How much of a role do you think humour plays in the making of a great advertising campaign?
Can you recall how many times you’ve laughed in your entire life? Perhaps a million times. If laughing is so ordinary and so natural then probably we should have been bored of it by now. But that is not the case. Humans are hard-wired to appreciate humour and laugh. So, if something is truly hilarious, people will enjoy it and this is why humorous ads work many a times. Tell a joke well enough and your ad will do equally well.
What has been the recent trend with respect to the use of humour in Indian advertising?
I am not very sure about this because there are a lot of ads that I have not seen in the recent past. Advertising is a mix of various real life elements and emotions. As an ad maker, you are supposed to combine all these elements into an attractive package. Be it fun, energy, emotions or gloom, they all get their spot in ads. More importantly, you cannot overuse humour as a fool proof formula for success.
Do you think that the use of humour in ads can really help in adding value to the brand in question?
I believe that the purpose of an advertisement is just to entertain and inform the target audience. It cannot push or change anybody’s buying decision. A stunning ad will not result in the sale of a poor product So, if you are a good brand which delivers great products and services, people will anyway be interested in your ads. I would also like to highlight the fact that a brand is not built on great advertising alone. There are a lot of other factors which define the art of brand building. You have to develop a 360 degree strategy in order to be really successful.
There are many instances when an ad which was supposed to be well received by prospective customers due to the presence of humour as a central element backfires. What do you think are the reasons for this?
The culprit behind these failed ads is bad conceptualisation and direction. I do not want to teach anyone how to make ads. Nevertheless, the two factors that I mention above are critically important for the success of any and every ad. Humour will continue to be an important category and you will see humorous ads as long as people have got a natural tendency to laugh and appreciate good humour. But it needs to be well scripted and targeted.
Do you think that the prevailing anguish in the Indian society due to issues like corruption and political paralysis are motivating marketers to use humour in ads?
This is definitely one of the reason for the increasing use of humour in recent times. These humorous ads attempt to soothe the anguish of prospective customers. Plus, they also establish a strong connect. If you can recollect, during the days when the global economic meltdown was at its peak, a lot of movies captured the anguish of the society. These trends are very much interlinked. As long as a movie or an ad is able to provoke a reaction, it is going to be successful.
Can you recount some humorous ads which you personally like?
I may not be able to list them down because I do not watch television these days. However, there are a lot of old ads which I found extremely funny. The advertisements of Hamlet Cigar in the late 70s were extremely humorous. I seriously wish that the same quality of humour returns back to Indian ads.
