"Everyone likes funny commercials. Creative people like creating them. Advertisers are pleased to be running them. The consumer enjoys them." ~ (Roman and Maas, 1976) If you take a close look at the market today, there is immense competition among producers, and a lot of choices among buyers! There is a race to prove to the potential consumers that one product is better than the other. Producers/sellers apply a lot of marketing techniques and strategies like reduction in price, offering discounts and vouchers, free gifts, exchange offers, etc., to attract consumers. But what is more important, is to spread the news across the market about how choosing their product over others, would be beneficial for the consumers, both quality and money wise. This is where advertising techniques play an important role. Again, the market does not entertain 'basic advertising' anymore! Advertising is more than just 'informing' the consumers about the product..., everybody does that! The need of the hour is to adapt those ways of advertising which highlight the unique selling point (USP) of your product in a manner that appeals to the potential consumers in the market. How do funny advertising ideas effectively contribute in this? Let's find out. Funny Ideas for Advertising We all know how hectic and serious our lives have become in the race of winning and losing. Well, it's human to get attracted towards things, or people, or ideas; that help relieve the mind off the stress and seriousness of life, and manage to bring a funny laugh on the face, or may be even a smile! I believe this is the reason why funny advertising techniques are considered to be the most successful endeavor when it comes to successful advertising. I don't know about you, but I would definitely give my vote to an advertisement that made me laugh, rather than the one which "claimed to be the best in the business" like the rest of them! Many times, consumers just purchase the product because they so loved the advertisement! This is the reason why companies are willing to spend millions of dollars on funny advertisements that can create a substantial demand for their products. Mentioned below are some funny advertising ideas that are most popular among both, the buyers and the sellers. Make Customers Hoard... Use Funny Billboards! Have you noticed the number of people who are out there on the road traveling? They might not have the time to look at other means, but they surely can't miss the billboards at the traffic signals when they stop their vehicle! Placing funny billboards and promoting your business and products at this point, would prove to be very beneficial. Remember, these will be viewed at least twice by each and every person crossing the road. If you have seen the movie, I Love You Man, you would know exactly what I mean! Use the space efficiently, use funny pictures in a story telling way that how your product is better than the competitor as people might have to struggle hard to read sentences. However, you can use a short punch line which explains the whole advertisement in a clear way. The one I loved the most was from Honda, where pictures were used to draw a prisoner who digs an underground hole from the prison, but misses a turn and ends up in the cop's cabin! Had he not missed the turn, he would have ended up straight in Mexico where he could have had all the fun of his life. The tag line says, "One simple miss can make a big mess"! Mascots Dance to your Tune by Wearing Funny Costumes! Creative and funny advertising ideas with mascots in a funny costume is another good way of attracting customers. A classic example would be McDonald's! Knowing that this technique was adopted way back, now you'll have to enhance it further using your own creative ideas. You can make the mascots stand at the sideways of the streets spreading the word and promoting your business. You can also use some creativity and make their costumes catchy and funny by writing a funny line on their costume, with the question at the back and the answer at the front. Taking the example of McDonald's again, I came across this add wherein they had printed the picture of a baby which looked like their mascot Ronald. The idea was that a new branch had just opened nearby. I thought this idea was both funny and cute. I just couldn't wait to check out the new branch! Press the Laughter Button While They Watch TV! Honestly, I always thought that all the TV commercials were getting way too monotonous lately! I mean everybody had the same appeal, except for a few advertising campaigns which really won the battle in winning the consumer's attention. The zuzu Vodafone commercials are the perfect example for this successful advertising strategy. The Vodafone funny TV commercials and the all-time-funny and famous zuzu's, have not only won millions of hearts but also set a trend! I bet more than 50% of the current Vodafone customers are the results of the effective funny advertisement created. Just like these commercials, try to include the unique features of your products in a funny manner. Your Sales Numbers Would Shine... with Catchy Jingle Lines!! Funny jingles are among some of the effective old school advertisement techniques that still work! A funny radio or commercial jingle is still capable enough to attract the attention of many many consumers. Music as it is, influences the human mind to a great extent. And it happens many times, that the jingles continue to play in your mind, and one person who has heard it, sings it out to someone else, eventually making it a hit. I think this is the best way to advertise using music as the 'word of mouth', especially to people who failed to come across it in the first place! This is because they will listen to the jingle and then would show their interest in the product. Want Heaps of Money? Use Inflatables that are Funny! Using huge funny inflatables can be an efficient way to attract the attention of all kinds of people. Use cartoon or animal characters with funny approach of the product towards the potential consumers. Make sure that the inflatables are giant and massive so that no one misses to catch a sight of them. If you can make them relevant to your business, great! But usually companies who advertise using inflatables never really make them business oriented. Just letting people know you are there all the time, bringing smiles on their faces, it is enough for them to eventually purchase your product, well; most of the time! See Your Profits Rising, Use Online Advertising! I think it is possible for some people to not pay attention to the huge billboard, it is possible that some don't find the jingle appealing, it is even possible that the mascot may turn out to be uninteresting, but if you wish to target the consumers using online advertising, trust me, they won't be able to miss it, even if they try to. Now, to be really honest, please don't create those annoying advertisements that keep on popping and flashing up on people's screen, making them crazy with anger. Trust me, if there is a customer like me, I will make sure that I buy anything else but NOT your product! Again, the concept remains the same. Make the slogan funny, catchy, and appealing so that the consumer is eager to know about it and simply drags his or her mouse to click on your add. For example, I remember seeing this advertisement online, wherein it was written 'SEX' in bold red font. And then when you focus on the add, it said, "Now that we have your attention, go eat a Subway!" Wasn't that funny! Trust me, half of the world is online most of the time, and this way of advertising means targeting more consumers worldwide. So, these were some of the most efficient funny advertising ideas that can help you boost your sales in a large margin. Although, you need a good investment for them, but all these techniques are totally worth the money, as they guarantee fairly good returns as compared to what you have invested. To conclude, all I'd like to say is that creativity and understanding the needs of the consumers, is the key to successful advertising. A smile is always a way to convey a positive approach to a person, and if funny advertising can help make a smiling bond with the consumers, what could be more effective?