August 6, 2012
Study: Funny Ads Often Missing Messages
While funny ads may grab attention, they don’t always lead to the ultimate goal for brands of increasing sales and improving brand image as well as brand differentiation.That’s at least according to a study from Ace Metrix, the television and video analytics firm.
The study, Is Funny Enough?, analyzed more than 6,500 TV ads that aired between Jan. 1, 2011 and Mar. 31, 2012 to find the funniest ads, the funniest brands, the funniest industries and to determine if humor equated with effectiveness. Amassing more than 1.5 million unsolicited consumer verbatims, Ace Metrix applied advanced semantic processing algorithms to rank ads by their level of humor.
Among the key findings:
- Approximately one-in-five advertisements on television was funny;
- While ads that aired during the Super Bowl measured nearly three times as funny as ads that debuted at another time, Super Bowl ads were not any more effective than ads that ran elsewhere during the measurement period;
- Humorous ads tend to garner higher levels of viewer attention, increased likeability for the ad, and improved willingness to watch the ad again in the future;
- Humorous ads tend to be light on informative content and also have low relevance, creating lower desire for the advertised products than non-funny ads.
In measuring effectiveness, Ace Metrix analyzed how much consumers like the ad, pay attention to it, and are persuaded by it to want the product or service. On the positive side, Ace Metrix found that being funny might at least prevent people using their remotes to fast forward and change channels.
“If you’re equal on relevance and information, almost always funny will win” over unfunny ads, Peter Daboll, CEO of Ace Metrix, told Advertising Age, “because it drives the other scores like likability and attention.”
Too often, however, Ace Metrix’s data found that maximum effectiveness was often traded for maximum humor.
"Messages must be built of substance and should use humor as a supplement — not a replacement — to create the most effective ads," wrote Michael Curran, Ace Metrix’s director of insights and analytics, in the white paper.
Despite the messaging challenges, Target and Walmart ranked first and second, respectively, in producing the number of ads over the last five quarters identified as funny. Best Buy ranked seventh.
- Ace Metrix Applies Science to Identify Funniest Ads and Brands for the Last Five Quarters – Ace Metrix
- Is Funny Enough?: An Analysis of the Impact of Humor in Advertisements (White paper) – Ace Metrix
- Funny TV Ads Don’t Sell Better Than Unfunny Ones — And Can Even Sell Worse – Advertising Age
- Ha! Ads That Make You Laugh Don’t Really Make You Buy – Time
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Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions: Are funny ads a good fit to spread retail messages? What do you see as the pros and cons of using humor in advertisements?
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This doesn’t seem like a revelation: There is a long history of effective TV ads that have used humor to sell the product and brand image in an attention-getting way. This doesn’t mean that humor for its own sake will get the job done, in the absence of a compelling “selling proposition” for the product. And humor doesn’t have to be the laugh-out-loud variety to be effective…sometimes putting a smile on the face of the ad viewer can go a long way toward creating brand goodwill.
Every ad, whether humorous or serious, should reinforce the core story of a brand. Consumers can then take away the essence of a brand. Without a core story, a brand exists in a vacuum.
Humor can be an effective tool to convey brand essence. When consumers find an ad to be funny, they are more willing to watch it again.
Similarly, when consumers see a serious ad that presents an unusual offer or claim, they will remember it. If that ad reinforces the brand’s core story, it builds equity for the brand.
Advertising is about telling stories. Whether humorous or serious, ads should reinforce a brand’s core story.
This is absolutely true. Some ad agencies want to win fans and awards by being clever and cute, but for many brands, it’s far more important to be informative, especially smaller brands with limited name recognition and ad dollars to spend.
Touch a viewer’s funny bone and you reach their heart. Sage advice from Brod Doner, founder and chairman of W.B. Doner an ad agency I worked for many years ago. You don’t employ funny to satisfy an objective to stop commercial fast forward/skipping. Clients and creative teams choose to “go funny” if/when the creative challenge warrants it. GoDaddy spots have multiple appeals — funny, sexy, quirky — and they have stopping power. The advertiser, their service or product solution isn’t lost on the viewer. In the past decade especially viewing extended play from a spot creates a secondary impression — all of benefit to the advertiser.
There is an emotional and rational side to every impression. Just the facts and you have a heavily weighted rational broadcast execution. Pull at the heart strings or do off the wall funny and you are on the other side of the spectrum. Find some level of balance with relevancy and a touch of information and you tend to get a more likely effective result.
One thing is for sure, it isn’t found in a formula or an algorithm — effectiveness is achieved through creativity and you know it when you see it.
Using humor has always been a risky proposition in generating specifc message recall for the product or service but if it sticks with you, it will be a positive for the following reasons: Unless the ad runs only once, the cumulative effect of seeing it a few times will generally deliver the intended message. As long as the product or sponsor name is remembered, the specifics of the product can be acquired online and many other places. Also, with YouTube becoming the second most popular destination for search, a funny ad has a much better chance of being spread through social media, etc., which will extend its life beyond what was run on broadcast/cable. Does it lead to sales? It comes down to the old saying, “I know that half my advertising is working, I just don’t know which half.”
