Humor 101: Re-Engergize Your Brand Online

Breaking through the clutter of advertising isn't easy. But circumventing it with saavy online marketing is lots of fun. In a recent Clickz article, Martin Lindstrom notes how leading global corporations have used humor to reach millions of customers' minds (or at least tickle their funny bones).

In one example, viral email blows out traditional big-budget advertising, with McDonald's playing off the ubiquitous concept of whether life exists on Mars. The email, which went out to 50 million people, showed the Martian landscape ... along with a McDonald's sign planted next to the title, "Life Found on Mars."

Another 35 million recipients received a strange email, presumably from Disneyland, and discovered the legendary Donald Duck lying prone in front of Cindrella's Castle (gasp!). The title: "Bird Flu has hit Disneyland."

These examples, Lindstrom says, "use humor as a vehicle to ensure distribution."

And with distribution numbers like that, they ensure the featured brands register in consumers' minds. Internet users certainly respond to it. Just look at the popularity of Web sites like CollegeHumor.com and Compfused.com.

You can reinforce and revitalize your brand by using humor as well. Find a way to incorporate it into your online branding strategy. If you’re not, the jokes on you.