The application of comedy elements in content marketing: How to use humor to make content more attractive?

How to use comedy elements to make marketing content more attractive? The author of this article will lead readers to dismantle relevant brand advertising cases and understand the minefields and coping methods. Let's take a look.

Some time ago, I read Greg Dean's "Step-by-step Guide to Talk Show Practice Series" and used the American comedy framework mentioned in the book to disassemble 13 brand advertising cases.

In this article, I will also share with you 6 practical comedy marketing skills from the American improvisational comedy group Second City Works project, 3 common comedy marketing minefields, 4 types of sensitive topics, and 5 coping methods.

References are at the end of the article.

So, let’s get started.

1. Advantages of comedy elements in content marketing

According to Fredrickson, BL's leniency-construction theory, humorous elements can make people less likely to reject advertisements.

According to Hofmann, V.'s research, humorous elements can enhance the recognition and acceptance of advertisements.

According to research by Gorn et al., emotional music in advertisements can influence consumers' attitudes toward products.

Schmidt's research shows that humorous advertising can improve the recall and cognitive effect of advertising information.

Research (Eisend) shows that humorous ads can stimulate dopamine in the brain, enhance the effectiveness of information transmission, and leave a deeper impression than non-humorous ads.

In summary, comedy elements have four significant advantages in content marketing.

They are:

1. Enhance brand image
2. Increase user interaction rate on social media
3. Enhance the memory effect of product selling points
4. Helps convey brand values/philosophy.

Below I will use 13 cases to illustrate how they use American comedy foreshadowing and joke frameworks to create unexpected situations to attract the audience and make the originally serious content light-hearted and interesting.

The framework of American comedy is as follows: [Preparation → Story 1 → Target hypothesis → Funny point → Reinterpretation → Story 2].

1. How to enhance brand image

1) Product contentization

Look for humorous elements in product features to bring a pleasant experience to users.

Case 1: Google

The "Pegman" character of Google Maps. When users use the Street View function, they can see an interesting Minion icon. This Minion will have various interesting changes in different scenes, which increases the fun of the product and improves user stickiness.

Foreshadowing: When using the Street View feature of Google Maps, users discovered an interesting Minion icon.

Story 1: Users expect to use Street View to see what a physical location looks like.

Hypothesis: Users may think that the Minion is just a generic icon used to represent the Street View feature.

Target Assumption: The Minion is just a normal icon, nothing special.

Connect the Dots: Minion Icons

Further interpretation: The Minions will have various interesting changes in different scenes, adding fun to the street view function.

Story 2: Users discovered that the Minions displayed a variety of interesting images in different scenarios, which increased the fun of the product and user stickiness.

Funny point: During the operation, users will find interesting changes of Minions in different scenes.

Psychological impact on users: By setting up various interesting images of Minions, Google Maps has increased the fun at the visual and emotional levels, making users feel happy during use and improving user stickiness.

2) Festival Marketing

Seize the hot topics of current affairs and use humor to create relevant advertisements.

Case 2: Google

Google has released an April Fools' Day ad for Google Maps, which claims that Google Maps will launch a "Pokémon Master" feature that will allow users to catch Pokémon in the real world.

Interpretation of the American comedy framework

Foreshadowing: Google Maps released a promotional video announcing the launch of a "Pokémon Master" feature that will allow users to capture Pokémon in the real world.

This part builds anticipation, making users expect that this is a real feature that is integrated with the Pokémon game.

Story 1: Users construct a story in their minds that Google Maps has launched an innovative feature that can capture Pokémon in the real world, which will bring users a new gaming experience.

Target hypothesis: The target hypothesis generated by users based on the foreshadowing is that Google Maps will cooperate with the Pokémon game to combine map navigation with games to further enhance the user experience.

Connection point: The ad was released on April Fools' Day. There are two interpretations of this connection point: the first interpretation is that users doubt the authenticity of the ad; the second interpretation is that users regard the ad as an actual feature and look forward to the launch of this feature.

Reinterpretation: The ad was actually an April Fools’ joke for Google Maps, not a real feature. This reinterpretation revealed an unexpected interpretation that differed from the target hypothesis.

