humor
Do Men and Women Laugh at the Same Ads?
It was one of those eye-opening moments. I was watching Bryan Eisenberg teach Call to Action — the seminar, not the book. (Even though I’ve seen him teach it several times, I still learn something new every time I attend.)
He showed the “Bra Scientist” video clip by Zafu that I blogged about last year.
As the audience was watching the clip, I noticed something interesting: There were certain points when the men were laughing and the women weren’t. And there were other points when the women were guffawing but the men weren’t even smiling.
The guys laughed when the scientist asked the woman in the parking lot if she would talk about her “um, well… you know, uh… breasts.” It’s a funny line, well delivered. (The guys found it funny, anyway.) She responds “Sure” and the scientist is quite pleased the interview can continue. But then she kicks his head off. Literally.
Some of the women looked a little shocked, but for other women, it garnered full-on belly laughs.
Why is this important? Because humor is one of the most pervasive devices advertisers use to try to sell products. Is that humor hitting the mark with target audiences? A recent Advertising Age article claims that “Snide Advertising is Bad for Business and Society” (subscription required but it’s available here).
In the article, Richard Rapaport discusses “the nasty tone that seems to dominate advertising” and “commercials built on sadism, on derision, on one-upsmanship — in a word, ’snide.’” He gives this example:
Another building block of snide advertising is physical aggression. Consider the quite literally shocking ad for Priceline.com in which William Shatner enters the house of a frustrated online vacation shopper and stuns him with a Taser before sitting down at the man’s computer. “Did I zap your daddy?” Shatner coos at the man’s disquieted child. “Yes, I did,” he admits, “but I saved him lots of money.”
I’m not sure what percentage of Priceline’s audience is women, but women book more online travel than men do. I wonder how they feel about that ad.
While I do believe some humor is universal, I think there are certain types of jokes and subject matter that men find funny that women don’t, and vice-versa. Part of what makes something funny is that it rings true to you (”Oh my God, I’ve so been there!”). Different content may speak more to one gender than the other.
Eric Berger at the Sci Guy blog asked if women have a better sense of humor. One comment grabbed my attention. A reader named Scott has this to say:
The women in my office say that the reason they have less expectation of a reward is that most guys tell such bad jokes, and repeat them over and over. Women don’t tend to be entertained by jokes about bodily functions, sexual performance, or many of the other common topics of guy jokes. I’ve never heard a woman tell a Christa Macaullife/Space Shuttle Challenger joke, yet there are guys who still crack up over them. So perhaps women have a more “refined” sense of humor, not necessarily a “better” sense of humor.
Interesting. There’s a fascinating study done by Professor Hugo Carretero Dios at the University of Granada that finds that humor depends on the person. Or, as the press release claims, “Scientific research on sense of humor sheds light on psychological profiles.”
Carretero Dios observed a generational change in the women’s preferences to the different types of humour. “There has been change in women’s values and roles in our society,” says Carretero Dios. “In people over 45-50, we observed that both men and women laughed more at jokes degrading to women than those degrading to men”. At the same time, both men and women showed more rejection to jokes degrading to men.
However, among the participants between 18-25 years old, the trend was different and men and women had different reactions. Men laugh more at jokes degrading to women and reject those degrading to men. By contrast, women laugh more at jokes degrading to men and reject those degrading to women. Indeed, this trend is more pronounced in women.
“Could these findings show a change in educational values or even a new pattern in the roles played by women”
I think the whole subject deserves more analysis, but it underscores the importance of understanding who your audience is and how gender could affect whether that audience thinks your ads are funny.
What ads have you seen recently that you found funny — or unfunny — and why?
. .
About the Author: Holly Buchanan is a Persuasion Architect at FutureNow and co-author of The Soccer Mom Myth — Today’s Female Consumer: Who She Really Is, Why She Really Buys.
Related Posts:
Written by:Holly Buchanan
Comparing Personal Brands: Bill Gates vs. Steve Jobs
Well earlier this week Bill Gates said goodbye to his daily grind at Microsoft. He also gave his last speech at CES.
In case you missed his farewell tribute, enjoy…
But will Gates actually stop making headlines? Probably not so much.
