Comments on: The 5 Rules of Business Humor

By: Coulda Had a V8 « Commercial Adaptations

Coulda Had a V8 « Commercial Adaptations — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 01:44:57 +0000

[...] The 5 Rules of Business Humor [...]

By: Troy

Troy — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:20:21 +0000

I've noticed recently that inside jokes seem to be making their way into commercials. ex. a company will make a commercial with a certain humorous plot line and only the people who get it are already using the service or something similar, so they end up not bringing in any new customers at all. Troys last blog post..Why?!

By: Robert Hruzek

Robert Hruzek — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:20:26 +0000

I think you may have a point about the bank ads. Always hated the bad attitude displayed in these and similar ones (like the PC vs. Mac ads Apple is running).

Movies is another one – I walk through the video store and have a hard time believing 99.9% of the ones in the “comedy” section are – actually – funny. I mean, c’mon!

*sigh*

Robert Hruzeks last blog post..Great Quotes #23

By: Brad Shorr

Brad Shorr — Fri, 30 May 2008 13:38:58 +0000

Robert/Mother Earth, the genuine factor is huge. I sometimes wonder if banks flop with humor because it doesn’t come naturally to them. No stereoptyping intended, but bankers deal with high level, important stuff, and people tend not to want to joke around about money. Bob/Mother Earth, testing material on some good sounding boards is an excellent idea, though I don’t think you can expect to make everybody laugh. Each of us has our own unique sense of humor. Is that why movie comedies have such a hard time attracting mass audiences?

Brad Shorrs last blog post..Sales Rep Blogs – Branding Opportunity â€¦ or Not

By: Mother Earth

Mother Earth — Fri, 30 May 2008 13:31:28 +0000

I thought the same thing as Robert being genuine is important.

If something gets me roaring – it’s wonderful

I also think humor is sometimes in the eyes of the beholder ( is that the right phrase?) beauty is in the eyes of the beholder?

What I might think is really funny, someone else may not

By: Bob Firestone

Bob Firestone — Thu, 29 May 2008 23:04:08 +0000

Wow… those V8 commercials are just brutally unfunny. I was never really sure what the message was there.

The rule you left out was make sure other people think it is funny too.

By: Robert Hruzek

Robert Hruzek — Thu, 29 May 2008 19:25:36 +0000

Great roundup, Brad! But as usual, I can't leave well enough alone... How about this for #6: Make sure the humor is genuine. Too many times the humor ends up being forced, if you know what I mean. It has to reach people on a level that triggers their funny bone, not screams at them: this is funny, insert laugh here. Robert Hruzeks last blog post..The Day I Decided to, er, Get Help

By: Brad Shorr

Brad Shorr — Thu, 29 May 2008 18:23:35 +0000

Stephanie, that is an excellent point. How often does this conversation play out –
Jack – I saw this hilarious commercial last night!
Jill – What was it for?
Jack? I can’t remember.
I can’t explain exactly why that happens. Repetition is part of the answer, but also, the humor has to somehow be clearly about the company/product/service.

Brad Shorrs last blog post..Shifting Values Support Business Blogs

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Thu, 29 May 2008 17:23:56 +0000

Another problem is that humor can be remembered more than the point you’re trying to get across.