Some say that marketing is a boring and repetitive place to work. You call customers, explain your product or services, and try your hardest to manipulate them into purchasing it. On the other hand, marketing using humour has become a new way of manipulating desire. I agree with this. I have gone through many swipefiles (folders or sites containing advertisements and marketing posts; technically a heaven for copywriters) and found humorous marketing posts that intrigue me to buy that product. What is more interesting in these posts is the way humour is portrayed – subtle yet active.
One of the classic examples would be the iconic Rolls-Royce advertisement curated by the father of advertising – David Ogilvy. He wrote that piece at a time when cars would scream louder than humans. The loud sounds from the exhausts would be deafening to many people; worse if you live in packed neighbourhoods. The piece had the line which said, “At 60 mph, the loudest thing is the tick of the car’s clock.” There are two ways one can perceive it. One group would think of it as the luxurious feature that any expensive car should have. You know, the interior will be silent, and you will be able to communicate with the occupants of the car as if it were some sort of meeting room. On the other hand, it is humorous as it shows how silent the car is compared to the cheaper options found in the market of those days.
Another form of using humour in marketing is memes. Yes, the very short clips or images that make us laugh out loud (known as LOL in Gen Z lingo) can become marketing gold. Just a couple of tweaks to the original meme can create a big difference. According to an article by Forbes, the condiment brand Heinz used the perfect method of meme marketing. By using this strategy, Heinz received over 4 million impressions, quadruple their goal. Furthermore, they had a total of 80,000 engagements across Facebook and Instagram. Their tactic was simple: posing the question of whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable.
But is humour in marketing an ethical move? According to Boston Institute of Analytics, humourous marketing posts would resonate strongly among Gen Z and Millennials. They tend to become curious about the product if they are presented with something that can make them laugh. Also, their interaction can turn a simple advertisement into a viral one. Think about it – the success comes with the amount of engagement with the post. Recently, Thai advertisements have become the centre of humour marketing. A simple product such as food from convenience stores is presented with humour, thus creating a great impact on the company.
In a nutshell, marketing should not be the old and boring concept of this product can do this and that, so go ahead with it. It should be presented with humour, given the fact that people of all ages are now connected with memes and jokes. If there is a great engagement resulting from such a tactic, where is the risk?
The writer is a sub-editor, Daily TIMES of Bangladesh
