Is using humor (e.g. inserting a joke) in advertising appropriate?
Will it deliver or will it make everything look very unprofessional instead? The short answers to those questions would be yes and no. In some cases, the humor you use will backfire such as when you resort to slapstick, insensitive, rude, and offensive varieties of it. But if the humor you include is clever, forces people to think, and really adds something to the content and personal branding, it could be the freshest kind of effort ever done. Even the biggest businesses resort to humor at times to further enlarge their brand awareness.
Related: The Importance of Brand strategy
By the end of the day, everything is up to you whether or not to include humor. But if you do, your business will enjoy a new kind of exposure as a result. Your company will feel more approachable if you use humor. For this to work, you may want to establish a back and forth communication with your customers. Joke around as you wish. Don’t offend or get offended when your customers do reciprocate. It makes you appear to be their friends. Humor also increases your odds to raise brand awareness. Inserting a joke or two in your commercials can imprint sort of an image in people’s mind. When they see the joke, they will be reminded of you and your brand.
Humor also lessens overly serious tone. This is especially true for companies with, well, all sort of seriousness. Marketing for this kind of companies would be tricky. A social media celebrity would find it awkward to advertise the company. If this is the kind of company you run, you can poke fun at yourself in one of the advertisements you create. This will create a contrasting image in your audience’s mind. In turn, they will feel compelled to check your brand out.
Related: Why Humor Is Important In Branding
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