Marketing is no doubt a serious business. The success of a business depends on it, after all. But, then again, there’s also no such thing as serious marketing. Treat your customers and prospects to matter of factly advertising material, and you might as well have never approached them in the first place.
In fact, the best marketing strategies are those that hit their audiences from unexpected angles. Perhaps that is why it is the funniest ads that go viral so quickly. And while there are plenty of marketing fails on Youtube, we have intentionally funny marketing that worked, too. Here are 5 rather funny marketing ideas that actually got the job done…
The Dollar Shave Club
Image credit: Youtube.com
Let’s face it, there are some things that simply won’t bring a smile to your face. Razors, toilet paper, washing machines and blenders (more on this one later), etc are just about the most boring things you can imagine.
Or are they? Some people just know how to tickle your funny bone, no matter what the subject, and the ad from Dollar Shave Club that sells one dollar razors proves it. Their downright unconventional and outrageous ad is really hard to ignore! Check it out here. You are guaranteed of a good time!
Deez Nuts by Frontier Airlines
Image credit: pointmetotheplane.boardingarea.com
The election time is always rife with controversies, and of course, the occasional funny moment. But it is the really clever ones who know that such moments often make the perfect marketing material. Well, at least some guy at Frontier Airlines thought so! So, when the politician “Deez Nuts” announced his candidacy for the 2016 elections, Frontier Airline decided to put a twist on it and use it in their marketing campaign.
Frontier came up with a discount promotion slashing their ticket prices by half under the slogan – “Deez Fares are Nuts! Vote for low fares.” The campaign immediately became an instant hit and went viral. In retrospect, it was the timely nature of the campaign that led to it’s success.
Will it Blend by Blendtec
Image credit: Blendtec
Like we said, blenders rank right up there with the most unmarketable, unfunny products that would give any marketer more than a few headaches. But where there’s a will, there’s a way. And the good guys at Blendtec came up with the perfect way to advertize their products. Their Will it Blend campaign took the internet by storm when they started blending all sorts of things ranging from smartphones to tablets to watches and more in their blenders. Why did it work? Because it was audacious and well thought out and because it pointed out (in a not so subtle way) that their blenders can take on anything. Check out their ads here.
Any Old Spice Commercial
Image credit: Youtube.com
Come on, can you ever look at an Old Spice commercial and not think “what will they show now?” Old Spice seems to have taken a special liking to funny ads. Bathroom humor has a tendency to get tedious and overblown, however, Old Spice’s ads always end up hitting the nail on the head. Here’s a compilation of some of their best ads.
The Truth by Bodyform
Image link: Youtube.com
Any brand’s worst nightmare is being shamed on social media. But some people know how to handle the mockery, like Bodyform. Creating women’s hygiene products, the company’s Facebook page received a comment from a man named Richard who stated he had been lied to by their commercials, and that, he found out the truth about women’s periods when he got a girlfriend.
While most brands would have left it at that, Bodyform decided to join in on the humor by dedicating an entire ad to his post in a video called The Truth, starring none other than the CEO of the company who drinks the famous blue liquid shown in all sanitary napkin commercials. Check out the video here. Warning: might result in a few nightmare.
Which was your favorite? If you know of a marketing campaign that you enjoyed, feel free to leave a link in the comments below.
