Humor in advertising and especially sarcastic advertisements are some of my favorite commercials to watch, listen or read.  I love and appreciate the twisted little minds that create these gems!  But do they make you want to buy what they are selling?  Do they make you change your mind about an issue? 

It comes down to one thing, Emotional Branding.  I've touched on this topic a little in the past in my Pain and Pride blog post but at the root you want your ad strategy to be aligning with your target demographics emotions to create not just customers but brand warriors.   

Today is election day and the "season" of negative advertising is THANKFULLY coming to a close.  If you pay attention to marketing, even as a casual observer, you'll notice that the only industry that deploys truly negative advertising is politics. NEVER products.  But why is that? 

Unlike the political smear campaigns, in using sarcasm, brands can mock and poke fun at competitors without seeming petty or mean.  It also means they can point out weaknesses, flaws, and differences in way that will be more appealing to consumers and not as off-putting as straight negative ads. 

Sarcasm in marketing can be light hearted with a little edge or downright dark with bitterness and here is how it works. 

1. Find out what really pisses off your target market.  What really gets them riled up. 
2. Make sure your brand is able to connect with your audience to that hatred even fix the problem if possible. 
3. Put whatever it is on a pedestal and then tear it down hard.  Hit it hard!
4. Make sure you include your brand's pitch. It's important they remember what you are selling.
5. Show your audience that you align with them.  You hate what they hate. You love what they love. 

Advertisements using sarcasm can range from taking a hard bite out of a competitor to a little 'wink and nod'.  BUT remember emotional branding done well is going to connect the audience to the brand in a way that is almost impossible to tear down. 

The video below is a sarcastic "get out a vote" video that inspired me to delve into this topic.  There are several commercials within this brilliant campaign that have a similar tone but this one was my favorite.  

AND THE BIG WINNER is this IKEA ad.  So worth the next 2:28 minutes of your life. 

For more information about how to create emotional branding ads or for a sarcastic chat, contact me here!