Think of your favorite ad. Got it? Now tell me, how did that ad make you feel? Did you laugh? Groan? Cry? Time and time again, I hear similar ads mentioned as people's favorite ad. Old Spice. Snickers. Evian. E*Trade. M&Ms. Do you remember any of these advertisements? Do you remember why you liked them? I say, it's because they are funny.
Before you disregard this post and say that an ad does not need to be funny for it to be memorable or effective, I agree. An ad does not necessarily need to be funny to stick. Didn't everyone hear about the Budweiser puppy ad?
Stop messing with my feelings! Be right back, crying.
However, you cannot deny the success of hilarious ads. One of the most widely successful ads of this past Super Bowl was the Radio Shack ad, and that was hilarious. Since it used humor as a vehicle to capture and keep our attention, it was very memorable and successful.
One CBS article reads, "Super Bowl 2014: Boring game, safe ads, transit nightmare". Many people that I spoke to said that they were bored by this years Super Bowl because the ads were not that funny. They didn't remember because they didn't connect, and that is humors strong point. (You can read the article here: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/super-bowl-2014-boring-game-safe-ads-transit-nightmare/)
Humor is a successful vehicle because it connects to so many people. Sometimes sentimental ads do not resonate because not that many people care about them. Informative ads might be interesting to those people who need to hear about a specific product, but let's be honest, how many of us would really be interested or remember an ad for UVU or Utah State? We aren't that target audience, and so we don't care. Humor can be more universal. It doesn't matter if you are not a part of the target audience, humor can still grab your attention and keep it. I'm well outside of Old Spice's target market, as an adult female, but I've seen and enjoyed their advertising campaigns. Honestly, one of my favorite ads is for Bud Light and as I do not drink, I am very much outside of that target market.
Humor is a vehicle to bring more brand awareness and eventual success. Some people might not find humor funny and some might even find it tasteless, but you cannot argue with the success and popularity of humorous ads.
Just for fun, my favorite ad:
Yes I know it's for beer, but I can still like the ad!
Good post, it was very insightful. Good thoughts.I agree that humorous ads are some of the most successful ads.
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