Page 2: Does Humor Work In Advertising?
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In the end, the consumer pays for advertising in the product cost.
Don't let anyone tell you different. The majority of "funny"
commercials are against the public interest because they spend the
consumers' money on ineffectual ads. So are commercials disguised as
extravagant Broadway dance numbers, MTV music videos, cartoons,
sex therapy videos -- and commercials that hide the product until the
end.
The reason that these and many other commercials are not in the
public interest is that they are generally impotent techniques. They cost
a lot of money and in the end the consumer pays for these
extravagances. While you're laughing over the bumbling husband, ask
yourself how much the entertainment contributes to your knowledge of
the product that the advertiser wants you to buy? At parties - and
especially when I was teaching script writing at college - people would
corner me with descriptions of commercials that they believe to be
"good advertising." Almost always the commercials are tricky or funny.
The first question I always ask, "What were they advertising?" Nine
times out of ten, they can't remember the name of the product. Try this
test yourself the next time someone tells you about a terrific
commercial. "What were they advertising?" (If you're a betting person
you can make money!)
So here you are, the client who spent almost a million dollars
producing a "funny commercial" and the people who are watching it
can't remember what you sell. Even scarier -- when a commercial fails
to register the product name, the viewer almost always attributes the
message to the leading brand. (For example: in one study, the
post-campaign research showed that a majority of viewers mistook an
amusing Polaroid message featuring two well-known actors - for a
Kodak message! Which meant that most of the Polaroid ad money for
this campaign actually sold Kodak. If you are the client, how do you
feel about spending millions of dollars to air a series of funny
commercials that wins all kinds of awards - and helps sell your
competitor's product?)
So - the question remains: "Does humor work in advertising?"
I believe the answer is "Yes."
With this caveat: don't try for a "funny" commercial; aim instead at
creating a humorous selling commercial -- one that uses humor as the
framework on which to build a solid, factual message based on product
benefits. Funny or unusual voices don't make a humorous commercial,
neither does a lame punch line or a sound effect stuck on as an
afterthought.
Lastly: if you must have a "funny" commercial, at least make sure that
your advertising copywriter has the experience to write a decent punch
line.
Hire a freelancer if you have to.
If all else fails, hire me.