Story 2: After learning that this is an April Fools’ Day ad, users will construct another story in their minds, that is, Google Maps used a humorous way to combine the popular Pokémon game at the time to create an attractive April Fools’ Day ad.

Funny point: The "Pokémon Master" feature shown in the ad does not actually exist. This is a humorous ad made by Google Maps for April Fools' Day.

3) Current events

Respond quickly, show a witty and humorous brand image, and relax the tense atmosphere.

Case 3: Oreo

During the Super Bowl, there was a sudden power outage, and Oreo immediately launched a "Delicious in the Dark" Twitter ad.

Interpretation of the American comedy framework

Foreshadowing: Super Bowl Blackout

Story 1: Spectators look forward to the resumption of the game and pay attention to the cause and solution of the power outage

Hypothesis: Power outages will affect the game, the power outage will affect the audience's emotions, the audience's attention to the progress of the game, etc.

Target Assumption: The audience only cares about the game and the power outage

Connection point: Power outage

Reinterpretation: Power outages provide companies with promotion opportunities

Story 2: Oreo used the power outage as an opportunity to launch a humorous ad to grab the audience's attention

LOL: Oreo's "Delicious in the Dark" Twitter ad

4) Combining comedy elements with KOL & content IP

Case 4: Nike

Nike has also collaborated with famous comedian Kevin Hart to launch a series of funny videos about fitness.

Interpretation of the American comedy framework

Foreshadowing: Kevin Hart bought a full set of Nike sports equipment for fitness and started a series of fitness challenges.

Story 1: Audiences look forward to seeing Kevin Hart achieve his fitness goals through hard training.

Assumption: Kevin will take his exercise seriously and may encounter some challenges along the way, but he will ultimately accomplish his goal.

Funny Points: The video shows Kevin Hart's funny, exaggerated and failed moments during his fitness journey, as well as his humorous reactions to his constant motivation but difficulty in completing the task.

Story 2: The audience saw that Kevin Hart's fitness process was not as perfect as expected, but was full of failures and setbacks, but he still maintained a humorous attitude.

Further interpretation: Kevin Hart’s fitness journey is not serious, but is presented in a humorous and self-deprecating way, allowing the audience to feel a relaxed and happy atmosphere.

Case 5: McDonald’s

McDonald's and Minions collaborate to launch a series of crossover ads:

Interpretation of the American comedy framework

1st story: Audiences might expect the burger to look like the Minions and taste sweet and related to the bananas in the movie.

Assumptions: McDonald's burgers are usually meat-based, salty in flavor, and have no direct connection to the Minions.

Target assumption: Audiences expect McDonald’s’ collaboration with the Minions to be limited to appearance, while ignoring innovation in taste.

Connector: The flavor of the Minion Burger.

Reinterpretation: The flavor of this burger is actually a mixture of banana and chocolate, which is related to the Minions' love of bananas, forming an unexpectedly delicious combination.

Story 2: The audience discovered that this burger was not only related to the Minions in appearance, but also innovative in taste, incorporating dessert elements into the burger to create a whole new taste experience.

Punch: The ad shows the pleasant reactions of customers after tasting the burger, and the Minions' crazy love for it.

Case 6: IKEA

IKEA once collaborated with Swedish film director Ruben Östlund to create an advertisement called "The Square" to showcase its design concept.

Interpretation of the American comedy framework

Foreshadowing: In the ad, customers are shown in an IKEA showroom displaying various household items and furnishings. This setting gives the audience an expectation that the ad will showcase the features and benefits of IKEA products.

Target hypothesis: Audiences may believe that the advertisement will focus on introducing elements such as the practicality, style and price of IKEA furniture to attract potential consumers.

Connect the Dots: The ad features an art installation called "The Square," a controversial modern artwork.

Reinterpretation: Different from the furniture display that the audience expected, the advertisement began to unfold a series of humorous events around "The Square", breaking the boundaries of traditional home furnishing advertisements and shifting the audience's attention from the furniture products to the creative expression of the advertisement itself.

Story 2: In the advertisement, customers had various reactions to “The Square”, including curiosity, confusion, surprise, etc. These reactions and interactions became the humorous elements of the advertisement, allowing the audience to accept IKEA’s brand image in a relaxed and happy atmosphere.

