Super Bowl Commercials and the Power of Business Humor

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Super Bowl commercials are a very big deal. There’s even a show about Super Bowl commercials. There are  also commercials about the show about the commercials. Some of the commercials on the show about the commercials are about the Super Bowl.

Business humor is the common element in most of the commercials. The businesses that are spending big bucks on Super Bowl ads understand that good business jokes get people’s attention and thus help to sell products and services.

Now the companies that are paying the big bucks to get their commercials aired during the Super Bowl are putting out million dollar ad and P.R. campaigns to generate buzz for the commercials. Does that not seem a bit crazy?

Soon people are going to begin to realize that football is what happens between the commercials for the Super Bowl.

Suggested Slogans for Howard Schultz’s Campaign

Ask not what your country can brew for you…

Life, lattes, and the pursuit of happiness.

Four score and seven mochaccinos ago…

Give me free lattes, or give me death!

We, the baristas…

United, we brew.

The brew stops here!

Home of the Brew!

When love goes wrong. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Courtesy of FreeGreatPictures.com

Did you know that Valentine’s day was rooted in a festival called Lupercalia in pagan Rome? It involved abusing women and engaging in some sort of sexual lottery. I guess that sounds romantic to some people. 

And how did the image of a naked baby flying around and shooting arrows at people become a symbol of love? That's more like a scene out of a horror movie.

Years ago, I told my wife that because of the pagan roots, I preferred not to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The next year, after I moved back into the house, I brought her some flowers. Go along to get along, right?

Valentine’s Day Trivia

When sugar and candy were rationed during World War II, flowers became the preeminent gift for Valentine’s Day. 

Americans spend about $13 billion annually to celebrate Valentine's Day.

About 145 million valentine cards are purchased annually. Women purchase 80%of all greeting cards.

Further reading

St. Patty's Day Humor

April Fools' Headlines

Fat Free Jokes

Overcoming fear when it goes from reasonable to irrational

The Gator Whisperer

I once went hiking up a mountain with some friends. As we went higher the trail got thinner. In some places we were one small slip from plunging to the depths of Hell. Then there was a spot where the trail had been washed out. A jump of about three feet was required to go forward.

I was at the front of the group but I was so scared of missing the little jump that I stepped aside and let the others go first. I was in good shape and there was no reason to think I would have any trouble with the jump. However, the more I looked, the more I envisioned myself sliding down the mountain to my demise.

Fat Free Jokes

The punchline is the funny part of the joke. First you have the setup, then comes the punchline. It’s the destination. The setup normally exists for one reason - to lead the way to the punchline. (There are talented people who get laughs out of their setups, but that’s fairly unusual.)

Most people have probably heard someone tell a joke and include all sorts of details in the setup that really weren’t necessary. There’ve been many times when I‘ve heard someone setting up a joke and I’ve muttered inwardly, “Would you please get to the punchline?”

Blue Angles, Jacksonville Beach, 2007

I've seen the Blue Angels dozens of times, but this was the the best performance I've ever seen. The sky was perfect, the light was perfect, and I had a good camera and a nice spot to shoot from. Unforgettable!

Humor for the Totality, The Mother of All Traffic Jams, 2017 Eclipse Predictions

Box-headed people in 1963!

The bad news is that there is a nationwide shortage of glasses to view the eclipse. The good news is that suitable viewing boxes can be made out of the millions of Amazon boxes that have been piling up in Americans’ garages. Now, nobody has to miss out.