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Humor In
Advertising
By Mark Levit
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.
About the Author:
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.
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