HUMOUR IN ADVERTISING

WHAT IS HUMOUR ?
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vHumour is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement.

vPeople of all ages and cultures respond to humour.

vPeople in their stress full schedules need some moments which ease down their hectic journey of life.

vHumour not only bring smile on face but make people forget their tension and stressed routines.

HUMOUR IN ADVERTISING

üHumor in advertising is a delicate method of attracting a viewer's/listener's attention to the client's product.

üMany of the most memorable ad campaigns around tend to be funny.

üAdvertisers use this strategy to attract customers to their product.

üAudiences like to be entertained, but not pitched.

üPeople will pay more attention to a humorous commercial than a factual or serious one, opening themselves up to be influenced.

üThe key to funny advertising is assuring the humor is appropriate to both product and customer.

üThe 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. 

Humor Appeals in Advertising:  When Do They Work?

Humor works by:

qAiding exposure: Blocking zapping and zipping. Preventing consumers from avoiding the commercial by switching channels (zapping) or avoiding the commercial by fast-forwarding while watching a prerecorded program (zipping).

qHolding attention: Getting people to listen to or watch the ad (rather than shift their attention to something else);

qHelping memory: Making people remember the ad by the joke.

qGratification: Adds to the enjoyment people derive from the use of media. It leaves a pleasant feeling by having amused the consumer, and this pleasant feeling rubs off on the brand.

qMultiplier effect: Repeated self-rehearsal. People like to tell jokes and talk about funny commercials; doing so further helps memorizing.

Humor works best when:

Consumers already have a positive attitude toward the brand. (With initially negative consumer attitudes, humor might work only if it is self-deprecating.)

The product is light, low in involvement.

The product is not upscale, and gravitas is not the brand’s aspired positioning.

The product pokes fun at itself (rather than at other brands or other people);

The joke and brand message are integrated. For example, in an airline ad, a man comes home with flowers for his wife and begins to undress (to bare briefs) even as he walks toward the interior of the house, only to discover his in-laws waiting. The airline was promoting its cheap fares! (Had this ad had been for a company selling flowers, the humor would have stood unconnected with the message.)

Humor can backfire when:

ØThe ad makes fun of a specific group; and

ØIt is in bad taste, relative to the sophistication or culture of the audience.

TYPES OF HUMOUR IN ADVERTISING

1.Using a comedian: Here instead of building humour in the advertising one can use a comedian actor to promote the brand. One's choice of comedian has to match the values of the brand. One of the most memorable advertisements that have used a comedian well has been Charlie Chaplin for Cherry Blossom shoe polish. The most recent one in this space using an Indian comedian which has been noticeable and successful is Domino's Pizza which has plugged in Paresh Raval very cleverly.

2.      Capitalizing on the current topics : Use the current hot topic in all walks of life which is funny, sticky, memorable and controversial. Amul Butter has been doing these for several years. The advertising deployed has been very humorous and are always based on the current topics with a tongue-in-cheek approach. People never get fatigued watching the Amul ads. People eagerly wait for what Amul Butter outdoor campaigns by constantly looking at the prime hoarding points where Amul butter is visible.

3.      Strong idea based humour: Here the strong creative idea is carefully blended with subtle humour. The case in example is Fevicol. The powerful idea with humour helps in beating the clutter. Centre Shock electric gum is another good example where a strong advertising idea (Idea sprung up from the product) with the help of humour helped in translating into a great piece of campaign. Saint Goblin glass is another wonderful example of how humour has been used subtly. The restaurant advertisement (where the water is thrown) created by the company is so refreshing that one never gets bored of viewing it.

Using the right type humour in advertising will be determined by clearly defining your objectives and positioning of your product. This, supported with a strong idea will further help you to create good advertising which can be sticky and memorable for a long time.

Humour will help if it is relevant: Mostly humour is used in products which is low in investment and which has high impulse purchase. (Candy, beer and mosquito repellents). One cannot totally generalize this, as consumer durable products have also used humour effectively. Humour may not work in category like condoms, sanitary napkins as these products need to explain the benefits of the product more clearly.Similarly cars and diamonds may also not use humour as the decision process to purchase is long.

