Mini Case Study: What You Can Learn from Hilarious Campaign Videos

by Jeff Y. Richardson, Guest Contributor

​Adding some elements of fun to prompt giggles with your marketing campaigns can be a smart move to make. The digital video marketing world is packed with dull content, so anything that stands out is more likely to thrive — and humor is a great way to show a personality from your company.

The question is: How can you make a video that is not only beneficial for your company but also fun to watch?

Treading Carefully with Jokes
You should keep in mind that not everyone has the same taste of humor. That means the first thing you need to figure out is determining what’s funny for your target consumer. A joke that makes your college-age brother laugh probably has no effect on your grandad.

This means that you must know who you are trying to appeal with your video content. Audience research is crucial for making every step in growing your company smoother and more effective.

Although controversial topics tend to draw attention at a rapid pace, it’s best that you avoid using them. True, it gives your company a great exposure — but most of it will be negative impressions.

The best type of comedy to use in a video is the comedy that comes naturally and relatable to the viewers. If you take a look around in your everyday life, you should be able to find seemingly stupid jokes that others find hilarious. Keep the humor simple and relatable.

How to Actually Make Funny Videos
There hasn’t been any study determining the formula of a funny video, and I don’t really see the need to conduct one.

Instead of presenting you with a made-up equation of the percentage of jokes a marketing video should have, I rounded up the most hilarious promotional videos I’ve come across online.

Dollar Shave Club

Who hasn’t seen this infamous video that blew up and made Dollar Shave Club the giant that they are now?

DSC succeeded with a niche product first, and f**king great marketing second. They had a great chance to develop their consumer base without really having to worry about anything. They sell razors for $1, so some guys must think, “Hey, it’s cheap, why not?” at some point.

The video above earned them 23 million views, and that’s a big chunk of exposure to potential buyers (and some people who just love the hilarity of it, like me).

Poo-Pourri

Poo-Pourri is another company that earned stinking (hehe) rapid growth because of their hilarious videos.

With their first and second campaign videos earning them a total of 36+ million views, it’s safe to say that they knew how to set out for viral marketing videos, right?

Wrong.

Poo-Pourri’s CEO Suzy Batiz says that they didn’t set out to purposely make a viral video. She said the company wanted to launch a campaign directly aimed for consumers. “It just so happened that people liked it and shared it. It actually got shared a little faster than we thought.”

They knew that the subject was awkward to begin with, and there’s nothing they could do about that. They decided to bring the awkwardness out and make it funny instead. Credit is also due for Poo-Pourri YouTube thumbnails that piqued the curiosity of anyone that stumbles upon it — FYI, it’s a pretty lady sitting on a toilet.

Old Spice

The rather well-preserved campaign of Old Spice has proven to be one of the most successful video campaigns ever. Its longevity is the result of a mix of several reiterations as well as the use of references towards the original content as a social media and PR strategy to keep it bubbling.

Having received 236 million YouTube views, this short and snappy video proved that the excitement wasn’t just Internet hype. The campaign resulted in 80,000 new followers of Old Spice’s Twitter in 2 days, 800% engagement in their Facebook page, and ultimately 107% increase in sales figures.

Takeaway
Now, what did you learn from the bubbly, smooth, and stinking success of these video campaigns? No clue? Well, I got you covered.

• No diluting messages, no beating around the bush.

There is a common argument that hard, in-your-face sales pitches are jokes when it comes to getting buyers — and it’s true in most cases. But if you make everything a joke from the start, the result will be different.

• The laughs shouldn’t come with any thinking.

Speaking of jokes, you should avoid making jokes that require a few minutes of thinking before viewers get it. The laugh will have been lost by then.

• Make it available online for viewers to replay anytime they want.

This should go without saying in these days. But in case you need more explanation: There are brands that still have their ads exclusively available on TV. People will have to wait for it to appear again in a few minutes if they want to re-experience it.

If it’s available online, they can just search YouTube and the ad appears.

• Original jokes, no matter how seemingly cheesy, are always good to have.

If you pay close attention to the videos above, you’ll notice that most of them are actually cheesy. But the context in which the punchlines appear makes everything work together and take you by surprise.
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