Why should advertisements be FUNNY?

Advertising is all about attracting, holding and focusing attention. Noting gets consumers attention more like a hilarious advertisement that is perfectly times and placed.

First off, funny advertisements make people pay attention! I bet before reading this line, you chose to take a moment to look at the image below. The clever play on the word mouse and the important need for clear vision, this Optilens branded advertisement is geared humorously towards the vision impaired.

                             

Take a moment and thing about the advertisements and TV commercials that you can remember most. Do they feature any element of humor? Most likely they do. In my circle of friends, we often share things that are funny to us and TV marketing is not left behind in the conversation.

Since advertisers are often concerned with how to get more attention, humor is a common go to in the industry. According to Why Funny TV Commercials work, “Neuroscience suggests that our attention is instinctively directed to anything that previous experience indicates is potentially good or bad. Loud noises and images of gore attract our attention because we're taught to fear them. But negative associations don't lend themselves well to advertising other than PSA announcements. If the intention is to make people feel good about a brand then enlisting negative emotions to get them to get attention may well backfire even if it is only because the content is out of keeping with the context.”

Do you as consumers feel that humor gets your attention??