You may not have $10 million to spend on a funny ad like the Super Bowl Commercials, BUT you can still write humor like a Super Bowl advertiser to make your marketing message stand out.
Here are 5 ways that many of the ads found the humor – and you can do it for your business too.
1. HAVE famous people doing unusual stuff.
Get your “Ben Affleck” to sell your “donuts.” Who in your industry is famous and what silly thing can they “sell” to bring attention to your business/product /service? Or as in the Uber P-diddy ad, get your CEO to do something out of character – like P-diddy writing a jingle. It’s funny and it grabs people’s attention,
2. HIGHLIGHT a little-known fact in your industry that encourages people to explore further.
How many of you knew about women’s flag football in the NFL? Seeing flag football star Diana Flores being chased makes me want to watch flag football!! And Tubi’s “Rabbit Hole” ad kinda makes you want to see what shows are on Tubi. Make a list of what people DON’T know about your industry and highlight that.
3. BRING a label or tag line to life.
Workday, an online management company, had real-life rockstars getting upset because companies are using the word “Rockstars” for their employees. Is there a word or tagline in your industry that is used where it’s not supposed to be used? Illustrate THAT for the humor.
4. LIST unusual things to do with your product.
Bud Light had people drinking it while dancing to Muzak hold music. Who doesn’t feel like they need a drink while being on hold? And it goes with their tag line: “Easy to Hold, Easy to Drink.” They associated “hold” with holding a Bud Light and Being on Hold. What words are associated with your product that have other meanings that you can attach?
5. CONNECT your product or service with a popular show.
T-Mobile connected with Grease and John Travolta and Popcorners, a chip company, associated themselves with Breaking Bad. Check popular, trendy or nostalgia shows that your clients/industry relate to and then make a connection with your product or service.
There are many other humor techniques that were used in the Super Bowl Commercials, but these are five that will get you started.
As with all humor, START SMALL. Add in 1 humor element, and have some fun . . . once you get that first laugh, you’ll have the comedy “bug” and will want to keep going.
Jan
For More humor writing tips, check out my other blog posts such as this one