How One Ad Revived Humour In Marketing & Why It Shouldn’t Be Replicated

Everyone likes to be entertained, and some ads are famous for how funny they are.

This ad in particular was the talk of the town when it came out, and many tried to replicate it.

But should you also be funny when marketing, or should you leave it alone?

In the next 3 minutes, I will tell you how humour affects ads and whether or not you should be funny in advertising.

The TV Commercial That Changed The Marketing Game Completely

If you search ‘Best TV Ads Ever’ on Google, you’ll see a pattern.

They are special because they make you laugh.

This ad in particular is pretty high up on the list…

The classic Old Spice commercial. 

You know, the one that says, “Ladies, look at your man, now back to me, now back at your man, now back to me.”

Everyone was talking about it when it first came out! 

And people still recognise it to this day.

This funny ad actually increased Old Spice’s product sales by up to 107% for some time.

PLUS it won several awards, including an Emmy For Outstanding Commercial.

And it did that by being funny - it stood out like a lantern in the fog.

Let’s analyse why exactly it was so successful…

A Quick Dive Into This Commercial

To start with, the actor was memorable for a few reasons:

• He was arrogant in a funny way,

• He was charismatic,

• He was effortlessly funny,

• And because he absolutely owned the role. No one else could have pulled this off.

Naturally, we like people like this in commercials. So he captured and kept our attention.

That was half of what made it funny. The other half was the background.

In 30 seconds, we experienced:

• Him in a bathroom,

• Him on a boat,

• Him now wearing a sweater over his neck,

• Then it goes to him suddenly holding tickets,

• Then there’s an oyster,

• Then there are diamonds,

• And finally, he’s on a horse.

7 complete scene changes in 30 seconds. That’s roughly 1 every 4 seconds.

It’s… ridiculous. And that’s what makes it funny.

But when you think about it, you realise something:

This would take a lot of careful planning to pull off.

So… Should You Be Funny When Marketing?

Let’s take a step back and remember the point of marketing.

Every ad has a goal - to sell something.

The goal of advertising isn’t just to make people laugh. It’s to make people buy.

Of course being funny can get attention, but can it get sales?

It did for Old Spice. But 14 years later as of writing this, I’m less convinced.

After all, how many ads like this have you seen in recent years?

Being funny is nice for the viewer. But does it really move the needle towards a sale?

Most of the time, no.

The selling process finishes with a sale. We want this process to be quick so that we can get more sales revenue.

Adding humour can make things too complicated and might lead to fewer sales.

What Should You Do Instead?

99 times out of 100, it’s probably better to back down with the humour.

At the start of this article, I told you that googling ‘Best TV Ads Ever’ gets you some funny advertisements as a result.

But if you just google ‘Best Written Ads Ever’... It’s a complete 180 turn.

They’re all serious and focused on selling. 

That’s why ads like David Ogilvy’s Rolls Royce Ad worked so well - they tried to sell.

And if you do that too, you’ll make sales.

If you focus on being funny, you will be remembered. But your product won’t.

I wouldn’t take the risk with being funny in ads unless you’re 100% confident you can pull it off and be as ridiculously funny as the Old Spice Ad.

If you need help deciding what to do with your ads, contact us today for a free review of your plan.