Yes, I think both retailers and the CPG Brands they sell should focus on humorous ads. My experience with this advertising, though, is that quite often the brand message is lost in the story being told. To the extreme, there are many ads that you might remember, humorous or otherwise, but you can’t remember the product or store that was advertising. That’s a complete disaster, in my view. The brand must be integral to the ad story.
A little humor or play on words can be very effective, but keeping the product in the consumer’s face is still vital. The Geico lizard is funny, and they reinforce the name quite a bit. The other thing is quite simple. If the product doesn’t satisfy the consumer after using it, than we have a one and done scenario.
Funny ads work well with entertainment deprived audiences. The issue isn’t how funny the ad is, it’s how well executed against a specific target market.
Simply put, humor draws interest and attention. That is what the advertiser wants to draw business.
The newer the company, the less they are willing to use humor. They have the strong need to get name recognition by telling who they are and the what’s and why’s they are in business.
Depends upon the goal. If the goal is brand or company awareness, funny ads can do that. If the message is more complicated, such as education or a specific image or complex information, humor is much less likely to be effective.
“If it doesn’t sell, it’s not creative.” — David Ogilvy. It was true back when he wrote that 50 or so years ago, and it’s still true today. Humor is great, but it has to sell above all else. If humor helps, great. But I see many “brilliant” ads that, when they finish, people say, “What was that selling again?”
I think the effectiveness is largely dependent on how well known the brand is. The relationship is already there, the point of the ad is largely to maintain it…OTOH if it’s something you know nothing about, “humor for humor’s sake” is apt to miss the mark (or worse, come across as “I’m cleverer-than-you narcissism). But even well-done brand maintenance can run its course. I’ve tired of Bud Light’s witticism(s), and I have a friend who has detested Flo’s carmine-edged smile from day one.
USPs don’t need to be deadly serious to be taken seriously. Just the same, a good-humored, even whimsical ad may be memorable, informative and effective without joke-writing.
We can probably all think of grating jingles, obnoxious characters, and cheesy tag lines in ads that make us cringe. But there are others that make us feel good without forced cleverness.
For example, I like the recent GE ads where groups of factory workers take a field trip to watch locomotives pass by or jet engines take off. They’re not humorous, but it feels good to see working people share a moment of pride — even one that’s a bit staged.
Retailers who weave a bit of humor into their advertising should remember that their real product is shopper success.
Some of the best ads ever were Apple’s first run for the iPods, which were humorless. They’re doing +$4200 a square foot in their stores so, IMO, you don’t have to be funny at all, but it sure helps to be cool. It also helps to change your style when it stales.
So, along the same lines, I think humor works best as a surprise, as in when Old Spice first introduced their new campaign. That got a lot of people talking and even anticipating the newest ads. And nothing’s better than word of mouth.
Whereas, with the beer companies, all their ads have been funny for so long, it’s hard to remember which brand did which joke. Change of pace would do them and a lot of companies good.
The new kids sowing their oats at most middle and large ad agencies develop ad lines that among themselves, seem funny to them, but come off gross and generally unfunny to the buying public.
One very cute commercial ad comes from Delhaize America and its regional Bottom Dollar Food division. Its theme centers around an inflatable flying piggybank conversing with, or maybe gently nudging a customer as he hovers high above the store. This piggybank is especially funny since it has an attitude. The piggybank’s voice just cracks me up every time I watch the series of four commercials that the company airs when it enters a new market. If you have a chance, check them out.
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This doesn’t seem like a revelation: There is a long history of effective TV ads that have used humor to sell the product and brand image in an attention-getting way. This doesn’t mean that humor for its own sake will get the job done, in the absence of a compelling “selling proposition” for the product. And humor doesn’t have to be the laugh-out-loud variety to be effective…sometimes putting a smile on the face of the ad viewer can go a long way toward creating brand goodwill.
Every ad, whether humorous or serious, should reinforce the core story of a brand. Consumers can then take away the essence of a brand. Without a core story, a brand exists in a vacuum.
Humor can be an effective tool to convey brand essence. When consumers find an ad to be funny, they are more willing to watch it again.
Similarly, when consumers see a serious ad that presents an unusual offer or claim, they will remember it. If that ad reinforces the brand’s core story, it builds equity for the brand.
Advertising is about telling stories. Whether humorous or serious, ads should reinforce a brand’s core story.
This is absolutely true. Some ad agencies want to win fans and awards by being clever and cute, but for many brands, it’s far more important to be informative, especially smaller brands with limited name recognition and ad dollars to spend.
