Using Comedy in Marketing and Advertising
Liberty Mutual, Progressive, Allstate, and FedEx. These are some of the major brands that regularly use comedy to get their messages out and expand their audiences. But they are few and far between. Most brands prefer to play it straight and opt for the feel-good or the aspirational in their marketing messages and leave the funny to other companies.
It's understandable. What may seem funny to one person may come off as tone deaf to another...or even offensive...and then it's off to the social media races. However, the sweeping and ongoing changes in consumer behavior wrought by the pandemic may be an opportunity for marketers to reevaluate humor as an advertising vehicle.
A recent article in Ad Age titled "The Serious Case for Humor," refers to author Orlando Wood, who argues in his new book, "Look Out," that humor is a source of flexibility in an increasingly rigid culture and that humor in ads are more likely to generate tangible business results.
Jenna Lebel, CMO at Liberty Mutual Insurance, has seen healthy returns from the insurer's wildly popular and often hilarious "Lee-Moo E-Moo and Doug" ad campaign. Steve Cody, founder of PR and marketing agency Peppercomm — who is also a stand-up comedian — takes comedy very seriously, training every employee how to find the funny to strengthen relationships and create more effective marketing campaigns.
In this episode of Champions of Growth, Lebel and Cody, discuss why marketers should reevaluate using comedy in their advertising, the potential pitfalls, and the through-line between making people laugh and the top and bottom lines.
The Champions of Growth Podcast airs Wednesdays at 2PM EST. For more information about the ANA Podcast Network, visit www.ana.net/podcasts.