We all love laughing!
And comedy is one of the most popular genres in movies and series; to this day, laughing is still considered the best medicine. Humour is used for many things — marketing is one of those things.
But being
funny in an ad is not as easy as it might seem. That is why we are here to help!
media update's Alrika Möller gives you five tips if you want to use humour in marketing:
1. Keep it simple
We have all found ourselves in the unfortunate situation of listening to someone trying to tell a joke or funny story but it just
goes on and on ... and by the time you get to the punchline, you are
so over it and have to fake a laugh.
The same thing can happen in
marketing. If the humour is
too complicated or the joke
too long, people will either lose interest or just not find it funny, which will do more harm than good.
So, keep your joke
short and sweet! You want people to understand the joke, without really having to think about it.
When
Mcdonald's launched its 'Suns Out Buns Out' ad campaign, highlighting its Big Mac burger — which includes an extra piece of bread — the joke became so popular that it ended up on some of their burger packagings.
The joke was short, sweet and easy to understand, causing it to be easy to remember and became quite the
phenomenon.
2. Know your audience
If you ever told your mom a joke and ended up getting a
lecture or a blank stare, you would know that everyone won't find the same things funny as you do. This doesn't mean you shouldn't try some humour.
When you know exactly who your
target audience is, you can tailor the joke to that group of people ensuring that it will land every time and have the desired effect. You want the
right people to find the ad funny, or the laughs won't mean anything.
A great example of this is almost any
Nando's ad ever. The local brand's ads
poke fun at the struggles South Africans face on a daily basis, or the current events taking over our news channels.
This type of targeted humour is
perfect for that group as they will enjoy, relate and remember the ads, making them
eager to support Nando's.
You don't need to be funny to everyone — just the
right group of people.
3. Stay relevant and applicable
A funny ad is always enjoyable, but if the joke has nothing to do with the
brand or product,
what is the point? Whether you use a funny image, anecdote or play on words, it is very important to stay
applicable and
relevant to your brand. If the joke is really that funny, your audience will remember it. And you want them to remember your brand / product along with the ad — and that only happens if the joke fits.
The
2022 Pringles Superbowl commercial revolved around getting your hand stuck in the Pringles tube while trying to get the last pringle. The ad is
genuinely funny and very topical for Pringles.
If the joke has nothing to do with your brand, people can enjoy and
even laugh at your joke, but it won't help you in the long run.
4. Utilise current trends
Living in the age of social media trends, there is
no shortage of funny trends to use for inspiration. And you know the saying, "If something isn't broken, don't fix it"? Well, the same applies to trends: "If a social trend is funny,
use it!"Trends are trends for a reason, people enjoy them, which means that there is a higher chance of a joke being funny or landing with the intended crowd if it is a trend they already enjoy.
This does not mean c
opy and paste! Spotify used a popular meme trend and created its own memes to announce its partnership with another app. The posts got a lot of
traction and
engagement because it was a trend that was already widely popular for their demographic.
Funny trends are trends for a reason!
5. Let your audience show you what is funny
Pulling the public into your campaign is one of the easiest ways of spreading the word.
The concept of a social media challenge became popular with things like the Ice Bucket Challenge, and now it has grown into TikTok dances. Some people create real art and post it online as part of a challenge.
This gets the public involved and makes them do
most of the work. Your target audience will already know what people like them find funny and they can
make content accordingly.
In 2020 Colgate launched a '
#MakeMomSmile' campaign on TikTok, which caused people of all ages to make funny and cute videos of them doing things that make their moms smile or laugh. The trend took off.
This became a
global marketing campaign that reached a lot of people and all they had to do was post a few social media posts to announce the trend and kick things off — the public did the rest.
There are a lot of really funny ads out in the world. What is your favourite? Let us know in the comments section below.
Have we increased your appetite for some funny marketing? If so, check out The pros and cons of humour marketing.
*Image courtesy of Canva