No matter how you feel about the use of humor in advertising, I’m guessing that you can still point to at least one t.v., radio, print or digital ad over the years that tickled your funny bone. Personally, my favorite humorous ad campaign was one that Sprite ran many years ago where they made fun of advertising itself and selling you their product all the while, I thought it was brilliant. Who can forget the Pace Picante Sauce ads from the 90’s, the Budweiser wassssssup ads or their football playing horses?! Anheuser-Busch also ran a series of pretty funny “you’re not getting my Bud Light” ads and I really like the “Wanna get away” Southwest Airlines ad campaign. Geico, Snickers, Old Spice, Dollar Shave Club, Gillette, Groupon, Apple and many other companies have run successful ad campaigns using humor as well.
In October of 2017, Ideal Positions decided to jump into the fray and try our hand at “the funny”, despite a complete lack of experience in such endeavors, some time constraints, and a few minor production errors, I would like to think that we accomplished at least making our own mothers laugh.
Our first attempt was a local radio ad that played to the tongue-in-cheek idea that the best place to hide a dead body is on the 2nd page of the Google search results because nobody looks there. We liked the general idea but I particularly was unsure how to go about making a homicide themed ad potable for the general public. It was our company president Josh Babbitt who took the reigns and wrote a script that accomplished making this delicate theme palatable for mass consumption, he also produced and edited the ad in-house, it was his first attempt and he knocked it out of the park. (ad is attached below) Our timing also helped soften any potential blowback as the ad ran shortly before Halloween. The feedback we received from our radio rep, our staff and a few others was mostly positive and only encouraged both the boss and myself to take another shot at using public radio as a canvas for every smartass advertising idea we could think of, so far, soooooooooo fun!
Using a small filing room as a makeshift recording studio, we have been experimenting with different material and have involved various staff members in the process. The owner has become quite proficient with the mixing and editing programs he uses and he’s created a work environment that’s supportive of everyone’s ideas. On any given day, our staff and neighbors can hear laughter from the “studio” bellowing through the hallways here at IDP Headquarters. I absolutely love being a part of these projects and am grateful for the opportunity to have my suggestions and contributions taken under advisement by the brain trust.
We have since run Christmas and Valentine’s Day ads (V-Day ad is attached below) and have 4 more in the production and pre-production phases that include: Daylight Savings, Tax Time, Unsolved Mysteries and Missing Persons themed ads.
What are your favorite funny ads? Send your answers to joe@idealpositions.com
Check out part 2 of this blog where I will further elaborate on the current radio ads we are producing and will briefly touch on the debate within our industry about the use of humor in advertising.
The grandfather of modern advertising, Claude Hopkins, said:
Don’t treat your subject lightly. Don’t lessen respect for your self or your article by any attempt at frivolity. People do not patronize a clown. There are two things about which men should not joke. One is business, one is home. An eccentric picture may do you serious damage. One may gain attention by wearing a fool’s cap. But he would ruin his selling prospects.
But then check CBSnews.com and you will see this:
Ignore those snobs who say humor has no place in sales and marketing, that prospects don’t buy from clowns, or you should never poke fun at your own brand. They do not understand the likeability factor of humor.
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/7-boring-big-brands-that-used-humor-to-amp-up-their-marketing