Touch a viewer’s funny bone and you reach their heart. Sage advice from Brod Doner, founder and chairman of W.B. Doner an ad agency I worked for many years ago. You don’t employ funny to satisfy an objective to stop commercial fast forward/skipping. Clients and creative teams choose to “go funny” if/when the creative challenge warrants it. GoDaddy spots have multiple appeals — funny, sexy, quirky — and they have stopping power. The advertiser, their service or product solution isn’t lost on the viewer. In the past decade especially viewing extended play from a spot creates a secondary impression — all of benefit to the advertiser.
There is an emotional and rational side to every impression. Just the facts and you have a heavily weighted rational broadcast execution. Pull at the heart strings or do off the wall funny and you are on the other side of the spectrum. Find some level of balance with relevancy and a touch of information and you tend to get a more likely effective result.
One thing is for sure, it isn’t found in a formula or an algorithm — effectiveness is achieved through creativity and you know it when you see it.
Using humor has always been a risky proposition in generating specifc message recall for the product or service but if it sticks with you, it will be a positive for the following reasons: Unless the ad runs only once, the cumulative effect of seeing it a few times will generally deliver the intended message. As long as the product or sponsor name is remembered, the specifics of the product can be acquired online and many other places. Also, with YouTube becoming the second most popular destination for search, a funny ad has a much better chance of being spread through social media, etc., which will extend its life beyond what was run on broadcast/cable. Does it lead to sales? It comes down to the old saying, “I know that half my advertising is working, I just don’t know which half.”
Yes, I think both retailers and the CPG Brands they sell should focus on humorous ads. My experience with this advertising, though, is that quite often the brand message is lost in the story being told. To the extreme, there are many ads that you might remember, humorous or otherwise, but you can’t remember the product or store that was advertising. That’s a complete disaster, in my view. The brand must be integral to the ad story.
A little humor or play on words can be very effective, but keeping the product in the consumer’s face is still vital. The Geico lizard is funny, and they reinforce the name quite a bit. The other thing is quite simple. If the product doesn’t satisfy the consumer after using it, than we have a one and done scenario.
Funny ads work well with entertainment deprived audiences. The issue isn’t how funny the ad is, it’s how well executed against a specific target market.
Simply put, humor draws interest and attention. That is what the advertiser wants to draw business.
The newer the company, the less they are willing to use humor. They have the strong need to get name recognition by telling who they are and the what’s and why’s they are in business.
Depends upon the goal. If the goal is brand or company awareness, funny ads can do that. If the message is more complicated, such as education or a specific image or complex information, humor is much less likely to be effective.
“If it doesn’t sell, it’s not creative.” — David Ogilvy. It was true back when he wrote that 50 or so years ago, and it’s still true today. Humor is great, but it has to sell above all else. If humor helps, great. But I see many “brilliant” ads that, when they finish, people say, “What was that selling again?”
I think the effectiveness is largely dependent on how well known the brand is. The relationship is already there, the point of the ad is largely to maintain it…OTOH if it’s something you know nothing about, “humor for humor’s sake” is apt to miss the mark (or worse, come across as “I’m cleverer-than-you narcissism). But even well-done brand maintenance can run its course. I’ve tired of Bud Light’s witticism(s), and I have a friend who has detested Flo’s carmine-edged smile from day one.
USPs don’t need to be deadly serious to be taken seriously. Just the same, a good-humored, even whimsical ad may be memorable, informative and effective without joke-writing.
We can probably all think of grating jingles, obnoxious characters, and cheesy tag lines in ads that make us cringe. But there are others that make us feel good without forced cleverness.
For example, I like the recent GE ads where groups of factory workers take a field trip to watch locomotives pass by or jet engines take off. They’re not humorous, but it feels good to see working people share a moment of pride — even one that’s a bit staged.
Retailers who weave a bit of humor into their advertising should remember that their real product is shopper success.
Some of the best ads ever were Apple’s first run for the iPods, which were humorless. They’re doing +$4200 a square foot in their stores so, IMO, you don’t have to be funny at all, but it sure helps to be cool. It also helps to change your style when it stales.
So, along the same lines, I think humor works best as a surprise, as in when Old Spice first introduced their new campaign. That got a lot of people talking and even anticipating the newest ads. And nothing’s better than word of mouth.
Whereas, with the beer companies, all their ads have been funny for so long, it’s hard to remember which brand did which joke. Change of pace would do them and a lot of companies good.
The new kids sowing their oats at most middle and large ad agencies develop ad lines that among themselves, seem funny to them, but come off gross and generally unfunny to the buying public.
One very cute commercial ad comes from Delhaize America and its regional Bottom Dollar Food division. Its theme centers around an inflatable flying piggybank conversing with, or maybe gently nudging a customer as he hovers high above the store. This piggybank is especially funny since it has an attitude. The piggybank’s voice just cracks me up every time I watch the series of four commercials that the company airs when it enters a new market. If you have a chance, check them out.