People “do stupid things” and “don’t always use common sense,” according to two different ads – for Vonage and UnitedHealthcare respectively – that appeared in the latest edition (March 11-13, 2005) of USA WEEKEND, the Sunday newspaper magazine supplement.
If I hadn’t laughed out loud when I first saw these ads, I might have been insulted.
Coincidentally, both ads use similar headlines and are able to get away with poking fun at their audience by breaking one of the cardinal rules of copywriting: Anyone who writes headlines in advertising knows to address customers and prospects in the second person, “you.” It’s one of the easiest ways to command the immediate attention of your readership.
But in these two instances, the headlines were purposely impersonalized by using the indefinite pronoun, “people,” as the subject, and not the personal pronoun, “you.” This simple, but significant, tactic by the wordsmiths made it possible for each of these ads to come across as funny and effective, not disrespectful and counterproductive.
“You do stupid things” or “you don’t always use common sense” wouldn’t go over very well at all.
The ad for Vonage – which bills itself as The Broadband Phone Company – really is a hoot. To illustrate just how, uh, stupid people can be, it features a photograph of one small portion of a stark, nondescript parking lot, over which a carport has been erected, the support beams of which are planted smack, dab in between two clearly marked, white-lined parking spaces.
D’oh!
The copy underneath the photo reads: “People do stupid things. Which explains why some haven’t switched to Vonage yet. If you have broadband, you can start saving money. Talk about a no-brainer.”
The concept behind the UnitedHealthcare ad is especially relevant, exceedingly consistent with the company’s tagline, “It just makes sense.” Visually, this one stars a clueless, middle-aged homeowner balancing himself precipitously high up on a ladder, about to annihilate the mother of all bee’s nests with both a long, green garden hose and a motorized weed whacker, clearly not able to anticipate the dire consequences ahead.
Double d’oh!!
“People don’t always use common sense,” reads the short copy block. “Fortunately, there’s a health care company that does.”
To use humor successfully in advertising is a challenge, to say the least. Even the best stand-up comedians are sometimes the butt of their own jokes, after all. But with these two ads, both Vonage and UnitedHealthcare have brought a broad smile to our collective face without overshadowing their products or primary marketing objectives. And for that they deserve applause, if not a good return on their investments.
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