Funny point: The advertisement creates a unique humorous effect by introducing modern art elements and integrating them with IKEA home scenes. While appreciating the advertisement, the audience can not only feel IKEA's respect for innovation and art, but also appreciate the fun of the advertisement itself.

6) Reflect youthfulness

Case 7: Disney

Disney posted a photo of Mickey and WALL-E on Twitter. WALL-E imitated Mickey's pose, which was very cute.

Interpretation of the American comedy framework

Setup: Disney released a photo of Mickey and WALL-E (a robot with the ability to learn and imitate).

Story 1: When the audience sees this photo, they think it is a happy photo that shows the friendship between Mickey and Wall-E.

Assumptions: Mickey is a lively, cute character, WALL-E is a robot, and this photo shows their friendship.

Target assumption: The audience expects to see Mickey and Wall-E showing their friendship in the photo, hugging each other, smiling, and other normal photo-taking behaviors.

Connector: Wall-E imitates Mickey's pose.

Reinterpretation: Wall-E imitates Mickey Mouse, showing his humorous and cute side.

As a robot, Wall-E has the ability to learn and imitate, rather than being a rigid mechanical image.

Story 2: The audience sees Wall-E imitating Mickey’s gestures and feels the humorous and cute side of him, while also realizing that Wall-E has the ability to learn and imitate.

Punch: In the photo, Wall-E imitates Mickey's pose, showing his humorous and cute side.

2. How to increase user interaction rate on social media

Case 8: Netflix

Netflix released a series of spoof pictures and short videos related to "Stranger Things" on social media.

These contents include: characters in the play playing real-life characters, presenting classic scenes in the play in a funny way, etc.

They then invited fans to imitate the characters' lines or actions in a humorous way.

Interpretation of the American comedy framework

1. Foreshadowing: The characters in the play play the roles in real life

• Story 1: The audience expects to see the characters' daily life scenes in real life.
• Assumption: Audiences expect to see elements of seriousness, tension, and horror similar to the characters in the show.

2. Funny points: present classic scenes in the play in a funny way

• Connecting Points: The roles of the characters in the play in real life.
• Reinterpretation: The characters interpret classic scenes in a humorous way, making the audience feel a relaxed and happy atmosphere.
• Story 2: The audience sees the characters in the play present real life in a humorous way, which creates a dramatic contrast and breaks the original expectations.

3. Invite fans to imitate the lines or actions of the characters in the drama in a humorous way

• Connect the dots: Fans impersonate characters from the show.
• Further interpretation: Fans imitate the characters in a humorous way, creating more funny situations and increasing interactivity.
• Story 2: Audiences see other fans imitating the character’s humorous performances and feel a sense of relaxed participation and resonance.

Case 9: Old Spice

Old Spice once launched a series of interactive advertisements, inviting users to participate in the production of advertisements.

Interpretation of the American comedy framework

Foreshadowing: Old Spice uses a muscular man as its spokesperson to demonstrate the effects of its products.

Various assumptions: Muscular men represent strength and masculinity, Old Spice products emphasize masculinity, and the spokesperson has a positive and typical image.

Target hypothesis: The audience expects that the advertisement will continue to show the superior image of muscular men and the effectiveness of Old Spice products.

Connection points: The interactive parts of an ad.

Further interpretation: In addition to the muscular man, the advertisement uses a humorous and exaggerated approach and introduces interaction with users, making the advertisement more interesting and relaxing.

Story 2: The muscular male spokesperson in the advertisement carries out various strange and funny requests from users, showing the humorous and relaxed atmosphere of the Old Spice brand.

Funny point: The muscular man in the advertisement meets various bizarre requests made by users, such as wearing strange clothes and making funny movements.

3. How to enhance the memory effect of product selling points

Case 10: Google

The ad "Let's run, little piggy!" uses humorous scenarios to demonstrate the practicality of Google Translate.

Interpretation of the American comedy framework

Setup: The ad shows a pig dressed in exercise gear, ready to go for a running workout.

Story 1: Is this a story about a pig exercising?

