Camels and Geckos.
In both instances you might think of an auto insurance brand. Geico.
No doubt you’ve seen the Geico commercials and enjoyed them for their caricaturist’s ability to capture a strong sense of personality. Funny stuff.
At an Elon University function last week a live camel made an appearance. A ten-foot tall example of roam-the-desert massiveness in the midst of unsuspecting students coming out of classes.
They were knocked out by it.
Why? It was Wednesday, hump day.
Some bright spark decided to rent a camel to add to the festivity of the Fun Fund, an Elon effort dedicated to raising the enjoyment of everyone on campus.
How appropriate to celebrate hump day with a nod to the Geico commercial, one that has a camel walking through an office interior — on a Wednesday, of course.
People love the spot.
Small wonder, Hump Day could be Geico’s best effort and as they say, you laugh your ass off.
Does humor work in sales messaging? Well, at the Elon University gathering it worked well during the course of the afternoon event. You had to think about Geico.
These days we have plenty of new technological approaches, but have we forgotten the old objective?
That is to create a story telling element to stop people. It’s an element that’s often improved by humor.
If you’ve read Ogilvy you know he advises against humor in advertising. Many agree, if only for the fact that creating something funny isn’t the easiest thing to do.
But we all crave humor, don’t we? The Super Bowl commercials put you in that camp.
Maybe it’s because humor is good for your health. In advertising terms it’s a harpoon that doesn’t hurt.
Laughter produces brain waves that reduces stress hormones like cortisol. Cortisol plays havoc with your neurons.
Humor promotes the release of endorphins and dopamine that results in a sense of pleasure. You feel rewarded.
You experience beneficial neurochemical changes, your blood pressure drops, there’s an increase of blood flow and your mood state is elevated.
So, could funny commercials benefit the health of the nation? Maybe Michelle Obama should address that after getting our kids off junk food in schools.
You can debate humor all you like but it’s a sight better than the mass of under-imagined, inert online efforts that are as interruptive and annoying as traditional TV advertising.
You could call them ambitious failures.
They have a deadening ordinariness about them … something you might want to keep in mind when choosing an ad agency.
You won’t go far wrong if you select one that has the power to put emotions into people. So go for an agency that’s in the boredom alleviation business.
After all, we need to go beyond being technology slaves, don’t we?
To that end your agency should contribute ideas that build a genuine connection with audiences, change behavior, create social influence and shape the moment someone buys.
And do it all with wit, charm and enduring appeal.
But I digress …
Maybe it’s time to try a bit of humor … or a human quality at least, as that’s a bit like a rock drummer who throws in an occasional rim shot to change things up, to wake up your ears and announce the fact that nothing about life should be formulaic.
For inspiration enjoy a hit of endorphins and dopamine by viewing the Cheese Nips commercial. http://bit.ly/Sq8TUq
If you laugh remember one thing.
It’s good for your health.
Share your take on marketing thinking with us. What about humor? How do you feel about it in messaging? Thanks, Steve Ulin