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The Dangers of Humour In Advertising

Written by: Paul Tobey

Article Overview: Driving along the highway to my next client appointment this morning, I was stuck behind a huge dump truck for a while, as the traffic inched along. The truck was carrying a large load of fresh garden soil, probably top soil destined for the flower beds of one of the large condo developments along that part of the highway. On the back of the truck was the name of the company, along with a telephone number and the slogan "Soil Yourself!".

The Dangers of Humour In Advertising

Driving along the highway to my next client appointment this morning, I was
stuck behind a huge dump truck for a while, as the traffic inched along. The truck
was carrying a large load of fresh garden soil, probably top soil destined for the
flower beds of one of the large condo developments along that part of the highway.
On the back of the truck was the name of the company, along with a telephone
number and the slogan "Soil Yourself!".



No doubt the owner of the business thought it was funny and had put some thought
into it before putting it on his truck. I had a bit of a chuckle myself, when I saw it.
But at the same time, it struck me that the owner of the truck had fallen into one
of the most common marketing mistakes; trying to be humorous in our marketing.



Even if people find your humour amusing, does it sell? My belief is that generally
it does not. What sells are clear benefits. In this case there were none.



The worst thing with humour, is that it is open to misinterpretation. Another
challenge in these days of political correctness, is that others might find it offensive.
So why use something that hides your benefits, is open to misinterpretation or
might create offence? In my view the most important thing in advertising is to create
a clear Unique Selling Proposition and use it to succinctly communicate why people
should choose you over your competition. See Street-Smart Marketer # xx for more information on creating an effective USP.

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Top 19 Copywriting books - 1. Ogilvy on Advertising. David Ogilvy. Wiley. 2. Positioning: The Battle for your Mind. Al Ries and Jack Trout. Warner. 3. The New Positioning. Jack Trout. McGraw-Hill. 4. Tested Advertising Methods. John Caples. Prentice-Hall. 5. How to Make your Advertising Make Money. John Caples. Prentice-Hall. 6. Guerrilla Advertising. Jay Conrad Levinson. Houghton Mifflin. 7. Direct Mail Copy that Sells. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall. 8. Sales Letters that Sizzle. Herschell Gordon Lewis. NTC Business Books. 9. Herschell Gordon Lewis on the Art of Writing Copy. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall. 10. Romancing the Brand. David Martin. American Management Association. 11. The Art of Writing Advertising: Conversations with William Bernbach, Leo Burnett, George Gribbin, David Ogilvy, Rosser Reeves. NTC Business Books. 12. Confessions of an Advertising Man. David Ogilvy. NTC Business Books. 13. My Life in Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books. 14. Scientific Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books. 15. How to Become an Advertising Man. James Webb Young. NTC Business Books. 16. The Lasker Story as He Told It. NTC Business Books. 17. Advertising Concept and Copy. George Felton. Prentice Hall. 18. The Copy WorkShop Workbook. Bruce Bendinger. The Copy Workshop. 19. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads. Luke Sullivan. Wiley. This should keep you busy for at least a year. Enjoy!
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