Can Something be Too Funny?

The other day, Tom Keith, our video producer and I were talking about TV commercials. The conversation drifted to the subject of the use of humor in TV, radio spots, and ads in general.

One spot, that we both thought of, recently featured the actor Ed Begley, and a character actor who, though easily recognizable, is not well known, by name. The commercial was definitely entertaining, but neither of us could remember the product. We both thought it might have been for Comcast or another cable company…but we were mistaken!

As it turns out, DIREC TV had produced the spot. Maybe Tom and I are just getting too old to remember things like we once could(?). However, this lapse in memory illustrates the danger of using humor to communicate your message — unless it is really good, and very, very funny.

Funny commercials and ads may fall flat for several reasons. First and foremost, your ad simply may not be as funny as you thought or hoped it would be. After all, comedy writing is nowhere near as easy as it may seem. This is why shows like Cheers, Seinfeld, and Friends enjoyed incredible success, yet are so hard to duplicate. Worse yet, there are plenty of unfunny people who (haven’t realized this fact and) think they are funny.

And…what about the idea of a commercial being too funny? In other words it was so funny that, after seeing it, the only thing we remember is the spot. What they’re selling, unfortunately, takes a back seat to their “delivery”, and this can be disastrous.

Some funny spots have a short shelf life, anyway. After I’ve seen a certain ad a few times, it’s no longer funny and actually may become annoying. On the other hand, some humorous commercials are so good that I can’t wait to see them again. These usually come from those writers who demand the big bucks, and not many of us have room for them in our budgets.

I say, Yes (with some caveats), you should use humor in your ads if that appeals to you. But you must: make sure your humor truly is funny before you proceed too far, and watch out for the possibility of humor overshadowing your true, intended message.