The Effect of Humour in Advertising

The Effect of Humour in Advertising

Apr. 29, 2020

Think about your top five favorite ads of all time. The chances are, 3-4 of those ads use humor in some way, right? The fact is that marketers and business owners know that the number one rule of advertising is to be memorable, and humor is the easiest way to do so.

Funny is memorable and that’s why industries that are perceived as serious, such as poker or even healthcare, will often use humor to amp up their marketing efforts and raise brand awareness. 

Yet despite the obvious advantages, using humor in ads is like walking a tightrope. There’s always the possibility that the brand may offend a certain demographic, or that an attempt at humor will fall flat. But before we talk about that, let’s see why humor works so well.

Humor sticks

Talk to any content marketer about memorable content, and you’ll hear terms such as ‘sticky content’ or ‘content that sticks’ bandied about. The idea here, as we mentioned earlier, is to create content that sticks in the mind. In this particular case, that’s sales or advertising content which tugs at the emotions and remains memorable.

Let’s go back to that question we posed earlier about your top five favorite ads of all time. Let’s assume that three of those ads were humorous. What about the other two?

We’re going to go out on a limb here and say that whatever those other two ads were about, they pulled at the heart strings in some way. Whether it’s a reminder of the importance of a healthy relationship or your love of a pet, ads that evoke strong feelings are the ones that you will remember the most.

But why is humor often the go-to emotion for advertisers? Wouldn’t love be just as powerful? Yes, love would be just as powerful, but it’s a much more difficult emotion to evoke. Love doesn’t quite hold the attention of an audience the way humor does. With love, audiences know what to expect and, unless the ad is particularly well thought out and shot, they’ll lose interest before it reaches its conclusion.

Humor, on the other hand, encourages the audience to remain fully invested. After all, they’re waiting for the punch line. And as with any well-told joke, people will want to hear it or, in this case, see it again. They’ll even retell the joke or talk about it with friends and family.

Humor sticks and that’s the simple reason why we see it in so many ads.

But isn’t humor just for quirky industries?

The short answer to that is no. Humor can be used effectively in any number of industries. It is especially effective where it’s least expected.

Let's take the poker industry as an example. Serious poker (not the kind you play at the kitchen table) is often perceived as a game played only in casinos. It’s a big money game where controlling your emotions is essential in order to win. In other words, the poker table is the last place you expect to find any humor. However, one of the giants of the industry, 888poker, took the humor angle in a marketing campaign aimed at raising the profile of their online poker platform.

The idea was to advertise how 888poker created a fair platform that puts all players on an even footing. Evidently, this is a frustration or pain point for online poker players, so alleviating that pain could win the company some new customers. They started a campaign centered around the tag line ‘taking back the game’ featuring this ad.

As you may notice, the advertising company decided to go with light, visual humor that perfectly encapsulates the frustration of having the odds stacked against you. It’s incredibly simple, yet has just enough humor to be memorable for all the right reasons. In this case, there was no real need to craft clever punch lines or come up with anything too controversial. And it works brilliantly.

Other traditionally serious industries have also followed this route. From car insurance to private healthcare, construction to legal offices – it seems that no industry is off limits when it comes to the humor angle.

Walking the tightrope

  • The last thing you want to do is upset or offend your audience

What our poker friends did so effectively with their ‘taking back the game’ campaign was to know where the line was. They kept their efforts at humor simple and straight to the point. They played it safe and it worked.

However, this isn’t always the case. While there is a certain amount of freedom given in the world of comedy and humor, brands need to be extremely careful that they don’t inadvertently upset or alienate a percentage of their target market.

Take Peta’s ‘Save the Whales’ campaign for instance. The idea was to encourage people to lose weight by going vegan. We’re sure you can understand why people with weight issues would be incensed at being called whales.

And who can forget the painful to watch Microsoft ads that were supposed to be a parody of iPhone users. To say they missed the mark is quite the understatement. They were simply awful and, after a lot of public criticism, Microsoft agreed and pulled the plug on the entire campaign.

When using humor in advertising, it’s best to follow the rule of KISS. In other words, Keep It Simple Stupid! There’s no need to leave people rolling on the floor of their living rooms or gasping for air as they struggle with a fit of the hiccups. Keep it simple, make them laugh, and most importantly, don’t offend anyone.

The truth is that humor is one of the most effective tools in a marketer’s arsenal, but it’s also the one that has the power to destroy a brand. So if in doubt, take the joke out and stick to a regular benefits-driven ad campaign.

Related News

May. 11, 2017

Recipe Unveils Debut Campaign "Taking back the Game" for 888poker

Today, London-based creative agency Recipe launches its first work for 888poker-the World’s second-largest online poker game, owned by 888 Holdings.

Latest News

Mar. 28, 2024

Ad of the Day | Domo's Jonathan Klein Directs the Film Debut of Jack in the Box's Newest Menu Item

Creative collaboration studio DOMO premieres its latest hidden camera-style brand collaboration with Jack in the Box and TBWA\Chiat\Day

Mar. 28, 2024

Fiverr and Steven Bartlett Partner to Support UK SMBs to Reach their Breakthrough Moment

Fiverr launches competition with Dragon’s Den star offering three grantees unique mentorship and £10,000 Fiverr credit