Laughter is the best medicine. And, the best brand loyalty.
When conveying emotions, sometimes it’s good to look at different ways to convey humor with your packaging labels. Humor and laughter is an emotion best associated with joy and positivity, offering some next-level, positive emotions for your packaging labels. It is a cognitive realization, and through such, you’re conveying joy and excitement to many people.
Being Funny without Crossing a Line
Now, you want to be skilled with humor.
Do it in a way where it will not cross a line, be too hard, or even make someone upset. Try not to be too niche with the humor, as some people might not get it too. humor is subjective to a degree, but there are a few ways to make it work, even if you’re trying to make sure everyone’s happy.
One example is putting on the label “Caution: May contain happiness/May make you Laugh Out Loud” are cute ways to get a chuckle out of someone. Funny little drawings that might be fun for people to enjoy will also work too.
The goal is to be funny and creative on the labels, without being too much. when you’re able to do that, even just a small label here and there, you’ll be successful.
Tissue, Tape, Or Instructional Humor
You can also use tape as a humor mechanism. Putting “Caution: But Not Really” in this might be kind of a creative way. Adding little designs and other small ways to bring a smile to the customer’s face is fun. Reminding those that buy from you that they’re “fierce” and are strong also conveys a positive message for many that are involved.
Tissue is another one. Having funny little pictures and slogans are good. One way to do this is, if you want to recycle, have a picture of the earth relieved or saying something positive about tossing it away, or even being thankful they don’t have to keep eating plastic for breakfast or something.
Instructions are also a way to convey humor. Instructions are the bane of people’s existence, especially in DIY situations. Giving them instructions that make one laugh are a good way for a company to stand out, and makes the pain of putting together items a whole lot better.
The best rule of thumb is small touches, big memories. a little goes a long way, so try to add some flavor to these otherwise traditional methods, to really make it work.
When Humor backfires
Humor is subjective, sure, but there are a few ways for it to really mess up with your packaging.
First, it is too much. Think of humor like a garnish. Too much makes it overwhelming and reduces the flavor. Too little, and you don’t really get it. Use it sparingly, and in the right areas. It will do wonders for the way people react to these items.
Then, misinterpretation. What you might find offensive, another finds offensive, so if that happens, try to run your packaging by a panel and make sure you’re not pissing anyone off.
Finally, cultural issues. Some stuff is only funny in certain geographic locations. What might be funny to a French audience is offensive to Italians, so you might want to make sure that you’re not offending a group. Making sure not a single demographic is singled out also plays a major part in the overall success of humor, and how one might approach such.
It is a way to stand out. Many B2C and B2B companies are using it, so consider injecting humor into packaging.