Guest post by: Website Hotline, which offers freelance writing services and can provide a website content writer for any niche or topic.
Illustration: © andrewgenn – Fotolia.com
Close your eyes for a while and think of all those ads you have read. How many of them are serious ads and how many are funny? I am sure the funnier ads are more than the serious ones. As the audience, you must have enjoyed being entertained rather than being pitched and this enjoyable feeling creates an attachment with the company. You must have shared some really funny ads with your friends just to appreciate the humor and you are spreading the product and the company without knowing it.
Why humor in Ads?
The basic aim of the ad is to sell products and the best way to get noticed is by unique and funny advertising. However you need to be remarkable at using humor in your ads, and you must not forget your basic purpose is to sell the product. Humor should not be the only way of your advertisements, you must advertise traditionally by giving your audience some information and benefits of purchasing the product without being too boring.
“Humor, when executed properly, helps cut through the noise and helps you stand out”, says Tim Washer, who is a senior social media and marketing manager for Cisco Systems in New York City and a comedy writer/actor.
How to add Humor?
To put humor in advertising is a very risky thing as the humor often insults someone so there might be a chance of offending someone. But when the humor is done rightly, it will be very effective and successful. Advertising is all about getting attention and humor is the best way of getting noticed.
People like to be relaxed and they enjoy comedy. They will sit back and pay full attention to what you are saying; this will convey a positive image of your company and they will remember you.
Some tips to be considered while writing a humorous ad copy:
- Introduce something new: Avoid using the same old concepts; think of something new and fresh which the targeted audience can relate to.
- Be good at it: Do not write humor until you know you are good at it. By writing poor comedy, you will only destroy your company image.
- Do not forget your product: Your humor must revolve around your product. You are here to sell the product not to entertain everyone.
- Keep in mind the targeted audience: A thing which is very funny to you might not be for another age group. While writing humor, you must be careful about the audience and write what you think is funny for the targeted age group.
When to use humor?
Humor works best with the items that are commonly used and purchased. Avoid using it in business and corporate level ads. Use such jokes that can be suited to the audience. If the audience does not get the joke, it will be of no use. Or if it is just for certain kind of audience, it will have no effect on the rest of the people. The ad must not forget the product. It should be written in a way that while remembering the ad the product must come in one’s mind. A funny ad has relatively short life. People cannot laugh on the same thing again and again and they will be bored soon, but it has the major advantage of being effective.
