Are the days of stiff suits, and serious business long gone? A look at the new age of business quirkiness.

In recent years many businesses have broken the mold of serious corporate executives to appear more “human”. Companies like OldSpice, etrader.com, and Geico have captured audiences with talking babies and cavemen for years…and it’s worked! Businesses are starting to realize the benefits of showing their quirkiness. Social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, and business blogs are practically begging for some humor. Perfect example: The Super Bowl. While watching the Super Bowl commercials this year I was amazed at how many of them used humor to convey their message. Not that using emotions to drive sales is anything new in the marketing world, but humor seems to have recently become the frontrunner. Why so? Well, humor (if done correctly) makes us laugh, it’s joyful, and most importantly it’s welcoming. One of our personal favorites, Tebeso, uses children and deadpan humor in a series of videos to describe their product.
Yet every year some commercials go overboard and manage to offend a majority of people. Perfect example? GoDaddy.com. The popular domain registrar and web hosting company takes the concept of “sex sells” to a whole new level. This year they released a commercial entitled “Perfect Match” which depicts a super model and a nerd awkwardly locking lips. The slogan reads, “When sexy meets smart your business scores.” The commercial has raised more objections than laughter. Our question is this: Can local businesses go as far as some of the big companies do without impacting their audience.

Here at the Brothers that just do Gutters we are in a personal dilemma. Those who are familiar with the brothers know they are never opposed to a good time. If you could be a fly on the wall, during our conversations I promise it would be nothing but humorous. Whether it be in the office or at an event, cough, cough Kyle’s dancing disaster, the cameras are always filming something. However when approached with the decision to post these videos online we never know how far, is too far. We want our company to reflect our personalities, but humor is subjective. What appears funny to some may be offensive to others. How do you go about being undeniably funny and not overtly obscene?

For instance, this summer our company will be competing in the Warrior Dash. For those of you who are unaware, the Warrior Dash is a 3mile race filled with intense obstacle courses and plenty of mud. We are currently in the process of using “oddvertising” to test the limits of our humor. Check back with us over the next few months for more info.

So we turn to you. As consumers, how do you feel about businesses being goofy? Does a comical video interest you more than an informational one?