Humor in advertising

by Bobby Melloy

“So easy, a caveman can do it!”
[Enter caveman] Hey man, not cool! Not cool! ”
“I’m so sorry; we didn’t think you guys were still around.”
[Laughter ensues]

Humor is becoming an ever-growing facet of advertising used to capture an audience’s attention to sell a product. Although the use of humor in advertising has its origins in the early days of the business, its widespread use as an advertising strategy is a more recent phenomenon (Gulas and Weinberger, 2006). If used effectively, it can be an incredible asset and the potential for profit is exponential. Humor however, if used improperly or too frequently, can work against a company and be quite a turn-off to the audience. The best way to use humor would be when selling an inexpensive, consumable, simple product. The simpler the product, the less facts needed to explain it. This allows the company to not have to waste time explaining the product per se, but allow it to be explained through the humor they are trying to pull off.

Warning: Using Humor May Induce Laughter
The great things about the concept of humor in advertising are the rewards in correctly using it. It can help to increase product recognition. A [study] by the San Francisco-based Center on Alcohol Advertising tested commercial and character recall among 9 to 11 year-old children. The result: the children demonstrated higher recall (73%) of the Budweiser frogs' slogan than of the slogans associated with other television animal characters, including Tony the Tiger (57%), Smokey Bear (43%), and the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers (39%) (Hacker, 1996). The humor of the characters leaves the children with a positive lasting impression of the commercial and in the future they may associate those impressions with the company and can develop brand-faithful buying habits. Jingles are also means by which companies can keep themselves rooted in the minds of the consumers. Slogans like, “Head-on! Apply directly to the forehead,” or “Call 800-588-2300 EMPIRE TODAY,” really can be catchy and annoying at the same time, but the public is thinking of them so they are doing their job.
Aside from product recognition, another positive aspect of humor is that it is rare. Everyone is used to seeing commercials that state facts, safety ratings, or directions. When they see a commercial that is funny, consumers are more likely to pay attention because it is a break from the routine.
Also scientifically speaking, humor is said to be able to “block stress hormones, stimulate endorphins or other chemical reactions, and produce euphoric effects akin to mood-altering drugs” (Stroh). Some research suggests that laughter may also reduce the risk of heart disease. Historically, research has shown that distressing emotions (depression, anger, anxiety, and stress) are all related to heart disease. A study done at the University of Maryland Medical Center suggests that a good sense of humor and the ability to laugh at stressful situations helps mitigate the damaging physical effects of distressing emotions. Simply put, humor can help make people feel good (Kemp, Segal, 2007).
Picture this: A crowd walks into an auditorium and seats themselves. It appears as though it is a college class, getting ready for a large, lackluster lecture. Ironically the professor stands up to the microphone and chokes slightly – he’s nervous. Coming to his rescue, a modest-looking student stands up and shouts, “Excuse me sir. I know public speakers use tricks sometimes to help them relax. If you need to picture me naked, that’s cool.” Just then words appear onscreen reading: CLEARASIL MAY CAUSE CONFIDENCE. He then looks to a girl on his left and says suavely, “You too.” She smiles and blushes.
This was an example of an effective use of humor. Perhaps the best thing going for it is its element of surprise; it starts out as fairly humdrum and routine, but this young man acts on an impulse most of us would not (actually another good technique: seeing someone do something we could never imagine doing for fear of embarrassment, approval, etc.). They had an average looking young man portrayed as the “hero,” having the confidence to help this teacher who obviously did not have any, and yet still having time to pick up a girl. This television commercial was seen on MTV and was conducive to exposing their product to their target demographic – young adults ages 17-23 who may see acne as a nuisance and/or confidence killer, as well as men who may lack the confidence to talk to girls. The unique thing about this commercial is that it is not gender specific; the fact that it is a boy that jumps up and later talks to a girl can easily be imagined as a girl who does the same thing then talks to a boy. This helps to prevent audience alienation and allow the commercial to attract a diverse population.

