by 6 people |
This lens focuses on some of the key things you need to understand about writing and editing ad copy that can spell the difference between marketing success and having your shareholders chasing you around with pitchforks and torches.
You'll find that humor in advertising is a predominant theme here, mostly because that is how I've made my living for the better part of three decades.
Humor Sells!
(well, sex sells too, but I do humor)
Nothing makes friends faster than making people laugh, and nothing can sell your product better than a good-natured, funny, entertaining ad.That is, as long as your funny ad:
a.) is funny
b.) remembers to close the sale.
For as long as people have been laughing (which is presumably as long as there have been people), there have been other people trying to figure out why. As far as I know, nobody has yet come up with a real good explanation.
I've been making people laugh for a long time, and I can't tell you exactly how it works. From a writer's point of view, humor is proably the most difficult thing you can tackle. Funny is incredibly subjective, and face it, humor that tries and fails is just plain deadly.
What makes humor in advertising particularly tricky is the "That was hilarious - now, what were they selling?" factor. In other words, even if you come up with an ad that's genuinely funny, it is really easy for the laughs to overshadow the product.
But when it works, a funny ad hits a home run. As time goes on, I'll add to this discussion, because the stakes are truly high.
If you have a pressing ad copy problem, contact me, and we'll see how I can help.
a.) is funny
b.) remembers to close the sale.
For as long as people have been laughing (which is presumably as long as there have been people), there have been other people trying to figure out why. As far as I know, nobody has yet come up with a real good explanation.
I've been making people laugh for a long time, and I can't tell you exactly how it works. From a writer's point of view, humor is proably the most difficult thing you can tackle. Funny is incredibly subjective, and face it, humor that tries and fails is just plain deadly.
What makes humor in advertising particularly tricky is the "That was hilarious - now, what were they selling?" factor. In other words, even if you come up with an ad that's genuinely funny, it is really easy for the laughs to overshadow the product.
But when it works, a funny ad hits a home run. As time goes on, I'll add to this discussion, because the stakes are truly high.
If you have a pressing ad copy problem, contact me, and we'll see how I can help.
Does It Pay To Be Funny?
Here are a few thoughts on humor in advertising
Most people who write about being funny aren't, but these articles contain a lot of information about some decisions you should make before you go the Funny Ad route.
- Humor in Advertising by Mark Levit
- Many of the most memorable ad campaigns around tend to be funny. Advertisers use this strategy to attract customers to their product. Audiences like to be entertained, but not pitched. People will pay more attention to a humorous commercial than a factual or serious one, opening themselves up to be influenced. The key to funny advertising is assuring the humor is appropriate to both product and customer. The balance between funny and obnoxious can often be delicate; and a marketer must be certain the positive effects outweigh the negative before an advertisement can be introduced...
- The pros and cons of using humor to promote your business.
- A recent question from a subscriber: I'm going into business for myself. I'm considering using humor in my advertising. Do you have any suggestions?
Be careful with humor in advertising. It can work for you. It can work against you.
Effective humor draws people to your message. It keeps the attention of your prospect. It makes your message easier to remember. It's more likely they'll tell others about your advertising. It tells others that you and your company have a sense of humor... - The Art of Humor in Advertising
- Humor in advertising is a delicate method of attracting a viewer's/listener's attention to the client's product. Done right, it achieves success. Doing it right means not only engaging the prospect but getting them to remember the product. On a national level who can forget the Budweiser Frogs and Wendy's "Where's the Beef" on television. The VW Bug intro campaign was a great one in print...
- Journal of Advertising: Assessing the use and impact of humor on advertising effectiveness: A contingency approach
- This one's a real rib-tickler!
Every year billions of dollars are spent on advertising that uses humor to sell products. How is that spending decision made? Despite much research examining humor effects in advertising, many advertisers make the decision on faith. Many past studies lack a clear conceptual focus to guide the investigation of humor effects in advertising. The authors examine humor effectiveness by using a conceptual framework adapted from Speck along with a product-contingent focus... - Key Questions to Ask Before Writing & Before Testing Advertising Copy
- This one is not specifically about humor, but it has some good information about testing ad copy.
You know you have a great product. How can you write good advertising copy to convince your customers of the same thing? Read on to find out.
The Long And Short Of It
The Long Copy/Short Copy debate
One of the most prevalent (and admit it, often annoying) trends in advertising is the "Long Copy Sales Letter." Whether you get them in the mail or run into them online, these are stereotypically the "Be A Millionaire In Thirty Days" pitches that seem to go on forever without getting to the point. They are bulky, glitzy, often crass...
And, done right, they work.
The premise of the long-copy sales letter is not new. The basic idea, in one form or another has been used for more than a hundred years. This is because there is quite a bit of evidence that these Long Copy pitches, as much as they are "despised" by almost everybody you ask, consistently turn in strong bottom-line results. In other words, executed well, targeted to the appropriate audience, tested, and properly placed, they sell stuff.
Here are a few articles on the subject. Bear in mind that many of these people are selling Long Copy Sales Letter writing services (as the result of responding to Long Copy pitches for Long Copy Writing Training Courses - gets complicated, doesn't it!), so take them with a grain of salt.
And, done right, they work.
The premise of the long-copy sales letter is not new. The basic idea, in one form or another has been used for more than a hundred years. This is because there is quite a bit of evidence that these Long Copy pitches, as much as they are "despised" by almost everybody you ask, consistently turn in strong bottom-line results. In other words, executed well, targeted to the appropriate audience, tested, and properly placed, they sell stuff.
Here are a few articles on the subject. Bear in mind that many of these people are selling Long Copy Sales Letter writing services (as the result of responding to Long Copy pitches for Long Copy Writing Training Courses - gets complicated, doesn't it!), so take them with a grain of salt.
- Long Copy vs. Short Copy Tested
- This paper is kind of scholarly, featuring lots of tables and statistics, but it gives you a pretty good overview of the Long Copy/Short Copy debate. It discusses what kinds of things to consider when you're making the choice, talks specifically about how to test your copy, and has some good links to copy testing resources.
- Are Long Copy Salesletters Scams?
- Despite the title, his one ends up pitching Long Copy pretty strongly (the author sells the service). There are some good things to take into consideration, though.
- Follow the Long Yellow Copy - Do Long Scrolling Sales Letters Work?
- This one is pretty even-handed
by mikeball
Humorist Mike Ball is the Erma Bombeck award-winning author of What I've Learned So Far...
With more than 25 years of experience as a successful and...
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