10 dos and don'ts as guidelines while using humor in direct Advertising

1. Don't over-analyze a humorous idea. It's funny, or it's not. As Mark Twain said, "Trying to figure out why something is funny is like dissecting a frog. You'll come up with answers, but the frog always dies."

2. Don't use humor for its own sake. Make it relevant to your objective.

3. Don't use humor to deceive or tell a lie. It's a scientific fact that humor intensifies positive physical and psychological reactions; deceit will undermine these good feelings and supplant them with anger and resentment.

4. Do use humor to entertain. People love to be entertained. (What do you do in your free time?)

5. Do use humor to be thought-provoking, but not offensive.

6. Do test humorous concepts, not techniques. Slapstick, irony and word play are techniques, but what is the idea you want to convey?

7. Do let your reader/listener/viewer experience the joy of "getting it." You'll make a friend.

8. Do engage the imagination of your customers. Theirs may be even bigger than yours.

9. Do the homework on your customer, and I don't necessarily mean formal research. A renowned copywriter from the early days of advertising called research "putting on my hat and going out to talk to people." Humor comes from knowing your audience inside-out.

10. Don't forget that rules are meant to be broken. The best humor comes from the edge.

J J In Brief…  J J

v  First, people like funny things. They relax and pay attention when they know you have a sense of humor. It puts them in a good mood, and it creates a more comfortable atmosphere and a more positive image for your company. It makes you easy to approach, and easy to remember.

vAdvertising humor works best with established and commonly purchased products. Humor in advertising works for business services, familiar items, and products we all know. But corporate image and industrial advertising are serious business. Unknown, risky, expensive, or sensitive products are not normally suited to the lighter touch of advertising humor.

vAdvertising humor also needs to be well suited to its audience. If your customers don’t get the joke, then the joke will be on you. A sophisticated audience will understand your irony, satire, and puns, but a young audience may only understand slapstick comedy or a silly cartoon caricature. Inside jokes can be effective if the recipient understands that it was done for them, but nobody else will get it.

v  And advertising humor has a relatively short life. The first time we see it we may laugh out loud. But after a while, although we still may smile at the joke, it’s not so funny any more. Funny ads need to be replaced periodically.

Q 1.  Can it be true that people are  so preoccupied with the humour that the very purpose of ad gets lost ?

Thou sometimes it happens  that an advertisement may lose its purpose but the foremost priority of an advertisement is product establishment. If an advertisement is successful enough  for establishing a product , the message automatically became  a keen factor  in the viewers mind regarding the advertise product or service.

Moreover, if people like that particular advertisement they will surely discuss about the content with some one. This will not only hype the advertisement but will also promote the product.

But if an advertisement fails its establishing a product or in its content shown that will surely lose its purpose..

Q.2. Some of the studies reveal that humorous ads were no more effective than straight ads and impact negatively on results. Justify?

Humorous ads are generally attention grabbing and holds a viewer’s interest, so in our opinion humorous advertisements are today's demand. We can also justify it by checking a hectic schedule from a running human life. Today each one of us is engaged in a professional and skilled life, where we already get involved in a point to point discussion environment. So an advertisement with a straight discussion about its product will not relax the accelerated mind of today’s population . They wants something which relax their mind and give them a little bit smile. So humorous ads are much more proffered so as to get a feeling of infotainment.. 

 Q.3 Examine the impact of humorous ads vis-a- vis a normal ads and suggest how to plan the use of humour 

effectively ?

ØA humorous advertisement is more attention grabbing and resultant to effective conveying of message. The humorous ads leave much more impact on their viewers. Also, these humourous ads are demanded much by the viewers as they lighten their mood.

But it should kept in mind that the content should stick nearby the product

ØForced humor can be dangerous

ØOne should convey the message in such a way that it is always recall by the viewer in comparison to various other running ads.