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.
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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