How can you use humor in advertising?

Humor in advertising is a valuable strategy for several reasons. Firstly, it grabs viewers' attention in a crowded marketplace, making ads more memorable and shareable. Secondly, it creates a positive emotional association with the brand, fostering loyalty and increasing the likelihood of gaining new clients. Additionally, humor can simplify complex messages or add interest to boring subject matter, making a brand more relatable and engaging. It can even be used to tackle sensitive subjects in a non-threatening way. It both helps achieve breakthrough, while also leaving a lasting impact on consumers. When executed well, humor can significantly enhance the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

The best way to use humour in advertising is to leverage memes in your ads. Memes are the best way to spark that relatability factor. So I would suggest to use a meme aligned with your brand messaging and try it out on ads!

People go to content for entertainment / education, not to be sold. Even if the user didn't buy after seeing the ad, they will at least remember that they're entertained. This can make our retargeting efforts a whole lot easier as customers have remembered us.

Ad spying tools (e.g. Magic Brief) would showcase category of humorous ads. Alternatively, you can also find big brands' advertisements such as Wendy, Burger King, McDonald, Coca Cola, Pepsi where it can be humorous. Here are some DTC brands known for funny ads: - Liquid Death - Oats Overnight - NOOD

For Paid Social, refer to engagements (quantitative) and comments (qualitative) to determine how successful humor strategy is. As humor is subjective, comments can give us more detail on why it works (or didn't work) from different perspectives. Engagement serve as an overall direction to see if most reactions are positive or negative. If you're doing OOH advertisements, pay attention to social media sentiment analysis and PR headlines.

Super important to have an ad inspiration repository. As Yee Xuen Hong mentioned above - use tools like Magicbrief.com for ad inspirations across verticals and formats. Track TikTok and Instagram trends - to see what your users resonate with. Leverage "moment marketing" and pop culture references.

Stay true to your brand voice: While it's tempting to jump on a trending joke, ensure the humour aligns with your brand's personality. A disconnect between the brand voice and the joke can confuse consumers or come off as inauthentic. Use humour that highlights relatable experiences or common pain points, making the audience feel understood and represented.