Blog > The Power Of Humor in Digital Marketing





Did you know that globally approximately 30% of all advertisements use humor! Crazy, right?
Just think about your favourite ad campaigns - chances are high that they're funny!
Digital Marketers spend hundreds of millions of Rands on funny adverts every year and it’s not just because we enjoy adverts that make us laugh.
Dozens of studies over the years confirm what the most successful digital marketers and advertisers already know:

Humor is one of the most powerful tools used by businesses to grow their brands and influence our purchase decisions.

Following are 5 reasons why you need to start using humor in your digital campaigns!

    1. Humor grabs and holds our attention like nothing else!

All successful ad campaigns start with attracting our attention.
But this is no simple task, especially since it’s estimated that the average person is subjected to thousands of adverts every single day!
Google, for example, made over $134 Billion from online advertising in 2019 alone!
That’s astounding!
In fact, there is so much digital advertising that as consumers we actually go out of our way to IGNORE most of it.
This is why smart digital marketers use humor in their ad campaigns, especially when it comes to digital video ads!

Humor has been proven to cut through the clutter, grab our attention and hold it better than almost anything else!

Just look at one of own funny Digiboyz ads, which received almost 70 000 views on Facebook in less than a month:


Successful Digiboyz ad (BigChick Ckicken)

    2. Humor can be great for Brand Image!

Some of our favourite South African brands are supported by hilarious, award-winning digital ads that have racked up millions of views and helped build massive companies.
It’s one of the reasons we love them and know them so well!
Studies show that humor has the power to create a positive emotive response and therefore a powerful connection to the brand (and hopefully the product).

Nando’s, for example, consistently delivers brilliant ads that successfully skirt the line between funny and edgy. They're entertaining and memorable.


Nando’s funny ‘Diversity Ad’ racked up millions of views online.

Kulula is another well-known SA brand that successfully uses humor in their marketing campaigns.
Their hilarious #DontBeATravelHater campaign has been massively successful.


Kulula - 6th place ‘Ad of the Year, 2017’

    3. Humor influences our purchase decision



The power to grab our attention and greatly enhance liking should never be underestimated.
Not only does humor makes us feel good about a brand, it also:
  • ● Increases message comprehension
  • ● Leaves a lasting impression
  • ● Helps build consumer relationships
  • ● Enhances recall
We watch. We like. We remember.
And this has a huge impact on our purchase decisions!
THIS is that makes humorous marketing campaigns so persuasive and so successful.

According to several studies, “humorous advertising is more likely to secure audience attention, increase memorability, overcome sales resistance, and enhance message persuasiveness.”

    4. Humor encourages Engagement like no other!

This capability of humor to initiate social interactions makes it a very powerful tool for digital marketers!
Studies show that humorous advertising tends to be “more favourably received” than serious advertising.
And in the world of social media marketing, this means that humorous content tends to get…
  • ● more shares
  • ● more re-posts
  • ● more likes
  • ● more re-tweets
  • ● more comments
  • ● more views
  • ● more dissemination
…than almost any other content!

Just think about the content and brands that you tend to like, share and engage with online…

    5. It doesn’t cost an arm and a leg!

Thanks to the power of humor, it doesn’t necessarily require a big budget campaign to grab your audience’s attention and achieve massive engagement and dissemination. Ultimately, a long humorous ad campaign can become part of pop culture and enter our daily vocabulary.
Again, Nando’s tongue-in-cheek marketing is a great example of cost-effective campaigns that achieve great results!



In the US, Allstate’s ‘Mayhem’ ads are a great example of how humor can contribute to a massively successful extended campaign, helping to catapult the brand into the mainstream and significantly boosting market share.


Allstate’s award-winning ‘Mayhem’ campaign

Using humor in digital marketing videos is a tried and tested way for campaigns to be more impactful, more memorable, and ultimately more successful!

At Digiboyz, we specialize in powerful marketing video ads to boost YOUR business!
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