The ethnographic study to gain insights on how humour can be effectively used in advertising was conducted by newly-established consultancy BrandLab. "There is a general perception that Filipino humour is all slapstick," said BrandLab's chairman and CEO Jos Ortega. "BrandLab wanted to determine the reasons behind this perception and if there is an opportunity to rise above this genre."
The study included face-to-face interviews with an expert panel on humour, ranging from authors, stand-up comedians, film directors, producers, and advertising creative directors. The interviews of the 39 experts were cross-referenced with a mass-based panel that included housewives and college students. Ortega said ads that were visually-driven achieved spontaneous recall, including a 20-year old ad for Petron Brake Fluid in which a fully accessoried jeepney and a Mercedes Benz are about to crash into each other. Both slam on their brakes so hard that the jeepney's gaudy accessories fly over to the hood of the elegant Benz.
Other ads mentioned were Canesten's 'Pole dancer' and Wrigley's 'Harold' spot. "This led to our conclusion that visual humour is more effective than verbal humour in triggering likeability and affinity," said Ortega.