Be Funny or NO Money...?

Old Spice, Taco Bell, E-Trade, Budweiser—some of the most memorable advertising campaigns in recent history, regardless of company size and marketing budget and whether broadcast, print, or online-only, have involved humor. As an audience, consumers enjoy being entertained instead of pitched, so appealing to them emotionally can lead to further engagement with your product in the future. Utilizing social media can be an inexpensive and highly effective way to do that as an extension of your ad campaign.

Great, funny example; one of my all-time favorites is... The "Where's the beef?" commercial was No. 47 in Advertising Age's ranking of the top 100 campaigns of the 20th century, and "Where's the beef?" ranked No. 10 on its list of the top 10 slogans of the century.

The commercial's brash humor was unlike anything seen before. Although Wendy's executives threatened to pull the campaign a week before it aired, Wendy's sales jumped by 31% and profits by 24%, making the chain a major competitor in the burger wars. Cliff Freeman was the legendary Ad Man behind this brilliant concept as well as Little Caesar's Pizza Pizza ads and OutPost.com Super Bowl commercials.

But today, corporations communicate more individually in social and electronic media. Many focus on creating a “polished brand” image, which simply means making it look like what’s expected. Sadly, this often results in boring ads and forgettable websites, all-the-same branded content, and lame videos. It doesn’t help the company or brand connect emotionally nor differentiate from the other “polished brand” offerings. Rarely do you hear people say, after seeing a print ad, TV spot, or online video, “That was hysterical!” More often, companies or brands attempt to connect by tugging emotional heartstrings, creating small trauma. In most film festivals, dramas outnumber comedies by 20 to 1. Why? The great 18th-century actor Edmund Kean answered us as he lay dying: “Death is easy, comedy is hard.” Still, humor is a worthy aspiration; accomplishing tasks is seldom achieved by a serious approach. Humor establishes rapport—almost all people love to laugh. Non-offensive jokes can quickly establish likability and trust. A joke related to a problematic situation can disarm a prospect or client when delivering “tough medicine.” Relationships are often built on experiences of shared humor. People do business with people they like, and if they smile and laugh whenever you are near them, they associate you with happiness. Combined with knowledge, humor enhances expertise, demonstrating confidence and strength. Humor triggers memorability. Many strive to create “AHA! moments” in customers' minds. This occurs when one thinks one way and turns one's head to think another. Those are the very mechanics of a joke punchline. In our example, I suggest a Midwestern state and quickly turn it into a statement of finances. The unexpected wordplay registers in the brain as humor, which triggers endorphins that encode memory. This is why a childhood joke exists in our repertoire decades after introduction. Humor creates alignment. A joke is based upon shared experience. Humor works well when there is a communal understanding of the issues at hand. By identifying a common problem and creating a punch line around it, insiders will adopt the punch line as a trigger representing the issue. So when no one remembers to turn off the lights when leaving, a giant light switch painted on the wall makes people laugh and remember their responsibility without embarrassment. The time has never been better for brands to employ social media when launching a new advertising campaign, particularly one with humor. The main reason is that social media (namely YouTube) is primarily considered an entertainment medium. People rarely turn to YouTube to garner product information but go there to watch funny videos. When they find one that resonates with them, the likelihood that they'll click the share button to spread it via their networks on Twitter and Facebook, email it to a friend, or talk about it becomes even higher. As a small company or brand, you can take the chance with a funny video and post it on YouTube to see how it's received. Sometimes, it fails, but if done properly, it can be a chance for those companies to compete with more prominent brands without spending much money. Advertising... The Greatest Risk is Being Ignored! You can entertain or make 'em chuckle with the soft sell. And laugh all the way to the bank...? Cheers! - rb More About the Content Creator: Rory W. Bolen Rory is a different kind of guy. Rory William Bolen is best described as if Dennis Rodman, Hunter S. Thompson, Ferris Bueller, Howard Stern, and Evel Knievel had formed into one knucklehead… He is married and has an English bulldog named Roxxy (2-XX's because she's double trouble). Rory is also the Creative Director for Bad Monkey Circus Agency, a Chicago-based ad boutique shop.