Entry#4: Funny or Boring

The topic for this blog entry revolves around advertising and its bitter-sweet connection with humour. My personal opinion remains greatly indifferent to the debate over the effectiveness of humour in promotional ad campaigns, however after doing some research, I've come to the logical conclusion that advertisements that aim at making the audience laugh, are not successful in several ways. 

There are a slew of issues when it comes to including humour in ads such as the possibility of offending the audience, whether they be the target user or not. Though research may be conducted in order to determine the interests, sensibilities, and personal values of the target market, humour often is most successful when it pushes the boundaries of normal conversational constructs. People laugh when they are presented with ideas that are delicately balanced between abnormality and sensibility. As discussed in several articles I researched, the fine line between shocking and sensible is so fine that determining where an entire target market falls is highly risky. The risk of proposing a compelling, humorous advertisement and it being interpreted in a sour way is often too high to be a safe, business-savy way of promoting a brand. 

Moving forward, scenarios where humorous advertisements are properly communicated should be discussed. As mentioned in this article, the target market's positive response to a funny ad rarely results in increased sales revenue. People who laugh at advertisements tend to lump these ads in with the five thousand other ads we are bombarded with daily, thus proving humorous advertising to be ineffective in situations such as this.

Taking these two scenarios into consideration, the risk of offending the audience, or even worse, losing the audience is much too high for any brand looking to succeed financially. When people are offended, the brand's image may be permanently damaged, thus causing even financial loss. When the consumer understands the joke and reacts to it as per expected, the outcome is not always financially reflected. This is why my opinion, though not so highly invested, sides with the normal slogan & unique selling proposition style. Though it is safer and much more conservative, the results have been proven this technique to be successful time & time again. Using jokes in advertising is a hit-or-miss risk no up-coming or successful brand should be willing to take.