Ways to advertise. Ads should be funny.

Numerous of the most memorable advertising campaigns around tend to be funny. Advertisers use this strategy to attract clients to their product. Audiences like to be amused, but not pitched. People will pay more care to a humorous commercial than an actual or serious one, opening themselves up to be charmed. The key to funny advertisement is assuring the humor is appropriate to both product and customer. The balance between funny and obnoxious can often be delicate; and a marketer must be certain the positive effects outweigh the negative before an advertisement can be introduced.

The best products to sell using humour tend to be those that consumers have to think the least about. Products that are comparatively inexpensive, and often consumable, can be represented without providing a lot of facts, and thats where theres room for humor. Candy, food, alcohol, tobacco and toys/entertainment related products have proven to benefit the most from humor in their campaigns. One of the most important things to keep in mind is relevance to the product. An example of an highly successful humourous campaign is the series of Yo Quiero Taco Bell commercials. The star, a tiny babbling Chihuahua who is passionate about his Taco Bell got people doubling the companys name across the country. The repetition of the company name and the actual content of the commercial reinforce the message in a relevant manner. Taco Bell saw a substantial rise in sales and their own mascot became a pop icon.

Another point to consider when using humor in advertisement is that different things are funny to different people. A commercial that may leave one person gripping their sides from laughter may leave a bad taste in anothers mouth. The target market must always be considered. Whats funny in a client presentation may not be funny on an airplane, at a country club or in a hospital. An example of a recent humorous product introduction is Mikes Hard Lemonade. These commercials feature over exaggerated and comical violence with the underlining message that no one’s day is hard enough to pass up a Mike’s. It failed, ranking as one of the years most hated campaigns by both men and woman according to 2002s Ad Track, a consumer survey. The series of commercials are aimed at 21-29 year old males and the repetition of comical violence (such as a construction worker being impaled on the job and a lumberjack cutting off his own foot) gets less and less funny every time its viewed. Eventually the joke just wore out and the commercial became annoying and offensive.

Humor in advertising tends to improve brand recognition, but does not improve product recall, message credibility, or buying intentions. In other words, consumers may be familiar with and have good feelings towards the product, but their purchasing decisions will probably not be affected. One of the major keys to a successful humorous campaign is variety, once a commercial starts to wear out theres no saving it without some variation on the concept. Humorous campaigns are often expensive because they have to be constantly changed. Advertisers must remember that while making the customer laugh, they have to keep things interesting, because old jokes die along with their products.

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