Gates still retains his title as one of the richest dudes in the world and, of course, he will now focus on making the world a better place. It’s enough for even the biggest Mac fanboy to have a few warm fuzzies for Gates.
Everyone raves about the charisma of Apple’s Steve Jobs, but can you picture Jobs poking fun at himself like this? Where will we find Bill Gates next?
It’s been a good week for personal brands & authenticity; first Hillary sobs, then Gates makes Jobs looks a little like a statue.
Who woulda thunk it?
Related Posts:
Written by:Anthony Garcia
Spooked by Spock?
Logically, just a few days ago, I received an email from the Spock Team:
“So and so Jones” has added you as a trusted contact on Spock. By accepting trust, you will be able to search each others’ network, share contact information, and get news.”
It continued…
“Since you are a person I trust, I would like you to join my network on Spock so we can always stay up to date on how to contact each other.”
Now it’s like a Klingon invasion! First, on impulse power, came another invite, and then another, until now, when they are approaching warp speed. In the name of tribbles, what gives?
First it was LinkedIn and Facebook, and now we all feel compelled to “socialize” using the latest shiny new object. Any ideas what will start appearing on my tricorder in the near future?
Spock said, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one,” so consider that, lest you photon torpedo contacts from your address book with similar invites — your friends may not have their phaser on stun. Besides, we wouldn’t want you to wind up a casualty of the Social Network Wars of the early 21st century.
I’m in a no-win situation. I would have sent you to StarTrek.com to help you fetch a universal translator to decipher this post, but it’s shutting down. 
The solution to my own Kobiyashi Maru test is to go where all the fans have gone before.
Related Posts:
Written by:Jeffrey Eisenberg
The Latest in Blogger Fashion
Trying to figure out the perfect holiday gift for the blogger in your life? Kevin Ryan, Global Content Director of Search Engine Strategies and Search Engine Watch was looking sleek modeling the latest from Despair.com the night before Search Engine Strategies in Chicago. He plans to send a bunch of these out as holiday gifts. Know who would look good in one of these? Don’t despair. Now you know where to get ‘em. 
P.S. The t-shirt reads, “More People Have Read This Shirt Than Your Blog.”
P.S. #2 During one of the sessions at SES, Kevin asked “Should I make a video of me hitting myself with a ball ping hammer?” What do you think?
Related Posts:
Written by:Bryan Eisenberg
Friday Afternoon Fun: The English Language
Some oldies-but-goodies for you writers out there…
Let’s face it: English is a stupid language.
There’s no egg in the eggplant.
No ham in the hamburger.
And neither pine nor apple in the pineapple.
English muffins were not invented in England.
French fries were not invented in France.
Quicksand takes you down slowly.
Boxing rings are square.
And a guinea pig is neither from
Guinea nor is it a pig.
If writers write, how come fingers don’t fing?
If the plural of tooth is teeth
Shouldn’t the plural of phone booth be phone beeth?
If the teacher taught
Why didn’t the preacher praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables
What the heck does a humanitarian eat!?
Why do people recite at a play
Yet play at a recital?
Park on driveways and
Drive on parkways?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy
Of a language where a house can burn up as
It burns down
And in which you fill in a form
By filling it out
And a bell is only heard once it goes!
English was invented by people, not computers
And it reflects the creativity of the human race
(Which of course isn’t a race at all)
That is why
When the stars are out they are visible
But when the lights are out they are invisible
And why it is that when I wind up my watch
It starts
But when I wind up this observation
It ends.
————————————————————-
An English professor wrote the words, “Woman without her man is nothing” on the blackboard and directed his students to punctuate it correctly.
The men wrote: “Woman, without her man, is nothing.”
The women wrote: “Woman: Without her, man is nothing.”
