The Humor Appeal – The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Burger King – Mushroom & Swiss

This ad uses humor as an appeal. The commercial unfolds with two gentlemen lightly strumming the guitar and singing to a third man. The third man, in the background, is begging is wife for forgiveness as she tosses his belongings out the window. The singers humorously encourage the distressed man that eating will solve his problem. Particularly, Burger King’s new Shroom & Swiss.
The commercial is humorous based on the unbalanced style of dress showcased, jovial actions during a stressing period and the inadequate solution to huge problem. This commercial is funny and it attracts attention and persuades the onlooker to purchase a new sandwich.

Alltel – Chad You’re A Dingdong

This ad makes good use of humor. Humor makes the commercial more comprehensive and therefore works better to illustrate the point. The viewer is able to put the concepts into perspective and enjoy a great commercial. One memorable Alltel commercial shows four wireless providers ganging up on one. Chad from Alltel, is taunted and called a “ding-dong” because he let his customers share minutes. These bullies don’t seem to realize that the joke is on them.
This works on many levels. The nature of the product makes the appropriateness of using humor. Humor works with established products well and it further creates brand awareness.

AT&T – Rollover Minutes

This ad utilizes humor as its appeal. However, there is no correlation between rollover minutes and humor. So there is a disconnect in the concept and the appeal. Humor works against the product. The viewer can easily remember the commercial but forgets the product.
AT&T’s newest commercial is very cute. Two brothers fight over rollover minutes, and the mom mixes them together. After she scatters the old and new minutes she instructs them to choose. The commercial hopes to increase product use, but it doesn’t remind you why.


Sonics – Food Math

This ad makes use of humor. But unfortunately the commercial is stupid. The ads are memorable, but the humor isn’t relevant. The humor doesn’t enhance source creditability, but it doesn’t altogether harm comprehension. The humor is dry and infrequent which subtracts from its usefulness.
Two guys sit in a car and discuss breakfast sandwiches. They both agree that Sonics is so good and fulfilling that you’re actually eating more than you paid for. So they proceed to do burger math. This is yet another cute commercial. However, the humor is distracting from the message. In this case the audience hears the message but forgets the content.