The Funny Ad Fallacy: Does the Attention Help Your Business?

Everyone loves a laugh.

It is a contagious emotion and can help uplift people in the darkest of times.

Being funny is seen as a useful yet unique skill.

However, ‘funniness’ is opinion based. What makes some people laugh, doesn’t make others laugh.

Knowing this, would you risk adding humour to your marketing and advertisements?

Over the next couple minutes this is what will be assessed.

Why Businesses Go Down the ‘Funny’ Ad Route

Now more than ever, there are a multitude of ads out there.

You see them on TV, on public transport, and all-over social media platforms.

They. Are. Everywhere.

It should be of no surprise that businesses start to think, “how can I stand out from the crowd and all my competitors?”

Thus, the idea of, “let’s make a funny ad!” comes to mind.

You don’t see lots of ‘funny’ ads out there.

So, people think, maybe this is an untapped market that can really elevate our business.

This is typically where the thought process ends, and the ‘funny’ ad making begins.

Can Funny Ads Work?

In short, yes, they can.

BUT.

The big but here being, this is only the case for the tiniest percentage of ads.

We are talking maybe 1% of ads at best.

If I was to ask you to list out all the funny ads you have seen in the last week, month, or even year. Can you recall many? Do you remember what they were about?

The likelihood is that you remember laughing at it and not much else.

This is part of the predicament we face.

Funny grabs people’s attention.

In a landscape of seemingly boring and confusing ads, one that makes you laugh will gain your attention for longer.

But what does this attention get you?

Maybe some likes, people commenting how funny it is, and some sharing amongst friends to have a good laugh.

What it doesn’t get, is a lot of people who are genuinely interested in the product or service.

Not to say it won’t get any attention of the target audience, but the majority of the attention will not be from the ideal customer.

This can wreak havoc when it comes to trying to retarget. Especially when you run a follow up ad that is straight to the point and just tells you about the product or service.

That is the main issue. Congratulations you made a funny. People laughed and will remember it being funny, they just won’t remember much else about it.

What Happens If The ‘Funny’ Ad Falls Flat?

Now what happens if you create an ad with the sole intention of it being funny and you don’t fall within the 1% of ads that actually land as being funny?

If you look back across the years, there are some noteworthy funny ads. You have the old spice ad for example.

This ad is comical because the actor owned the role. There was an effortless arrogance that the actor brought to the role.

Not to mention the multiple transitions and changes in the ad. One minute he’s in a bathroom, then he’s on a boat, then he’s on a horse on a beach. All within a short time span.

There were a lot of elements that had to come together to make this a success.

What are the chances that anyone can do the same? The bad news is that most can’t.

The problem most people have is getting all the right elements in the first place. Even if all the elements are in place, there is a high probability of it falling flat.

“To Be Funny, Or to Not Be Funny, That Is the Question”

In a world where being funny has its advantages, it is fair to say that within advertising and marketing that is not the case.

There is no denying that if you pull it off a ‘funny’ ad can work.

Except this makes creating the ad an even harder task. Especially compared to making something that aligns with your target audience and is straight to the point.

‘Funny’ ads also bear an enormous risk. Because funny doesn’t equate to selling your product or service.

Funny equates to attention. And means you may hold that attention for a little longer than usual.

But you know what equates to sales? Selling.

There is no point trying to be funny, entertaining, or amusing in advertising. It is not as easy as it looks. And is even harder than normal advertising.

Save yourself the needless complication of the selling process and focus on the selling.

If you are struggling with how to move forward with your advertising or how best to market your business, get in touch with us today for a FREE marketing consultation:

Get in touch with us today for a FREE marketing consultation!