Can humor be effective in a radio commercial? Yes. Can humor also be detrimental in a radio commercial? Yes.

It’s all about how it’s designed.

Right now, I can think of 10 radio commercials that made me laugh, yet did not make me remember the brand they were advertising. Nor did they make me take any sort of action (other than laughing). As a marketing director or businessperson, your goal is likely one that falls beyond simply making a consumer chuckle. So how exactly do you incorporate humor into a radio commercial and still get a message across?

Bridge the gap between humor and emotional connection.

Often times what I like to do when creating a funny radio commercial is to begin with humor as an attention getting method; then transition into a strong offer for a product or service. The transition needs to be smooth and to the point.

More often than not I hear commercials that use very entertaining humor, but then lose me immediately after the joke and never get me back to actually grasp what that commercial wants me to do or who it is for. The bridge between the humor and the actionable request to the listener needs to be very short and to the point.

Sometimes a commercial can even interject small nuggets of humor throughout an otherwise informative or somewhat serious script. This is a tactic I often use when there are a lot of important points that need to be made in a limited amount of time. The humor is used to help keep the listener’s attention through what would otherwise be a sixty second sales pitch.

If you’re looking for a funny radio commercial for your business, feel free to give me a call or drop me an e-mail. I’d love to discuss concepts and ideas that could help make your radio ads more effective and funny at the same time.