A Joke Not Funny Makes You Lose Money
Misused advertising can be the downfall of an ad campaign, especially if it was the humor that was attempted but fell short. If the product is not placed well enough, or if the audience does not experience the “get it” moment, they may forget about the product and concentrate solely on the joke. On the other hand, the jokes may be so funny or extraordinary that the audience does not take the product seriously. In either case these situations can undermine the credibility of the sponsoring company. In “Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals”, Jib Fowles says of Alka-Seltzer’s 1960’s failed comic commercial, “...humor can be treacherous, because it can get out of hand and smother the product information. [In this case] the audience cackled [at the joke] so much it forgot the antacid. Or, did not take it seriously.”
Just as humor can leave positive lasting impressions with viewers, it can also leave negative ones too. Humor is subjective: what may be funny to one group of people may turn off another. This can alienate specific audiences and limit a business’ consumer base. For example, the Axe© Body Spray campaign has taken criticism from women due to the company’s portrayal of them. In an article titled, “Body spray ads amuse, but do they offend, too?”, Sam McManis says, “Just last month, the consumer watchdog group Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood began a letter-writing push to Axe's parent company, Unilever, accusing it of sexism and hypocrisy.”

Cute and Funny Wins the Race
The Super Bowl is the prime time for advertising. In 2008, companies spent $2.6 million for 30 seconds of on-air advertising (La Monica, 2007)! With that much money invested, the businesses must make sure that their ads are the best of the best. USA Today newspaper sponsors “Ad Meter” which ranks the advertisements of the Super Bowl each year based on how they scored with a sample of viewers on a 1-10 scale. In the list of the top ads, 73% used humor as a concept to bait consumers. Ninety percent of the top 10 advertisements were based on humor, and 75% of the top 10 were made by Budweiser, including the number one ad of the Super Bowl: the Budweiser Clydesdales, which pulled in a rating of 8.73/10. However, there were still Budweiser ads throughout the list, including one ad in particular that ranked at #37 of 55, which only pulled in a ranking of 4.5/10. How could two ads both using humor and both from the same company experience two completely different results when tested with the same audience?
The Clydesdale advertisement was a play on the movie Rocky, and involved a horse that was the only one not to be picked to publicly represent the Budweiser Company, seemingly because he was inferior to the others. A local Dalmatian trains the horse day and night, rain and snow, to get fit and ultimately win over the affections and respect of his owners. The ad evoked many positive feelings: pride, work-ethic, overcoming odds, the will to succeed, etc. It showed nostalgia for the “American Dream,” that you could do anything once you put your mind to it. Plus, it had the “cute-factor” in the animals, which appealed to children and adults alike. Kinsey55 says in a comment on the video on Spike.com that “it was [a commercial] that could be understood by all age groups. Well done!”
Then there was the other commercial featuring Will Ferrell as “Jackie Moon” from his then up-coming movie. In the commercial, he says different lines advertising Bud Light™, but each time is “cut” by the director because of his suggestive language and inappropriate innuendos. Since women are more likely to watch the Super Bowl for the ads, this content may be inappropriate for its audience, which is most likely not women and children. They may not find its humor funny, and may be turned off by its vulgarity. MAVELTO on Spike.com’s video comment board says that “there is something I just do not care for [in this commercial]. [Will Ferrell] to me, just tries too hard at being funny.” This is an example of how the humor used does not work, in essence because it “works ‘too’ hard” and causes viewers like MAVELTO to shy away.
I find that when watching television, reading a billboard, or listening to the radio, I enjoy it when the advertisements are funny. As stated before, it brings a sort of unexpectedness to my daily routine. I also find that when I see an ad that is funny, I am more likely to buy the product not because the ad “hooked” me, but because (as ridiculous as this sounds) I consciously appreciate the fact that they made the ad funny to appeal to me. In other words, my thought process is: If presented with two of the same ad, one straightforward and to the point and the other funny and original, I want to give my money to the one more creative and eager to get my business. When I see an ad that I just do not understand, I am more apprehensive about buying their product less likely to remember what product it was in the first place.