What Can Brands Learn From The Social Nature Of Humor?
The main point is that the wit of an ad is not just a creative issue but also one of context and media placement. The perception of humor can be boosted through channel selection or implementational tactics.
One such tactic is to run copy in programs or genres which tend to be watched in groups. For example, films, documentaries and news are around twice as likely as TV as a whole to be watched in groups according to Infosys data.
From a channel planning perspective, running humorous copy in cinema is another opportunity as it means the ad will be consumed in much larger groups.
Millward Brown undertook research that quantified the impact. In their experiment an unnamed brand ran the same piece of copy in two regions. One region just aired TV while the other just had cinema.
Those who saw the cinema ad enjoyed it considerably more than the TV ad – with 61 per cent saying they “enjoyed the humor” compared to 52 per cent of the TV viewers.
Applying these approaches won’t make a mediocre ad side-splitting but it might just give it an edge over copy bought in a more generic manner.
Contributed by Branding Strategy Insider by: Richard Shotton, the author of The Choice Factory, a new book on how to apply findings from behavioral science to advertising.
