10 funny ads that worked and why
Summary/Overview
Advertising has the capacity to influence your buying habits through relatable, unexpected humor. Learn from these examples of modern and vintage funny ads so you too can benefit from this marketing principle in your own ad content.
Why funny ads matter
Funny ads engage viewers by making them look longer and think about the content, possibly even putting them in a better mood. Any marketing content that can capture an audience’s attention has already gotten through half the battle of attracting potential new customers to their brand or business.
Positive effects of funny branding for your business
- Humor can establish an emotional connection between a potential customer and your brand. Whatever message is relayed in the ad becomes more memorable due to its humor, and possibly more meaningful to the viewer.
- Humor levels the playing field between smaller and larger companies that would otherwise have completely different budgets and capabilities.
- Adding in a joke or clever wording can help overcome resistance to a purchase and be what clinches an eventual sale.
- Customers get to know your company better by witnessing your brand’s sense of humor. Branching out in your ad content can show off another facet that people haven’t seen yet.
Humorous advertisement examples that worked
Old Spice
Image source: YouTube
- Type of ad
- TV commercial
- Why is it funny?
- Old Spice’s massive ad campaign took the stereotypical elements of classical masculinity and drew out the humor of the most outlandish concepts connected to masculinity with props like stallions and yachts. This way, the viewer is brought in on the joke and can laugh along with the model presenting the concept.
- Why does it work?
- Using quick, clever, and easily digestible video content, Old Spice captured the attention of their viewers and held it so that they could get the message of their brand across in a subtle way that directly works in tandem with the over-the-top style of their marketing.
- What usable marketing ideas does this ad inspire?
- This ad campaign shows the reach of shortform video content as the canvas for your marketing strategy, as well as relating to your audience through core human concepts that anyone can recognize regardless of demographic.
Spotify
Image source: Spotify
- Type of ad
- Digital ad
- Why is it funny?
- With simple text and attractive colors, this Spotify ad pulls your eye in and then quickly reminds you how much you’ve aged — though hopefully most of your music taste has remained the same. It encourages the viewer to laugh at themselves in a softly self-deprecating way.
- Why does it work?
- Everyone gets older, but many of us feel like we’re still kids in many ways. Spotify takes this core concept and applies it to their users’ music tastes in the hopes that pure nostalgia will pull people back in.
- What usable marketing ideas does this ad inspire?
- Color psychology and nostalgia as guiding principles for a marketing strategy can have maximum impact with minimal effort.
Ikea
Image source: AdWeek
- Type of ad
- Billboard
- Why is it funny?
- Rather than the usual neat and clean style of billboards, these Ikea billboard images are shoddily put together, evoking the frustrating yet laughable feeling that many customers have while trying to construct their recently purchased Ikea furniture.
- Why does it work?
- It relates to the customer on a product level, and offers a solution: call the assembly service team. It allows the customer to laugh at themselves while fixing the situation.
- What usable marketing ideas does this ad inspire?
- Self-deprecation is a highly relatable form of humor that accesses viewers on their level.
Axe
Image source: CNET
- Type of ad
- Print ad
- Why is it funny?
- Axe — a body spray and deodorant company known for its rather obnoxious tactics and products — takes the age-old concept of being a geek and reinforces it with a ridiculous activity: toad-jumping as a competitive sport.
- Why does it work?
- The image is absurd but effective; you can instantly understand that if you’re spending your time jumping toads with your bros, you should probably get a girlfriend.
- What usable marketing ideas does this ad inspire?
- Despite utilizing social mores that haven’t evolved since the ‘80s, Axe provides a direct problem-and-solution twofer: Need to better your life? Here’s our product, which will help you along your way. It’s aspirational at its very silly root.
KitKat
Image source: Facebook
- Type of ad
- Print ad
- Why is it funny?
- Two grim reapers sit in a car. One says to the other: “How many times do I have to tell you to fasten your seatbelt?” This ad shows how simple and clear dark humor can be, and that you should revel in the moment once you get the joke.
- Why does it work?
- Dark humor is universal. KitKat tells its customers to “Enjoy the Dark,” — meaning dark chocolate, obviously — but that allowance is based in being indulgent, and a little bit naughty even. It enables viewers to have a bit of a dark side of their own.
- What usable marketing ideas does this ad inspire?
- Gallows humor brings people in with a universally relatable concept, and then keeps people engaged by treating them to an indulgence. People should get to feel like they can treat themselves to something.
