THE CHEMISTRY OF COMEDY
Think of any ad you like. Does it tug at your heart strings? Piss you off? Make you question your existence? If it landed a punch that you remember, chances are it had a punchline.
Why? Funny ads feel good. We’re caught off guard, leaving us more receptive. Humour builds a positive emotional connection between us and the brand. Like we’re being entertained, rather than sold to.
But there’s an art to ads that make us laugh. Or rather, a science. Goggles on, let’s go.
The right mix makes your message stick
Catching your audience in their feelings is all about mixing the right chemical concoction. You want to get them drunk on adrenaline – that’s what makes your message stick
Three primary emotions release adrenaline: fear, grief and laughter. The buzz you get from these feels makes the experience memorable. So to get stuck in someone’s head you can either make them scared, sad or giggly.
Remember “Ghost chips”? “Togs, Togs, Undies”? “Mate, ya dreaming”? These absolute classics hit the right chemical balance. So even after all these years, most Kiwis still remember the giggles and more importantly, the message.
The right mix makes your audience react
If your marketing makes people laugh, you’re well on your way to a sale. That’s because laughter switches out cortisol in our blood for our brain’s favourite hits - dopamine, oxytocin and endorphins.
Dopamine heightens our attention and drives motivation – “I want that!”
While Oxytocin creates those warm fuzzies of relatedness – “I like them!”
And as we all know, endorphins make us feel happy, and – “Happy people don't shoot their husbands, they just don't!”
Think Skinny’s ‘Almost famous’ campaign. “Ben Affleck from Dunedin” is the kind of humbling humour we flightless Kiwis love. While the underlying message is still clear: they don’t waste money on celeb endorsements so they can keep mobile plans cheap. SOLD.
GRAB YOUR LAB COAT
Let’s put the chemical cocktail to the test. Both the ads below have the same message. But one uses humour to land the plane. And the other, fear to crash it. Which do you think is better?
Test subject 1: ‘Doors’
Test subject 2: ‘Ghost chips’
Both are a few years old. But which one do you remember?
Both catch you in your feels. But which do you prefer to watch?
Both grab our attention. But which changes your behaviour?
See what we’re getting at?
EUREKA, THAT’S IT!
Mixing the chemistry of comedy isn’t easy. But done right, it makes the message memorable to your audience. While subliminally seducing them to take action. So if you’re deciding which chemical concoction to use in your next campaign, try cracking a joke.
LIKING WHAT WE LIKE?
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