Humor in Advertising

Many of the most memorable ad campaigns around tend to be funny. Advertisers use this strategy to attract customers to their product. Audiences like to be entertained, but not pitched. People will pay more attention to a humorous commercial than a factual or serious one, opening themselves up to be influenced. The key to funny advertising is assuring the humor is appropriate to both product and customer. The balance between funny and obnoxious can often be delicate; and a marketer must be certain the positive effects outweigh the negative before an advertisement can be introduced.

The best products to sell using humor tend to be those that consumers have to think the least about. Products that are relatively inexpensive, and often consumable, can be represented without providing a lot of facts, and that's where there's room for humor. Candy, food, alcohol, tobacco and toys/entertainment related products have proven to benefit the most from humor in their campaigns. One of the most important things to keep in mind is relevance to the product. An example of an extremely successful humorous campaign is the series of "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" commercials. The star, a tiny talking Chihuahua who is passionate about his Taco Bell got people repeating the company's name across the country. The repetition of the company name and the actual content of the commercial reinforce the message in a relevant manner. Taco Bell saw a substantial rise in sales and their own mascot became a pop icon.

Another point to consider when using humor in advertising is that different things are funny to different people. A commercial that may leave one person gripping their sides from laughter may leave a bad taste in another's mouth. The target market must always be considered. What's funny in a client presentation may not be funny on an airplane, at a country club or in a hospital. An example of a recent humorous product introduction is Mike's Hard Lemonade. These commercials feature over exaggerated and comical violence with the underlining message that no one's day is hard enough to pass up a Mike's. It failed, ranking as one of the year's most hated campaigns by both men and woman according to 2002's Ad Track, a consumer survey. The series of commercials are aimed at 21-29 year old males and the repetition of comical violence (such as a construction worker being impaled on the job and a lumberjack cutting off his own foot) gets less and less funny every time it's viewed. Eventually the joke just wore out and the commercial became annoying and offensive.

Humor in advertising tends to improve brand recognition, but does not improve product recall, message credibility, or buying intentions. In other words, consumers may be familiar with and have good feelings towards the product, but their purchasing decisions will probably not be affected. One of the major keys to a successful humorous campaign is variety, once a commercial starts to wear out there's no saving it without some variation on the concept. Humorous campaigns are often expensive because they have to be constantly changed. Advertisers must remember that while making the customer laugh, they have to keep things interesting, because old jokes die along with their products.

Mark Levit is managing partner of Partners & Levit Advertising and a professor of marketing at New York University. Partners & Levit's clients include Procter & Gamble, UnitedHealth Group, and GE Commercial Finance. For more information call 212-696-1200 or visit http://www.partnerslevit.com.

---

Print Advertising: Knowing What To Put In Your Ads

So you've decided to run a print ad in your... Read More

Constructing Business Advertisements

What many may consider the most important part of advertising... Read More

Diamonds Are For Evil

The task of executing successful advertising campaigns for products made... Read More

Imprinted Promotional Items ? Their Many Marketing Applications

There are many uses for promotional items. This means that... Read More

The Key To Marketing New Ideas!

Imagine tossing a pebble into a crystal clear pond on... Read More

Advertise Where Its Forbidden To

The most common way to drive people to your business... Read More

Trade Writing - For Cash!

Often considered as "plain Jane's" of the print world, trade... Read More

Non-profit Coupon Books and Coupon Mailers for Small Businesses

Many groups like the Chamber of Commerce, ASB at the... Read More

Advertising In The Local Press

There are three main reasons why I would hesitate when... Read More

How To Make Your Resource Box Sell

Ezine Articles - they're everywhere!And little wonder. They're one of... Read More

Advertising That Annoys: The Real Story

Critics conclude that entertaining or "creative" commercials sell better than... Read More

Double the Effectiveness of Your Company Brochure

Let's face it - most brochures go straight into the... Read More

How To Tame The Buying Beast Inside Your Customer

What if you can understand and control your customer's mind?... Read More

Indoor LED Displays

To promote the audience, staff, customers and other people the... Read More

Using Flyers to Advertise Your Online Business

Using flyers is one commonly overlooked method of advertising offline.... Read More

Attention-Grabbing Fixes that Make Your Yellow Page Ad Leap Off the Page

Stand Out in Ways that Matter to Directory Users A... Read More

Create Your Own Business Cards, Part 1

In this lesson, we will create a business card, using... Read More

Successful Print Advertising Designs

Do you often see print advertisements outdoors, as much as... Read More

80% of All Advertising Is Wasted Due To This Common Mistake

You're flipping through this publication as you wait for your... Read More

Good Design Makes Good Sense

Organized your pencils and pens lately? Sorted your clothes into... Read More

Your Eye Catching Publicity Flyer

Your website is done, your business cards have been delivered,... Read More

Online Classifieds

Choosing a Classified Website and creating your advertisements.The internet has... Read More

3 Simple But Powerful Off-Line Advertising Strategies

There are several ways to advertise and get the word... Read More

Pros and Cons of Establishing an In-House Ad Agency

There have been several ads promoting books and reports on... Read More

Too Much Build-Up: Over-Zealous Ad Copy Can Break The Sale

How many times has this happened to you?A friend recommends... Read More

Worn Out Brochure Design Is Keeping Small Business Owners Down

I got another one of those calls the other day...Can... Read More

LED Score Boards

LED scoreboards can be utilized in most of the sporting... Read More

Make Your Business Cards Work

What's the cheapest, most under-used marketing tool you have?The answer's... Read More

Localized Advertising ? Door-to-Door Ad Distribution on the Fly!

Have you ever had to distribute door-hanger advertisements for your... Read More

Three Keys to Crafting Successful Print Ads

Want to create print ads that get results? Below are... Read More

Take Your Radio Ads to the Next Level

Most small businesses do not have a high powered advertising... Read More

Cable Ads 5 Bucks!

Cable has grown from 13 houses connected together in 1948... Read More

Just What Are Consumers Thinking?

Research would indicate that consumers don't know what they're thinking.... Read More