Humour in Marketing Copy
What's stopping you from writing funny? Let's explore.
I’m no Jerry Seinfeld, but what’s the deal with companies trying to be funny and ending up making cringe-worthy jokes?
I’m sorry I couldn’t resist.😆
Today, we are going to talk about humour in copywriting, but before we get started, let me level with you: I’m not a stand-up comedian. The only two people who laugh at my jokes are my mom and my wife.
My mom doesn’t count because obviously she thinks I’m the bestest, smartest, funniest… (Add more superlatives) person in the whole wide world.
My wife laughs mostly, except on my dad jokes. But I will take that.
But jokes apart, humour is the best way to connect with people. It makes you trustworthy, relatable, and likeable – three qualities any marketer would kill to get.
To be honest with you, I struggle a lot with humour in marketing copy and that’s why I chose this topic.
In this week’s exploration, I came across some amazing ideas about comedy that provide insights about why we are not able to write funny.
So, without further ado, let’s get started:
Being Funny Requires Taking Risks
Think about all of the funny people you know in your life. I assure you there’s one common thing among all of them.
They say or do things that are on the edge of (and sometimes step over) what polite society finds acceptable.
One great person named Michael Scott once said, ‘“There’s no such thing as an appropriate joke. That’s why it’s called a joke.”
I’m guessing your CEO isn’t as appreciative of comedy as Michael Scott.
If you are writing marketing copy, this might get tricky. But if you want to be funny, you will surely have to take risks.
Being Funny Requires Taking a Point of View
I read somewhere that holds true in this context, ‘If everyone hates you, you are an asshole. If everyone likes you, you are boring’.
To be funny, you have to be willing to take a stand and have your own thoughts, opinions, and viewpoints. This means identifying your "villain" - the thing or person you can make fun of to get a laugh.
For example, let's say you're writing copy for an eco-friendly cleaning product company. Your villain might be big corporations that prioritize profit over the environment.
Being Funny Requires Being Vulnerable
People can smell bullshit from a mile away.
Being vulnerable requires being honest and not taking yourself too seriously.
Nobody wants to hear you brag about how great you are. People care about themselves and how you can help them solve their problems.
They want you to be real, to tell them the truth.
The example of Marmite would illustrate this point better. It’s a British spread that has a raucous taste. But some people inexplicably love it.
So instead of saying they were the tastiest spread, they ran with a rather honest campaign that showed vulnerability. Their slogan said: “You either love us or you hate us”.
It was funny because it told the truth.
Being Funny Works in Context
Comedy is very contextual. You can’t be funny to everybody, every time. For instance, if you are in healthcare, making morbid jokes wouldn’t be a good idea.
Context is another reason why companies posting random memes doesn’t work.
Memes started out as funny ideas shared between friends. They signal to your friends that you understand their sense of humour, are thinking of them, and want to make them laugh.
When a company does it, it seems out of context. It seems like they are pretending to be your friend.
I will end this with the hope that people other than my mom and wife start laughing at the stuff I write.
Until next week.
Good luck writing funny,
Ahsan