Comments on: Do Men and Women Laugh at the Same Ads?

By: Mobile PC

Mobile PC — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:16:35 +0000

More important is cultural level of targeted audience. Some groups shows different level of sense of humor and joke reaction.

By: Sean D'Souza

Sean D'Souza — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 17:28:48 +0000

Yes, they do laugh together at movies. But movies depend strongly on characters. So they’re not laughing at the situation; they’re laughing at something the character does.

It’s a different scenario.

Easy to mix up, but it’s different for sure. Because in a presentation, or an ad, or something where there’s no characterisation involved, there’s just an audience. And the audience is not locked into ‘imagining the character.’ The audience is applying concepts to themselves. In this scenario, of applying to themselves, they automatically take the situation personally.

In the movies, it’s easy to laugh for or against the character. When the lights come on, it’s quite a different matter.

Sean
http://www.psychotactics.com

By: Webmaster

Webmaster — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 12:27:57 +0000

I think they do… But most of the time they don’t understand it the same way because of their different interests.

Movies are one time where we can both of them laughing.

By: Funny Things

Funny Things — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 04:28:12 +0000

Awsome post! Thanks for the insite lol i often argue with some of my female friends about ads which they find funny! Thanks, Nick

By: Meade

Meade — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:58:22 +0000

Its true that sense of humor is really varied. I think Mama’s Family is one of the best shows in the world! Yet its not very popular. The TV Sit Coms that are popular such as Friends and Sienfeld- I can’t stand!

They aren’t funny to me in the least.

By: William

William — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:24:26 +0000

Once upon a time… the blonde bimbo was butt of most commercial humor. Then gender correctness kicked in and the butt changed to the doofus dad.

One difference that appears to my biased mind is that the not-so-bright women usually were resolved as loving and well-intended. The not-so-bright men usually end up being resolved as the doofus they start out as.

By: Tom Grimes

Tom Grimes — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:50:39 +0000

Mr. D’Souza is right. Humor is both subjective and social. Saturday Night Live found that what got a laugh in rehersals often fell flat at the live performance while other unexpected material rocked the house. Sometimes it was the audience that mattered more than the material.

SNL also highlighted a social shift in humor. SNL began in 1974 when Johnny Carson (he was the Tonight Show before Leno kids) was at his peak. SNL came into being because Carson didn’t want his reruns used on weekends. They needed replacement programming.

SNL ushered in a new brand of humor. Younger audiences found Carson’s late night show lame and an older generation tuned out SNL as stupid and rude. Stand ups like George Carlin and Richard Pryor took Lenny Bruce’s in-your-face social commentary to the masses and a shift in “What’s Funny” happened.

I think we are experiencing a similar social shift. The U-Toob generation defines humor in a radically different way than dear ole mom and dad. They have been raised on SNL, Southpark and the Simpsons. Jackass and Borat are hilarious to people below the 35 year old threshold but many of us from the OF (old fart) boom boom generation found it stupid and coarse.
This cultural shift is finding its way into the marketplace. Just don’t expect a “one size fits all” humor. If it’s really funny to one group it is almost guaranteed to piss off someone else. I think you will find the humor divide is more age related rather than gender.

That being said … John Stewarts Daily Show is always worth catching … even for us OF’s.

By: Sean D'Souza

Sean D'Souza — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:25:52 +0000

There’s a very simple rule that every smart speaker uses. Don’t depend on humour.

Why?

Because what’s funny in one country, isn’t funny in another.
What was funny a week ago, is gross a week later.
What men find funny, women don’t find funny.
What some women find funny, other women find obnoxious.

When we speak at conferences, we find that we can literally go from one session to another, and have literally the same demographic, and sometimes they’ll laugh at a humourous situation, and sometimes, it’s the ‘huh’ situation. And if you’re trying to tell a joke, or create something funny, and it falls flat, well…that’s very, very embarrassing when you’re in front of an audience. It slows you down. It dents your credibility just a wee bit, and isn’t worth the trouble at all.

So what do speakers (at least the smart ones do). They tell a story. And if the audience laughs, then well and good. If they don’t, then the story still works. And the same applies to web-stories, or to advertising. You can tell a story, and yes, it works, and heck, sometimes people laugh. Unless you’re in the comedy business, you shouldn’t be trying to be overly humorous (even comedians need to test their material a lot, which is why certain scenes are cut out of comedy series).

So yeah, tell a story.
And if they laugh, remember the story.
Then make it part of your message.
So that if the audience doesn’t laugh the next time, the story still runs. And gets the message across. And then you don’t have such a worry about wondering if the men or the women, are going to laugh. Or not.

Sean
http://www.psychotactics.com

By: Roberta Rosenberg

Roberta Rosenberg — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:26:15 +0000

What makes people laugh is dependent on so many factors – gender, age, personal context/situation, group context/situation, generation … and most importantly, if alcohol is being served. I did stand-up comedy a million years ago as a 20-year old kid. Every night/audience was different, even with the same material. But I do think there are some universals perhaps … In my anecdotal experience men laugh at situations where they don’t identify with the schlub at the center of the joke/story. Women laugh when they do identify.

By: Todd Follansbee

Todd Follansbee — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:44:33 +0000

Interesting. Don’t comedians often say that the same routine on different nights can bring a whole different set of responses?
Certainly we are more inclined to laugh if the group is laughing, hence the value of that most annoying sound effect, canned laughter. I would love to see more if you find more.
Thanks for a provocative opener!

By: Ladies Scarves

Ladies Scarves — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:55:58 +0000

Interesting article, provides insight into how men and women differ in what makes them laugh.

By: Todd Shagin

Todd Shagin — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:21:04 +0000

Very interesting. We men are animals- we will laugh at anything with the right amount of inebriation. I wish there was a laugh detector that came with your TV, so you could have like a Neilsen rating of commercials based on how many people laugh. That would be cool.

By: Diane Aull

Diane Aull — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:03:34 +0000

Last I checked, I’m a woman, and I thought the Priceline commercial where Shatner tased the guy was funny. Not hilarious — then again, few commercials are — but funny. In fact, I like the whole series of Shatner ads. Maybe I’m not as “refined” as the average woman, though. I’ve always been told I’m more like “one of the guys.”

By: Brick Marketing

Brick Marketing — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:52:55 +0000

That is such an interesting article! “Refined” seems to be a better to explain most women’s humor for sure. Although it does heavily rely on a person. There are plenty of women with a sense of humor similar to men. Overall, it’s a great study to envoke more thought on what appeals to the public in terms of comedic advertising.