————————————————————-
The Importance of Correct Punctuation
Dear John I want a man who knows
what love is all about you generous
kind thoughtful people who are not like
you admit to being useless and inferior
you have ruined me for other men i
yearn for you i have no feelings
whatsover when we are apart i can be
forever happy will you let me yours
marsha
————————————————————-
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. more…
Have a great wekeend
Related Posts:
Written by:Bryan Eisenberg
Al Gore Discovers an Inconvenient Truth About Facebook
Our international readers may not realize that former U.S. Vice President-turned-environmental-activist Al Gore is at once laughed at and lauded for statements about his role in “creating the Internet” — a gem of a sound bite, especially when taken out of context. Well, he may want to take it back. If this screenshot is any indication, he’d have been better off inventing “Web 2.0″; at least then, he might be able to conjure up a Facebook app that could convince the American public that he’s not running for President in ‘08. (Besides, this particular application, a news aggregator, hasn’t exactly been kind with the headlines.)
Poor Al. Not only has he endured the pain of winning the popular vote, then losing the 2000 presidential election in a landmark court case — now this?
Recently, Wired Magazine editor — and bestselling author of The Long Tail — Chris Anderson elaborated on Tim O’Reilly’s Facebook application research, which found that “87% of the usage goes to only 84 applications! Only 45 applications [out of approximately 5,000] have more than 100,000 active users.”
Although it’s unclear whether the “Election ‘08″ app is one of the popular ones, it’s not doing much to boost Gore’s imaginary campaign. Still, he’s still coming in at #4 for the Democrats, according to last month’s CNN poll (see thumbnail image). Not bad for someone who’s not running!
So, what gives? Is all this social networking stuff better left to “the kids” (and I don’t mean Al Gore’s kids)? Robert Scoble doesn’t think so.
[Hat tip to Miguel Senquiz at Flavorpill.net for nabbing the Facebook screenshot.]
Related Posts:
Written by:Robert Gorell
Captain Hook Would Be Proud of this Email…
Just got an email from Oceana, the world’s leading ocean conservation group. No reason, really. They just want to stay in touch, rid the oceans of pollutin’, over-fishin’ scallywags, and wish their newsletter subscribers a happy International Talk-Like-a-Pirate Day. And, yes, it’s written in the voice of a pirate.
It’s a great example of how to spice up your PR without making it seem like you’re only after the cash booty. Pirates base their careers on the element of surprise. Likewise, marketers — the lily-livered bilge rats they be — need to make Broca walk the plank.
Have fun with you email campaigns. Talk like a pirate, even. Just don’t get too carried away…
Related Posts:
Written by:Robert Gorell
Would You Buy a Bra From This Man?
Men, I’m going to let you in on a little known secret: most women are wearing the wrong size bra.Women, I’m going to let you in on a little known secret as well: most women are wearing the wrong size bra.
Zafu.com is a company actually providing a solution to this problem. But is their advertising helping or hurting them?
Would you buy a bra from this man?
This ad on YouTube has gotten mixed reactions. Some women find it funny, some find it offensive.
(In case you want to see the comments on the YouTube page.)
What do you think? Let me know in the comments. In the meantime, here are some of the pros and cons from my perspective…
Cons:
- The “spokesman” for Zafu.com is a geeky, kind of creepy, young guy in a lab coat, making weird boob gestures with his hands. It’s a powerful image — one of the reasons why the spot is so funny — but is this really the first mental image they want associated with their brand?
- As the Heath brothers point out in their book Made to Stick, some companies suffer from “The Curse of Knowledge.” In other words, we’re all so familiar with the benefits of our own brand, it’s easy to forget others don’t share this knowledge. Zafu.com has this whole “scientific” set of questions they ask in order to guide women into the right size bra. But, as someone whose never heard of Zafu.com, I didn’t know that. The only information this video gives is the tag-line at the end (”The perfect bra in 3 minutes”). And saying “It works better online” isn’t entirely clear. Are they saying that having a creepy guy feeling you up works better online? For the person unfamiliar with Zafu.com, the whole scientific tie-in falls flat, so to say.
- They could very well be offending the same new customers they’re trying to attract.
Pros:
- I can’t speak for everyone, but I thought it was funny. It got my attention. I love the unexpected twist of the woman karate kicking the guy’s head off. The use of humor definitely gives it a “viral” aspect.
- For customers already familiar with Zafu.com, it makes sense. They already know and understand the scientific fitting tie-in. Once armed with that information, the spot makes more sense and, in my opinion, is less offensive.
