“Ship Your Pants!”

We all think it is creative when advertisements find a way to make you laugh. We also find them more interactive and even more fun to watch. I know most people don’t like to watch the advertisements on television but what if it made you laugh? What if it was even pushing the envelope a little bit and made you wonder how the advertisement was even allowed to air?

Well, K-Mart did just that. They found a way to get risky, innovative, and for the cherry on top, they got a little humorous. In their most recent campaign called “Ship My Pants” they were able to use the social listening skills of viewers and targeted those who understood the idea behind the “ship my pants” campaign.

How about another ad that has gotten the attention of the media? Evian! Their “Baby & Me” campaign just had me hysterically laughing at the babies in the mirrors. Imagine yourself finding a baby version of you when you looked in the mirror? And as the Fast Company article said, “Apparently we all love a dancing baby.” The commercial is even on their launch page on their website!

These two advertisements have one thing in common and that is: HUMOR. They both contain a sense of hilarity. It makes you want to laugh. Most of the time when an ad shows up on your screen your first response is either mute it, change the channel, or groan and complain. But what if they can get you to laugh or as you are groaning you suddenly find yourself laughing and enjoying yourself? There is one time of the year when people are actually saying, I love watching (insert ad here) and you know when that is? You’re right, The SUPER BOWL. There just seems to be a little bit more oomph in those ads and because the companies know that the audience is looking for well done ads during this time they keep the expectations higher and higher every year.

But why is it only during the Super Bowl? Why can’t we do it all year? WE CAN and in my opinion I think this K-Mart ad as well as the Evian ad prove just that. That we can have great ads and enjoyable ads at that when there is no “special event” but we have to remember that there are more viewers during the “special events”!

The point of this was just to show that even though advertisements can seem like they are a waste of time and sometimes you just can’t wait until they are over, they still get you grabbing your side because you are laughing so hard!

 

This blog post if for educational purposes only at Elon University.