Comedy for Comedy Sake?

Posted by Blake Howard on March 24, 2008 Share

I love a good laugh just as much as the next bloke, but when it comes to marketing a service or product is comedy always the answer? It seems like lately that's the easy road. Give me 30 seconds of airtime, an over weight man, a nine iron, and a frisky squirrel and you've got yourself a hit! Look at this past Super Bowl, the top ads were littered with hilarious randomness, but were they truly effective?Dustin showed me the ad below earlier this week (that got me thinking about this point) and the video immediately captivated me with its brilliant approach to randomness and over the top humor. It has since become one of my all time youtube favorites (just squeezing past the break dancing kid and the dramatic chipmunk). I have become a raving fan of it. It is viral to me. I can't stop showing it to all my friends. I literally can't stop thinking about it, I think it's genius, but would I buy insurance from this guy? Heck no.


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4 Comments

"Long time lurker - first time responder.

I'm often on the fence regarding comedic ads that have little tie-in or seemingly bad targeting. Clearly a well produced humorous viral ad with a strong product connection (see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgtfC5LBAW4&feature=related ) is always a winner.

Yet, when considering how much production went into the Vern Fonk - DANCE! ad and the talk that may surround it, I'll bet it was a great investment. If they have a great product and good service the follow-up word of mouth could give them cult status. Ya think?"

- Bruce DeBoer

"Great comment! Its definitely cult status in my book, just not for my insurance needs. Thanks for reading Bruce!"

- blake

"That is amazing.
I think I would buy insurance from him.
Think about how boring insurance is(no offense to my entire family who sells it).
My brother recently sold me some disability insurance. He calls me all the time about some form I'm suppose to fill out send back to him. I have to screen his calls.
I wouldn't screen this guy's calls.
Just a thought."

- Bryan Johnson

"I would douse myself in kerosene and light myself on fire for this guy. I haven't stopped laughing in 2 hours. The "intermeb"?! Great catch."

- brad the ervinator

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