Consumers want to laugh when they see or hear an advertisement, according to a new survey from B2B research and reviews firm Clutch.
Over half (53 percent) of consumers say they are most likely to remember and enjoy an advertisement if it’s funny.
Humorous advertisements offer consumers a break from everyday life
“Humor is just something people like to feel,” said Michael Ancevic, managing partner and chief creative officer of ad agency The Fantastical, an advertising agency, in a news release. “It’s a bit of a break from other news in the world or the seriousness of life in general.”
Humorous advertisements also tend to be among the most highly rated. All six companies that received an “A” grade for their Super Bowl advertisements in Northwestern University’s annual Kellogg School Super Bowl Advertising Review had humorous commercials: Amazon, Mountain Dew, Doritos, Avocados from Mexico, Tide, and Wendy’s.
Advertisements need to convey trust and educate consumers
More than half (51 percent) of consumers also say they remember and enjoy an advertisement if it is from a brand they know and trust.
But an advertisement needs to deliver valuable information or consumers will lose interest. Consumers dislike advertisements that don’t educate them about the product or brand (51%) and/or if they could not relate to the advertisement (48 percent).
Advertisements featuring food and drink also popular
Ads that feature food and drink are also popular among consumers. Eighty percent (80 percent) of survey respondents named this category in their top three.
“Everyone needs to eat, so the connection is almost a given,” said Rob Albertson, managing director of ad agency Bandwidth Marketing, in the release. “Plus, the visual aspects in a food advertisement versus almost any other medium targets your taste buds—(like) a gorgeous pizza with cheese dripping.”
When it comes to other favorite categories, there is a divide between men and women. Men prefer technology and sports advertisements (49 percent each), while women prefer fashion/beauty (69 percent) and travel/leisure advertisements (54 percent).
TV is favored advertising medium
The majority of consumers (58 percent) prefer TV advertisements over any other medium. Of the nearly 25 percent who prefer online and social media advertising, 36 percent identify Facebook as the platform they prefer for social media advertisements.
Read the complete report here.
Clutch’s 2018 Advertising Survey included 1,030 U.S. consumers who have seen or heard an advertisement in the week prior to the survey.