Hypothesis: Piglets like to exercise, piglets have humanized characteristics, and the advertisement may focus on the health of animals?

Target assumption: Viewers might expect the ad to revolve around the pig’s exercise, with the pig as the main focus.

Connector: The combination of Xiaozhu and Google Translate in the advertisement

Story 2: Using the image of a pig to convey the convenience and practicality of Google Translate

Punch: Through the image of the piglet and humorous language, it is revealed that Google Translate can help people better understand and learn foreign languages.

Case 11: McDonald’s

Through suspense advertising, users can feel the attractiveness of the product in a relaxed atmosphere.

Interpretation of the American comedy framework

Setup: A person takes a photo of a McDonald's hamburger with his mobile phone in front of a McDonald's restaurant.

Story 1: Customers are admiring photos of burgers.

Assumption: The customer wants to share this photo and takes the photo as a souvenir.

Punch: The burger in the photo suddenly disappears from the phone screen because the customer couldn’t resist eating it.

Connect the Dots: Burger Disappears

Target hypothesis: The burger will stay in the photo.

Reinterpretation: The burger disappeared because the customer actually ate it.

Story 2: The customer ate the burger in the photo because he couldn't resist its deliciousness.

4. How to convey brand values/concepts

Case 12: Dove

Dove launched an advertisement called "Real Beauty Sketches", which explores the issue of female self-esteem in a humorous way and reminds women to look at their appearance more confidently.

——Demonstrates the brand’s concern and sense of responsibility for social issues.

Interpretation of the American comedy framework

Foreshadowing: The ad invites a former FBI professional portrait artist to draw portraits of the women based on their own descriptions and those of others.

Story 1: This ad will show that women tend to judge their appearance too harshly, while others judge them more objectively and positively. The story may revolve around women's self-esteem issues?

Target hypothesis: The story might revolve around female self-esteem issues?

Funny point: The ad shows two completely different portraits drawn by the portrait artist based on the woman’s own description and the description of others. This contrast is humorous (because the difference is so big, the person being evaluated sees a lot of details, and the paintings don’t feel like they are of the same person at all).

Story 2: Women saw the difference between the two portraits and realized they needed to be more confident about their appearance and improve their self-esteem.

2. The severity of the abuse of comedy elements in [content marketing] and the solution

1. Problem

In a study published in 1990, Chattopadhyay and Basu found that when humorous elements are not consistent with the purpose of the advertisement, the brand image may be damaged.

Here are 3 types of problems that may arise:

1) Humor is hard to grasp

Humor is subjective, and different audiences have different preferences and acceptance levels.

2) Disconnect from brand values

Excessive pursuit of humor may lead to a disconnect between brand values ​​and advertising content.

3) Sensitive issues

Humor may be misinterpreted or touch upon sensitive topics such as politics and culture.

Here are four types of sensitive issues that may arise:

Misjudging the sensitivity of current events

In 2014, Walmart launched a Twitter ad that had a negative impact due to misjudging the sensitivity of current events.

In this ad, Walmart attempts to promote one of their Halloween decorations called the "Burning Hanging" in a satirical way.

The ad states: "Fire the hang and fill your home with flaming joy."

However, at that time, California wildfires were raging in the United States, and many people lost their homes due to the fires, so it was not very timely.

Misjudging cultural sensitivities

In 2011, KFC Australia's advertising caused negative consequences due to misjudging cultural sensitivity.

The advert is set in a stadium surrounded by West Indies fans, where an Australian cricket fan, in order to ease the tension, offers a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, who then become friendly .

The reason why it is considered to involve racial discrimination is that this plot easily reminds people of the association (stereotype) between African Americans and fried chicken.

Oversimplification of social issues

In 2017, supermodel Kendall Jenner put down her photography to join the protest and handed a can of Pepsi to the police in the Pepsi advertisement "Bridge of Peace".

The original intention was to try to convey a message of peace and unity, but the end result was the withdrawal of the advertisement and a public apology.

This advertisement was considered by users to oversimplify real social issues:

After all, how can the problems of racial inequality and police violence be solved by a bottle of Coke?

