Comedy is a very, very delicate art when it comes to making millions of people laugh at the same time. What some of us might consider funny, others might consider offensive. I feel a deep admiration for those who walk the edge of that cliff with minimum or no negative incidents.
Even more difficult is to mix drama and comedy. Except for some of those cases in which we choose to make fun of ourselves, lightening drama with comedy to sell a product is a powerful, but volatile combination.
Here are some examples that I consider masterful of this particular Creative tactic:
Client: Yellow Pages
Ad Creative Agency: Abbott Mead Vickers (pending confirmation)
Why do we like it? British humor at its best. It is claimed that the commercial was banned not long after its premiere in 2003. One in a series of clever Yellow Pages Ads that strengthen the product position as “the book where to find solutions” to some of your worst decisions.
Why is it one of the best? There is no major harm done to anybody’s reputation (except for that of the British comedian James Nesbitt starring this series of commercials) or feelings and, let’s be honest, the thought of “doing a haircut ourselves” have dangerously crossed most of our minds.
Client: Berlitz
Ad Creative Agency: Bates United
Why do we like it? This is a classic from Germany. It takes a very acceptable popular joke and reenacts it with a new agenda.
Why is it one of the best? The agency took a series of old jokes, tweaked them, and brought them to life with the clear intention of reminding how embarrassing (and catastrophic!) can be not to speak English well when you are in an international situation.
Client: Young Director Award.com
Ad Creative Agency: TBWA/PHS Helsinki
Why do we like it? It is a series of ads from the U.K. that celebrates the mischievous natural talent and love for drama of a little girl in different situations. Some people just love drama. Can you remember the viral TNT campaign “We know drama”?
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Why is it one of the best? In a very European humor style, it brings to comedy topics that can be quite delicate, showing the importance of applying this technique with high sensitivity to limit it to certain regions and times.
Client: Netflix
Ad Creative Agency: DDV Vancouver (Canada)
Why do we like it? Definitely targeted at a male audience that does not have a problem with inflicting a sarcastic and cruel twist to a classical romantic movie scene.
Why is it one of the best? It appeals to the eternal juxtaposition between “chick flick” and “mindless action movie”, Venus-Mars, etc. to appeal to a very specific male demo. I am sure that an exact opposite very funny commercial can be developed based on any scene from “Cowboys vs Aliens” (one of my favorite movies!) to appeal to a female demo.
This blog post of missed shots is dedicated to some of the most awkward commercials ever created.
Overly dramatic and cruel for some societies, this Thai commercial trivializes a romantic scene (a reference to this very loved genre in Thai TV) to sell a roof flexy board product. It might look like a long and awkward shot to many of us, but we need to remember that different societies have very different rules for sarcasm or humor.
COMPUTER GENERATED ANIMAL HURT ALERT!
A U.S. commercial that makes itself memorable by turning a bit too far the knob of drama. While it connects with a very real feeling (many of us can relate to seeing house cleaning work as a “prison”), many sensitivities can get easily offended or upset by the way the concept was brought to the screen. It is said that this TV ad was actually banned months after its launch. The association with the product is dangerous, so the agency introduces an abrupt change of color tones, brightness, and video to graphic to “break away” from the storyline when introducing their product. Time permitting, I would have taken it a step farther and also transition the music while showing a warm colored video of the Mom and her daughter playing and having fun together while the product is shown on screen.
So then, should we use comedy or not?
I feel that these examples above will not leave you with a clear and pragmatic answer for the general issue of using comedy or not in a TV commercial of your product.
So here is an answer.
It comes down to this: “Most pirate jokes are funny, unless you happen to be a pirate.”
What does this mean?
When using comedy, you will always need to be ready to hurt somebody’s sensitivity. Think if you want to go there first. And if you decide to do it, here are four parameters (not the only ones to consider!) to reduce significantly the consequent dangers:
- Think about the target of the comedy. Most comedy makes fun of somebody. So try to make ACCEPTABLE, TASTEFUL, and RESPECTFUL fun of a group that is very limited and disconnected from your audience (the more limited, and far from your audience universe, the better). Pirates jokes are safe because this group is nearly extinct and outlawed… if you have to choose, use comedy that makes fun of witches, dragons, or wizards rather than individuals of a certain nationality or with a certain accent, for example. (Geico has recently produced some fine examples of this far-removed-from-any-potential-customer comedy. On the other hand, The Guardian, in Britain, created the ad below using British humor/philosophy and taking it way beyond the point where most other societies would consider it humor any longer)
2. Based on the amount of churn: try to laugh with, not at, somebody. Stereotypes that are harmless and accepted by all your audience universe are safer than those which are not. A joke about men forgetting their wedding anniversary is more acceptable if your target audience is long time married women (that demo tends to look at these things with humor and acceptance). Still then, remember, you might always hit a sensitive string with somebody in the audience… and you might receive their angry email. Be ready and be kind to their circumstances and opinions.
3. Be culturally sensitive. Take into account society standards, sensitivities, and what a specific society has established as acceptable (this might be a different standard, depending on who is telling the joke, by the way!). Take steps to limit the exposure to that intended audience that will get it and not get offended.
4. Also limit the extension in time of the message. Remember that cultural standards in a society, especially when it comes to minority sensitivities, are evolving much faster than in the past and are completely out of your control. Always be ready to correct course on short notice to avoid an iceberg.