Last time, I showed you how advertising that uses ill-advised humour destroys the trust of your customer.

So I promised that this time I’d show you how you can use humour for good effect, to make you memorable, while still keeping the trust your customer places in your brand or your industry.

Oscar Wylee advertising

Today’s case study is the optometrist Oscar Wylee, whose advertising I walked past in the Myer Centre (Brisbane) in July 2020.

In case you can’t read that image, their poster ad says, “GET TESTED: book a bulk billed eye exam today.”

The big text in all capitals “GET TESTED” was calculated to get viewers’ attention because it was posted during the pandemic, when thousands of people per day were being required to have tests for the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Their campaign was ongoing and featured other ads on social media, etc. along similar lines.

Why this works

It’s funny! When you realise they’re talking about eye exams, not the coronavirus, the ad becomes amusing instead of alarming.

And in the current climate, any ad about getting tested is likely to grab most people’s attention.

I mean, I literally stopped in my tracks to laugh at it for a second, once I realised it wasn’t another government ad about the coronavirus.

Even if it doesn’t slow you down, you’re likely to smile and remember the ad later.

Which is one of the main goals of brands advertising, after all – to make potential customers remember you.

One of the reasons that the humour doesn’t detract from the viewer’s trust in the brand is the quick follow up that clarifies the meaning, with enough industry jargon that you know it’s an ad for an optometrist, not anything else.

Book a bulk billed eye exam today. Oscar Wylee.

In the second ad, the one on social media, the ad copy is literally in an eye test chart – so it’s immediately clear who is talking: an optometrist.

Seen any great ads lately? Let me know and I’ll feature them on the blog.

(C) TJ Withers-Ryan, 2020.