This video was brought to my attention by Bryan Eisenberg, whose wife is a big fan of Zafu.com. This is the email they sent her (click thumbnail to view), introducing her to the video.
As I said, I think the video is much less offensive for existing customers. But the whole point of creating a video that will go viral is that new, potential customers will see it.
Suggestion for improvement…
Do a better job of explaining the scientific fitting and how that is actually the brand’s Unique Value Proposition. “The perfect bra in 3 minutes” is a nice final tag-line, but inserting information earlier that better explains the fitting process to women unfamiliar with Zafu.com would help tremendously.
What was your reaction to the video?
Related Posts:
Written by:Holly Buchanan
Stewart and Colbert Take the Stand Against YouTube
Comedy Central’s Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Colbert Report are the crown jewels, as it were, of the Viacom (VIA.B) family. If you think the shows are funny, just wait until Stewart and Colbert take the stand against YouTube as witnesses for Viacom, the conglomorate which owns MTV Networks, which Comedy Central is part of, and is suing Google-owned (GOOG) YouTube for $1 Beeeeilllion. Apparently, Stewart and Colbert are YouTube famous. Well, they were, until Viacom had YouG’le remove hundreds of thousands of clips from its shows, claiming, essentially, that Google was stealing its content.
It’s a tragic tale of copyright hygiene turned hijinks.
You can read the full story at E! Online if you want, but NewTeeVee’s Jackson West gives us a fine example of truthiness (define) in action with this spoof on what might happen when Colbert and Stewart testify in court:
New York Southern District court, the Honorable Louis Stanton presiding. Defense counsel Philip Beck calls Stephen Colbert to the witness stand.
Philip Beck: Mr. Colbert, did you not encourage viewers to re-use material from your show?
Stephen Colbert: Yes, but I didn’t ask them to put their work on YouTube for just anyone to watch for free. I asked them to send their submissions to me. As the legal property of Viacom International, my plan was to publish a special commemorative Colbert Report: Green Screen Challenge DVD, available for only $9.95 exclusively at Wal-Mart, where you can find everyday low prices. My friend Bill Gates was working on an especially restrictive new Digital Rights Management technology just for the occasion — it would check to make sure you weren’t on Homeland Security’s “No Fly” list, preventing terrorists from funding their attacks on freedom with profits from illegal piracy.
Beck: But wouldn’t that amount to free work on the part of your viewers for your benefit?
Colbert: Look, profits make me happy, and I have a constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness. And how better to make profits than to have people working for you for free? I’m a traditionalist, and as a country we have a long tradition of making people work for free — and I, good sir, am proud to support other people who are willing to give their lives to protect those values.
Beck: So you do believe that fans posting clips from shows serves a promotional purpose?
Stewart: Whoa, doctor! When pundits with books to sell and candidates with a demographic to reach out to agree to appear on the show, it’s with the understanding that I’m beholden to the same media overlords that they are. As a fake news professional, I treat that obligation with respect. You can’t trust the fake news amateurs on the Internet to provide the kind of nuanced context that, say, a double-entendre in an over-the-shoulder title graphic provides.
Keep reading… if you can handle the truthiness.
UPDATE — Here’s how the Daily Show parodied the Viacom/YouTube suit. The video has been slightly doctored by a fan, making it a supposedly legal parody of a parody. (Is there an intellectual property attorney in the house?)
Related Posts:
Written by:Robert Gorell
The Would-be Most Popular Blog
In one of our daily editorial non-meetings — we like to keep it brisk — Bryan and I were pondering one of our favorite questions…
What kind of blog would consistently dominate the charts at Today.GrokDotCom?
You see, other than deleting an irrelevant post here and there, stories bubble up from a link-based popularity algorithm on our RSS Discovery Engine that monitors over 5,000 marketing-related blogs. (Say that 10 times!) It’s especially good on days like today when Bloglines hasn’t updated all morning. Anyway, I used to think the answer was simply blogging about Google. Now I think it’s this:
“A blog about blogging about how to optimize your unofficial Facebook blog for Google.”
Any other suggestions for would-be popular blogs?
Related Posts:
Written by:Robert Gorell
