“Make no mistake about why these babies are here—they are here to replace us.” — Jerry Seinfeld
And the next time you see a baby, well, you know the first thing that will pop in your head…
That’s because comedy is a super effective mechanism in changing people’s perspectives. One funny phrase about babies’ ulterior motives is enough to make a lasting impression for life. So imagine what one line of comedic ad copy can do for a product!
The power of humor in influencing an audience has neurological roots. When we laugh at a funny idea, our brains are temporarily flooded with endorphins, oxygen is pumped through our bodies, and for the moment, we feel great! This is our body rewarding us for accepting this new perspective. We are so affected by ideas introduced through humor because we automatically receive positive reinforcement for agreeing with them!
One episode of Seinfeld, aptly named “The Muffin Tops,” explores the idea of a bakery that only sells the top of the muffin. The bakery, called Top of the Muffin To You, charitably leaves boxes of the muffin stumps for a nearby homeless shelter. The episode culminates in a hilarious debacle between the official from the homeless shelter and the owner of the bakery, where the woman from the homeless shelter enraged, screams, “I know what you thought. They don’t have homes, they don’t have jobs—what do they need the top of the muffin for?!”
This episode was a hit—what a comedy! It was such a novel concept, just the top of the muffin, presented in such a whimsical and ridiculous manner, that it actually inspired real-world change!
Before the episode aired, if you wanted a muffin top, you had to skillfully perform the surgical procedure yourself, carefully peeling the top from the rest of the muffin body. Today, however, you can buy boxes of several different brands of muffin tops! You can even make your own (without wasting a muffin stump) with purchasable non-stick muffin top pans.
The Seinfeld episode worked like a good advertisement. A product was introduced through comedy, and gained real-world value because people were neurologically rewarded for laughing along with the sales pitch.
The Muffin Top episode opened people’s minds to a new way of eating a staple food. Here at Sagon-Phior, we challenge you to explore the comedic ways you can introduce your product to the world. Go ahead, top of the muffin to you.
