Is Having a Funny Ad a Fool’s Errand?
Is Having a Funny Ad a Fool’s Errand?
There is no denying people enjoy a good laugh.
Laughter is contagious and can help turn nearly anyone's day around.
The concept of being 'funny' is not an easy metric to measure. Everyone has different ideas of what is 'funny'.
What then leads businesses to wanting to make their marketing and ads 'funny'?
This is what I will discuss over the next few minutes.
Have You Considered the Humour Route for Your Marketing?
Wherever you look there are ads.
From TV to public transport and buildings, to every single online platform known to mankind.
If you can go a day without seeing an ad, kudos to you.
Amidst the sea of ads, it is not uncommon for business owners to want to stand out from the crowd.
This is where the idea of a 'funny' ad is born.
You don't see an abundance of them, so maybe there is a gap in the market?
Are 'Funny' Ads Actually 'Funny'?
Some, yes. Most, no.
Maybe 1% of ads that attempt to be 'funny' pull it off.
Even if they achieve 'funny' status, what do you get from them? Can you remember what was being sold in the last 'funny' ad you saw, or just remember having a little laugh to yourself?
This is the 'funny' dilemma.
'Funny' grabs people's attention, there is no denying that.
It is what you get from that attention that is the problem. Sure you get engagement (likes, comments, some shares). Except most of these people are not your target audience. They never were going to buy your product no matter how 'funny' the ad.
Of course, some of the target audience will be in there, just now you have an even bigger majority who shouldn't. Not exactly optimal for re-targeting people.
The next question you are probably thinking is, "what if people don't think that my ad is 'funny'?".
What Happens If My Ad Isn't Seen As 'Funny'?
There is a large percentage chance that this could happen. If only 1% of ads are normally seen as 'funny', you can do the math on if it won't be 'funny'.
You must first think what it takes for an ad to be 'funny'.
Classic examples include the Old Spice ad - if you have never seen it, I implore you to take a look.
This ad is 'funny' for a multitude of reasons. The actor owns the role and brings this air of arrogance that isn't overdone. You also have numerous scene cuts and lots of movement going on. The guy is in the bathroom, then on a boat, before ending up on a horse on a beach.
Now ask yourself, could you replicate this? Bad news is most won't be able to. The few that do possess such abilities may come to the harsh reality that even with everything done perfectly, people may not find it funny.
All this will do is hurt your brand and make sure that you don't get any sales for this (and potentially future) ads.
You have probably surmised your own conclusion, but in the next post we will cover the £million question: “should an ad be funny or not?”
The £Million Question: Funny or Not Funny Ads?
'Funny' has its place in the world. Unfortunately, marketing is not one where it does best.
I can't sit here and say the 'funny' ads don't work at being 'funny'. What I can say is most 'funny' ads don't help with selling.
At the end of the day, the sole purpose of advertising should be to generate more revenue for your business.
If people want to laugh, they will search for funny YouTube videos or see an Adam Sandler movie. No one scrolls the ads library looking for a chuckle.
Sure 'funny' garners attention. However, do you know what leads to sales? Selling.
Let's not try and be overly fancy with our ads here. It can be hard enough as it is to get a normal ad to perform well and lead to sales, let along adding the unpredictable element of humour in there too.
I should note, this doesn't mean making your ad bland and boring. More so, save yourself extra complications in the selling process and simply sell.
If you would like ways that you could move forward with your advertising and only worry about dealing with qualified customers, then get in touch for a FREE marketing analysis today:
