Do you take yourself too seriously?

Lighten up and they’ll love you

do you take yourself too seriously

Big companies are serious companies – right? Well yes. Some of them are. They hide behind corporate logos, and style guides, and copy that strikes ‘just the right tone’. Except that sometimes, it’s just the wrong tone. It makes them sound cold and distant, and puts a barrier between them and their (potential) clients. So why do they do it? Because business, they think, is a serious business. There’s no place for levity. But there is.

I think therefore IBM

Think IBM and you think ‘Big Blue’. Dullness reigns. Except it doesn’t – at least not in their television commercials. I’ve just been chuckling at their latest series of ‘Stop Talking, Start Connecting’ ads. They’re dealing with serious issues (security, business resilience, energy efficiency, globalisation) but they’re doing it in a humorous way. Which means they get your attention. ‘Hey,’ you say to yourself, ‘maybe business resilience can be fun.’ (OK, well maybe that’s stretching it – but you get the idea.) Not taking yourself too seriously is a great way of making sure people don’t switch off. UK smoothie company Innocent Drinks uses it very effectively in all their copy. The tone is sweet, appealing and funny. In a word, innocent. What better way to build their brand?

You smile. They smile.

Microsoft does the same thing in its latest Windows advert with Bill Gates and comedian Jerry Seinfeld. It’s been slated by the critics, but it’s actually quite funny. It’s not going to win an Emmy, but it does show the company has a sense of humour – and that’s important, when your (ex-)CEO’s got a reputation as the world’s richest geek. Showing the human side of business is always a crowd pleaser. And nothing works better than laughing at yourself. I should know – once, for a dare, in front an audience of 1,000, I dropped my trousers. And then, for the next 20 minutes, I did my presentation in my (Microsoft Office) boxer shorts. As you can imagine, I had their total attention. Find out more:

Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld try out some Size 10s in the Shoe Circus advert (be sure you don’t miss Bill wiggling his boxer shorts).
IBM sees the funny side of life with its Stop Talking, Start Connecting ads.

Kevin Communication, Copywriting, Marketing.