outlets. It is no surprise that companies are looking for ways to put out some sort of funny video to capture the attention of their customers. However, humor in marketing might not be as easy as your college intern with a digital camcorder. What is funny to one person may be offensive to another. If you decide to go viral with a humorous video for your product or service, it may be worth it to run a rough idea past a segment of your target market before you make it available to the world. One thing that social networking sites have proven is that they can get tons of viewers to your ad quicker than any other medium. There are two sides to that knife. It can either cut for you or against you. Once in the eye of the viral market, it is hard to undo a mistake on the internet.

If you are going to try a funny video to promote your business services or products, take a few pages out of what has worked. There are some classics of humor that have not changed for decades.

Physical humor. Slapstick still makes people laugh, whether it is the one of the Three Stooges getting poked in the eye or Dick Van Dyke tripping over the ottoman. People getting knocked down and running for cover while things get blown up, the "Keystone Cops" have been made and remade in a million different ways. A simple way to gain a laugh is through physical humor and the misfortune of others. There is something appealing to us when the other guy falls down. Take a look at these insurance company videos on YouTube.

Great Bridge Insurance

AGF Insurance

Having a laugh at someone else’s expense. This is the thing my mother told me never to do, but I cannot help laughing at other people’s stupidity. Besides, isn’t this every reality TV show’s plot? Let’s pick on the idiot. A word of caution; if you get too close to your target audience here, you may feel the backlash of a certain segment of society, like the blonde in the Mercedes Benz commercial shown here  or the Twix video ad shown here.

 
Making a point via absurdity. One of my favorite online commercials currently running is for Norton Internet Security systems. Two armed men begin to rob a bank, but only want a small amount of money. Norton makes the point that internet security thieves typically make very small transactions on your credit cards, stolen over your computer, that you do not notice. Take a look here.  Timing is key to using humor. At the point you realize the absurdity of this video, one very poignant point is made. At that point, you have your audience’s attention. Go for one simple message, in this case, Norton Security Systems keeps identity theft from happening.

Way over the top. There is a thought amongst many marketing professionals that you can never be too ridiculous. In our day and age, everyone has seen it all. We are bombarded by ads. So be as nutty as you possibly can be because people will remember your brand after it is all over with. Skittles candy has made a living off of going way over the edge on the bizarre meter. Their Taste the Rainbow commercials are numerous and widely viewed. Here is a sampling.
-       Piñata man
-       Leaky ceiling
-       Sheep boys 

One last thing to consider before you begin scripting your video and holding auditions for actors: remember that the point of anything we do in marketing is to lead people to a sale. Make sure you are leading people to a point of remembering who you are, what you are selling, and a next step or action point. Here is another of my favorite internet commercials for an insurance carrier. 

_________________________
How to Use Humor in Advertising by Lou Dubois. Inc.com Dec 31, 2010 http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/12/how-to-use-humor-in-advertising.html
Photo by Josef Philipp
 

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