Sexist/racial innuendo

In 2013, Adidas launched the bracelet shoe "JS Roundhouse Mid", which caused negative comments on social media.

The shoe's design features a handcuff-like ornament on the heel, which many consumers believe alludes to slavery and raises concerns about racial discrimination.

2. How to deal with these challenges

1) Use humorous elements moderately: In advertising creativity, 1-2 humorous elements should be used moderately to avoid affecting the audience's perception of the product and brand.

2) Ensure content quality: Make sure the improvisational comedy elements convey a positive image for the brand, rather than just pursuing funny effects.

3) Consider the target audience: Understand the preferences and needs of your target audience and tailor your ads to them, making sure the humor is in line with their tastes.

For example, the advertisement launched by Doraemon in cooperation with a bubble gum brand is based on children's interests, uses Doraemon as the spokesperson, and conveys brand information in a humorous and funny way.

4) Assess risks and potential impacts: Before the ad is released, conduct internal assessments and tests to ensure that the humorous elements will not cause negative impact or controversy. If necessary, invite a third-party professional organization to participate in the assessment to improve the objectivity and accuracy of the assessment.

5) Pay attention to the localization and global application of humorous elements: For example, McDonald’s advertisement in India, titled “Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai”, demonstrated the brand’s respect for and integration into local culture through Indian-style humorous elements.

3. How does the [B2B department] of the improvisational comedy group empower the company’s content marketing?

The Second City is an American improvisational comedy group that has been around for over sixty years.

They created a B2B division that now has more than 400 events a year, half of which are with Top 1,000 companies.

For example, incorporating comedy elements into content marketing practices for brands such as Uber, Facebook, hubspot, and Hilton Hotels.

Website: www.secondcityworks.com

To date, more than 300 companies have co-created videos and other content with Second City, which have received more than 20 million views in total.

They mainly use the following methods:

1) “Yes, and” principle

The actors further develop the storyline by accepting and building on each other’s creative ideas.

This principle encourages participants to maintain a positive and open mindset during the performance, which helps create interesting and unexpected plots.

2) Listen and observe

Actors need to pay close attention to what other actors say and do in order to better interact with them and respond appropriately.

Additionally, observing the audience's reactions can help you adjust the performance to suit their preferences.

3) Role Playing

By putting themselves in different roles, actors are able to better understand the character's thoughts and emotions and improvise based on the character's characteristics.

4) Situational Improvisation

In the process of improvisational comedy creation, actors need to quickly adapt to various situations and use their imagination and creativity.

Actors need to find more inspiration from daily life and incorporate life experiences and emotions into their performances.

5) Trust and cooperation

The success of an improvisational comedy performance depends largely on the trust and cooperation between the team.

6) Be brave to take risks and try new things

In improvisational comedy, it is important to try different ways of expression in order to break out of your comfort zone.

Here are two of their practical cases:

1. Funny expression advertisement for a well-known beverage brand

Content creativity: Choose interesting topics and situations related to the brand, and incorporate comedic elements such as humor, satire and puns into advertising creativity.

Relationship with products/brands: Explore the personality traits of the characters and use exaggerated methods to express the contradictions and conflicts between the characters. At the same time, convey the brand concept and values ​​through the interaction of the characters.

2. Post a humorous picture about food on Twitter for a restaurant

Content creativity: Because the content is published on Twitter, it is necessary to combine the hot trends and topics of the platform to find creative inspiration. This time, the meme is a way to comment on hot events in a humorous and sarcastic way.

Association with products/brands: By making fun of food culture and eating habits, brand characteristics and product advantages can be displayed in a light-hearted way.

References:

• Gorn, GJ, Pham, MT, & Sin, LY (2001). When arousal influences ad evaluation and valence does not (and vice versa). Journal of Consumer Psychology, 11(1), 43-55.
• Fredrickson, BL (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218-226.
• Schmidt, SR (1994). Effects of humor on sentence memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20(4), 953-967.
• Eisend, M. (2009). A meta-analysis of humor in advertising. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 37(2), 191-203.
• Hofmann, V.'s study "Humor as a Communication Strategy in Provider-Consumer Interactions"

Author: Mustang Fan

Source: WeChat official account: "Gbrandlab"