/
Ocl.t.1982
Marfcetins Nevys
Pag»f
Humor is
utilized with estabiished products
ample demonstration of the product,
while presenting it as the hero or solution to the problem. The predicaments are dfective because they serve
as relevant set-ups for the product.'
aod the situation is usually one with
which thc^consumer can identify.
HUMOR IS A poor choice when
Ibte with a luMnorou* tTMtmanL ^
ADS can be memor- commercials exhibited above-average
" K M P D M humor ralavant and ralalt- advertising verywrious products and
Mt and penuasive if the execution is persuasiveness, vis-a-vis 41% of the
• d to lh« mcaaag* and product
services like banks, real estate, incompadUe with the product, accord- celebrity ventures and 36% of the 'real
"MonMibtl* and trut-to-Nf* dtvlCM
surance, and financial/ investment ^ring to Toirfiiie," a newsletter pub- people'efforts."
may IM mort oftactlv* bacauM they
vices, the study showed. ''Evidently,
-^>^-=^Jiilied by McCoUum/ Spielman & Co.
ON THE BASIS of overall peraNow th« conaumor to laugh with
money, property, life, and death are
Inc.. Great Neck, N.Y. .
formance, 52% of the amusing ads
ttw commwcM characttn, not at
not laughing matters. These kinds of
When compared to other advertisproduced average or better scores on
services have complicated, sometimes
ing devioes studied by McCoUum/
both basic measurements, while less
-"Parody or apoof may bm affacUva
technicaUnessages
that are hindered
Spielmcn, humor outperformed the
40% of the celebrity and "real
bacauaa H horrowa Intaraat from'ah
by humor."
•^
use of cefebrities and "real people" in people" devices achieved acceptable
ob|act that la alrMdy walHIkad, and
famillartty with ttw obfact of apoof
commeidab for establisheid brands.
Big-ticket items such as automoscores.
maaria laaa flma naadad for aat-up.
biles, entertainment systems, and apbut it can impede communication and
However, when humor was used in
-"Ught-ipirltad
mualc and JinglM
pliances are other products that may
hinder conviaion for a product that
ads introducing new products, the reoflwi halghtan tha Impact of humor.
be incompatible witb humorous adhas not had the opportunity to build a
sults were not as favorable, the news-"YThlnwy and animation hava ttM
vertising.
reputation and image.
letter said. "Only 33% of the new
advantagaa of chami. fraadom for
Dogs are not funny, but cats are,
The study concentrated on basic
product examples scored at or above
craaUvt axparimantatlon. and ofttn
the newsletter said. "Several cat foods
measurement scores for cluttetV
norm on both basic measurements,
a lonQ Ufa.
have carved notable niches for themawareness and attitude shift for SOO while 59% of the established brands
-"Broadly-drawn, axaggaratad huselves by playing on the naturally bufmor in alapatick wid humoroua
humorous comnicrdals and evalumet acceptability criteria."
charactars can b« rtsky. In thaaa
foonish feline character.
ated cadi score against the norm
Sieverai factors contribute to hu•xacutlona
production
vaiuas
can
(100).
"By and large, consumers seem
mor's poor performance in new prodb t ovrwhalmlng. bihihltlng conmore responsive to pain relief mesOuttCT/awareness scores of huuct ads, the newsletter said. "The ataumar MantMcation. Additionally,
sages
when
they're
delivered
morous commercials equaled or surtention commanded by the humor
not avaryon* appradataa broad
'straight,'"
the
newsletter
said.
Coffee
passed the norm in 75% of the cases,
seems to be at the expense of the
niinior*
and
tea
ads
also
are
not
benefited
by a
according to "TopHne." 'Comparable
product story. This problem is height-"H la ganarally inadviaabia to ua«
humorous
approach.
figures for celebrities and 'real people' ened by the fact that humor usually
humor t a launch naw products.
were 62% and 66%, respectively, givFor products which have high emo-"Funny chHdran and anlmala should
requires executional development—
ba uaad wHh cara to pravant them
ing mirth a substantial edge over the
tional appeal and status valiK—
set-up, reaction shots, background
from upataging ttM producL Chilother dences."
cosmetics, fragrances, alcoholic bevproduction, etc.—which consumes
drwt ahould ba acrsanad for intalerages, and soft drinks—humor is inAbove average clutter/awareness
fooUge and can also be distracting.
NgiMHty and ahouM not appMr too
appropriate and trivializing.
scores woe earned by humorous ads,
"Moreover, introducing the prod"Topline" classified se>wn humorexceeding the ratios for celebrities
uct with levity can influence the conous devices along with their relative
Although the majority of humor(41%) and "real peopk" (36%).
sumer to think less seriously about the
strengths or weaknesses. They are:
T b e tongue-in-cheek conuncrdals
product and, consequently, feel less ous commercials for estaUished
products did well, 41% scored below
also proved reasonably persuasive,
inclined tb buy it."
1. The humorous predicament.
with 65% yielding average or better
Some guidelines for the effeetive the norm on one or both basic
This device consists of vignettes,
attitude shift scores vs. 62% for celeuse of humor in TV ads were drawn measurements, the newsletter said.
brities and 57% for Yeal people,'" it
by "Topline" as a result of the study, "In most of these cases the product did ^slices-of-Iife. and problem/solution
states.
not have a good fit with an amusing
commercials with funny or ironic
including:
twists, a format which aUows for
31% of the humorous
-—"Dstwinliw H Illit product la conpct- execution."
2. The humorous mood. Similar to
the humorous predicament, this device is often more visual than verbal
and presents the message in a subtle
and-sephisticated manner. It usually
includes light-hearted music an'd jingles and is most successfully-used for
products that have little news value to
offer. Humorous mood ads serve as
attention-getteris and communicatedesirable images for the product.
3. The parody or spoof. Popular
objects of parody are celebrities, fictional characters, superheros, and
private detectives. The spoof approach imitates something else and
capitalizes on consumers' familiarity
with the situations and characters, so
less set-up is required to put viewers
into a comical mood.
4. Whimsy. The use of funny, animated characters works well and can
give a product an unique identity.
Whimsical devices are imaginative
and enduring and provide opportunities for creative experimentation.
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5. CMMren and animab. The use of
children and animals in comical ads
seems to be a natural, but it is quite
risky. Children and animals can upstage the product message. Inarticulate kids and precocious children both
serve to amuse and charm consiuners
but are generally unpersuasive vendors of the product. Tlie commercial
most likely to fail are those that use
children tq sell soious. adult products.
6. Slapatkk. An extremely risky
approach, slapstick involves exaggerated situations, pratfalls, and horseplay. Slapstick commercials are gencraUy indffective because the comedy
detracts from the product and dutters
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Diractory of
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1982 Edition
Directory includes 120.000 corporate listings, compiled in categories such as ad
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