Funny names v/s Unfunny ones

I think the verdict is out on whether advertising can afford to be funny. It must. Well, no it doesn't have to be funny but we can all be clear about the merits of doing advertising that makes people smile. Funny is more memorable. Question: How many funny brand names can you think of? How many brand names can you think of that make you smile? I don't know about you but 'Ovaltine' sounded pretty funny to me. Does that make it more meorable? I think it does. Do we need more funny brand names? I think we do. If funny is a great way to break the clutter in advertising, I'm sure it'll work well enough for brand naming too. Between a brand name that, just with the name, makes me smile and a brand name that doesn't do anything, I'd go with the funny name. That's it, here's what I'm going to do for all my clients: Every time I have to give them a bunch of new names, I'm going to make sure there are a few funny ones in there. And how am I going to sell these funny names? Well, the same way I sell advertising that makes people smile - with a smile.

Interestingly enough, there aren't too many funny brand names in the world. All the more reason, we need them. They're hard, rare and risky. And that's why you must try them. If you can make people smile with just your brand name, you've got a good thing going. That said, humour is one of the most difficult things to do. Go practice.