Fifty years ago, there were brand ambassadors. Today we call them influencers: someone well-known with charismatic heft who can snap a photo, craft a pithy caption and break the sales needle on the latest pair of athletic sneakers or the trendiest restaurants. They create cultural...
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2024 is our last year as a teenager in TriniAd-land. We’ve learnt so much and there’s still so much to do! Quite frankly, we’re proud of ourselves. 2005 was a significant year. Trinidad and Tobago’s Soca Warriors qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals for the...
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Many years ago there was a print ad that read something to the effect that if you forgot Mother’s Day, the world would end. You forget Father’s Day, not so much. That’s not an opinion that we share; both moms and dads are crucial parts...
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We’ve come a long way from the days when products that helped with household chores were marketed solely to women. Far be it from the gentleman in the poster below to wear the cleanest shirts in town because he used his muscles to wash them...
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It’s been said by many an advertising maven that what’s being sold, whether conventionally or otherwise, isn’t necessarily the product itself, but the emotion behind the product. And the emotion we’d like to centre on, at least for the purpose of this here blog, is humour.
Yes, the month of April is upon us and, besides being renowned for showers and kite-flying, it’s also well-known for humorous pranks. Namely, April Fool’s Day.
When used in the right spirit, humour not only enhances an ad in terms of its delivery but it can also make it memorable. We at The BUZZ certainly have no qualms about using humour in advertising — our work over the years points to evidence that we’ve tickled a funny bone or two.
But what about ads that can get away with the absurd only on April Fool’s Day? No doubt they are sure-fire attention grabbers. According to Jared Kozel, EVP and Executive Creative Director at Wunderman Thompson, April Fool’s Day is a great sounding board for both ads and agencies, adding: “It’s pretty low risk for the most part, as it doesn’t require much effort and might help a brand break through the clutter.”
Above are April Fool’s Day ads from The Buzz for Castrol Lubricants.
Moreover, it also gives agencies (and the brands they represent) the opportunity to showcase their lighter side to the general public. Comedy, however, can be hit-or-miss. There are too many stories of campaigns that fizzled out or caused a furore because they failed to connect with their audience or offended in some way.
Even so, when one is talking about April Fool’s Day ads, it’s still perceived as advertising. So, the challenge is to craft an ad that is so funny (and within the boundaries of good taste) that the audience will get to see it for what it is: a lighthearted creation to draw the consumer even closer to a well-loved brand.
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