Last week I examined the “Real Reason Comedy Commercials Succeed On Radio (When They Do).”
As I pointed out then, most comedy commercials do not succeed for the radio advertiser.
To wrap up this discussion, let’s briefly look at some of the benefits and some of the dangers of using comedy in a radio advertisement.
Benefits
– When used properly, it can greatly increase the message’s memorability. A message that evokes an emotional response is much more likely to be remembered.
– It implies self-confidence on the part of the advertiser. It takes either tremendous courage or tremendous self-confidence to stand in front of an audience of strangers and try to make them laugh.
Your use of humor implies you are confident that people will find it funny — that you will succeed in reaching them on an emotional level.
Dangers
– Failed attempts at humor increase the other person’s defenses.
Think of someone you know who believes he’s a comedian but actually is desperately unfunny.
You’re at a party. Here comes Mr. Thinks He’s Funny But He’s Not.
When he approaches you and says, “Hey, I heard a good one the other day,” do you respond by giving him your full and enthusiastic attention?
Or do you look for the nearest exit?
– Everyone in the world thinks they can write a good radio commercial, because “it’s just talking.” And everyone knows how to talk.
And everyone who works at a radio station or ad agency thinks they can write a “funny” commercial, but everyone thinks they “have a good sense of humor.” After all, their buddies sometimes laugh at their jokes, right?
But most of them don’t know anything about comedy other than it’s supposed to be funny, so they have no way of telling if something they wrote will strike the audience as funny or not.
“But,” they think, “my stuff is as funny as the other commercials we play.”
News Flash: When you air a comedy commercial, your audience does not contrast its comedic appeal with other attempts at comedy spots.
They compare it to whatever makes them laugh in their lives: their favorite comedians, TV shows, or comic actors.
If yours falls flat, they don’t think, “Yeah, that was pretty pathetic. But because it was created by some underpaid, unfunny guy at my local radio station, I’ll laugh anyway.”
Instead they think, “These guys think they’re funny. And they’re not.”
If you think I’m being too harsh and you work for a music station, here’s a question for you:
Some of your staff members probably sound pretty good in a karaoke bar. So why doesn’t your station add staff member recordings to its playlist?
Because your listeners wouldn’t think, “Gee, coming from a receptionist, that’s not a bad rendition of ‘My Heart Will Go On.'”
No, they’d compare it to Celine Dion’s version.
– If it flops (if your audience isn’t amused), you’ll look stupid. So make sure your target audience (not your friends or colleagues or event the client) thinks it’s funny.
If it flops, it’s your advertiser who will look stupid to the people with whom they’re trying to establish a business relationship.