Dollar Shave Club
Image source: Ads of the World
- Type of ad
- Print ad
- Why is it funny?
- Dollar Shave Club plays on the 2010’s trend of moustache-based humor with this image that swaps out a healthy ‘stache for your wallet stash.
- Why does it work?
- The misdirect of this ad allows the viewer to substitute their thought process with what Dollar Shave Club wants them to prioritize.
- What usable marketing ideas does this ad inspire?
- Trompe l’oeil-style imagery and simple wordplay tricks your brain into thinking you’re both seeing and thinking of something that you’re not. That second of confusion redirects your brain to a new focus: how you change your appearance while saving money — two things that most consumers care deeply about.
Geico
Image source: Geico
- Type of ad
- TV commercials, print ads, digital ads
- Why is it funny?
- Geico unleashed the Geico Gecko onto the world to inject some levity into insurance via a petite Australian reptile who engages in everyday activities to help you save money in a basic fashion. The humor is in its simple absurdities, like having a gecko bake cookies while you use Geico to save money on your car insurance.
- Why does it work?
- It works because it anthropomorphizes a cute animal — a concept most people find endearing in common advertising — and provides a desirable concept: saving money.
- What usable marketing ideas does this ad inspire?
- Animals are often used in marketing to bring people in and get them to connect to the company. If the animals are funny, then they’re that much more relatable and enjoyable to the customer.
Comedy Central
Image source: Pinterest
- Type of ad
- Print ad
- Why is it funny?
- This Comedy Central print ad campaign asks the viewer to consider the possibility of Cupid at work in two very different situations: a meet-cute between two single people, or true love between a farmer and a donkey. The humor comes from the unbelievable nature of the latter.
- Why does it work?
- The ad benefits from surrealist humor — a farmer and a donkey in love thanks to Cupid’s arrow — in place of a simple boy-meets-girl plot point. It takes the relatability of romance and turns it on its head.
- What usable marketing ideas does this ad inspire?
- The ad uses juxtaposition to enable the viewer to consider the vast possibilities of comedy. It’s broadly situational, yet specific, and plays with the viewers’ perceptions of reality.
Schick
Image source: Schick
- Type of ad
- Print ad
- Why is it funny?
- Instead of what you’d expect to see on this man’s face — a lush facial hair situation — there is instead a small furry creature taking the place of his beard. The slogan — “Free your skin” — makes it seem like this man’s face is somehow entrapped by this beard creature.
- Why does it work?
- The ad is silly and cute and makes the viewer want to know the story behind the image. It also plays on the resurging marketing trend of using bold beard imagery throughout the 2010’s.
- What usable marketing ideas does this ad inspire?
- Using Photoshop to play with perception can go a long way in making effective ads that viewers will remember.
Lifebuoy
Image source: Lowe
- Type of ad
- Print ad
- Why is it funny?
- Lifebuoy sells hand soap, and they want you to consider what your hands are transferring from your life to your meal with the simple line: “You eat what you touch.” Driving the point is this cute dog shoved into the form of a loaf of bread. It uses both the cuteness and ick factor of this dog to bring the humor home.
- Why does it work?
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- It’s highly relatable and specifically visual. Using basic hygiene as the goal, Lifebuoy plays on the concept of daily activities to get people to think about what they’re doing with more intention.
- What usable marketing ideas does this ad inspire?
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- Remixing context makes your customer think about what they’re doing and how they can look at things a little differently — and how your product will help them do so. And including a cute dog never hurts.
Use Adobe meme templates to engage your audience
It can be a little daunting to design your own ads if you’ve never done it before. Take baby steps into this process by entering the ridiculous world of memes with these free Adobe Express templates that can help you find your funny bone.
How to make your own funny ads
- Know your audience and design accordingly. Your customer is more willing to buy from you if they feel related to or listened to.
- Pull inspiration from everywhere, including other funny ads and popular commercials. Use what has worked for your competitors and make it work for you.
- Brainstorm with your team and cement your foundational concept. A diversity of perspectives and experiences is essential in marketing.
- Storyboard your concept with bold imagery, fun animation, or accessible models based on the desired effect of your marketing strategy.
- Utilize free Adobe Express templates for your branding and business, and play with Adobe tools for print, digital, and video ads.
Adobe Express tools and templates for your funny ads
Do you already have some commercial content to work with? Use Adobe Express video editing tools to nail down your concept and give it a tighter frame.
Need some help visualizing ad layouts? Play around with these free Adobe Express ad content templates:
