But motivating consumers is more than making them laugh. Your approach must resonate with a focused sales strategy -- yet remain clever, engaging, sophisticated, and witty. Remember that humor should always be good-natured and capable of amusing a wide audience - except for your competition, of course!



On top of that, your message must be produced and broadcast economically. After all, what's the use of a great idea if it breaks your budget? Take a look at the Apple Computer ads. They're an amazingly simple concept: One guy playing Apple, another playing a PC. Yet the humor is devastating and powerfully effective in marketing their products.

The bottom line is that to inspire potential buyers, products must be positioned in a positive, compelling, competitive light. In short, humorous advertising must...

*Be pre-emptive and savvy.

*Stand out conceptually -- not just visually.

*Easily integrate into print, web, and broadcast media.

*Win market share and meet strategic goals.

*Prompt as well as fortify customer loyalty.

*Position your brand with the intent to expand.

But just as importantly, humorous advertising must not...

*Go negative to accentuate the positive.

*Appear excessively egotistical or self-congratulatory.

*Emulate or even suggest a competitor's approach.

*Fixate on short-sighted sales perspectives or goals.

*Confuse customers through mixed marketing messages.

*Belittle another business with personal attacks or unsuitable language.

Nowadays, branding is the hot buzz word in the advertising business. But unless it's done correctly, it could still get customers to buzz off! Remember that some of the best branding ever done - "Where's the Beef?" for Wendy's - is still memorable even two decades later because of the ad campaign's powerful humor and personal appeal.

However, what you may not know is that "Where's The Beef?" was produced on a shoestring budget and ran a very short period time. Such is the lasting impact of humor. For it's the most economically effective way of getting your message across. Done deftly and with clear purpose, people in your media audience become your biggest promoters as they share your ads with a multitude of others.

So in choosing an advertising agency, make sure the joke is not on you. Select one that has a strong portfolio of outstanding and exceptionally clever work. A solid history of humorous campaigns visible right on their web site. Because when it comes to the success of your business - profits are no laughing matter!