Marketing With A Sense of Humour
According to the Financial Post, in advertising products associated with potentially embarrassing bodily functions, marketers’ most typical offering either bores or euphemizes. But humour, even irony, can be a grabber.
Examples of such ads include those promoting Tena brand incontinence products – a cross-promotional campaign with Volvo Cars of Canada using the tongue-in-cheek tagline “Protecting You”. Urinary shields and cars make an odd match for protecting consumers’ safety, but it works. Last month, Tena announced the “Laugh Away with Tena” contest in partnership with the Just for Laughs comedy festival, encouraging consumers to enjoy life and freely let loose without having to change their underwear – apparently there’s a direct link between laughing and light incontinence.
According to research, incontinence strikes a surprising number of people who are not in the nursing-home age bracket. One out of four women over the age of 35 experiences bladder weakness, as do one in 10 men over the age of 45, and the prevalence increases with age. It is, therefore, not surprising that the brand touting incontinence products is talking to boomers in a humourous and relevant way instead of communicating with them like an older segment. Pushing boundaries and venturing into the unexpected help the brand resonate emotionally with boomers.
