I find that recently humour has become commonplace in today's marketing; it's in print ads, commercials, online... But when using humour in ads you need to be very careful that you're not offending anyone (which let's be honest is almost impossible to not do now-a-days). I also find that humorous ads tend to get old quick. Take the Old Spice commercials for instance. The original one found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE, was actually pretty funny when it first came out. It was something that had never been done before and it made people question what they were watching and what was going on in the commercial. Now three years later Old Spice is still trying to use that same brand of humour (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF_X3l3TnJs) and honestly it's getting boring; the first time you see it it's kind of interesting to see what's going on but in the end I'd rather change the channel then sit through that commercial again. This is why one example why I say humour can be very effective, but it doesn't last for very long before people get sick of it.
There's always also the risk that people may not take your product seriously if you use humour in your advertising; you have to be careful when coming up with ideas that you're not giving people a reason to think less of your product.
I feel like I really agree on Schiller's views on how to use humour in advertising:
"Bottom line: Use humor if—and only if:http://www.mortyschiller.com/html/does_humor_sell_.html
You use it to reinforce and support your basic promise.
You use it to be friendly, not funny.
You use it to attract, not to distract.
You NEVER lose sight of what you're really doing: selling.So don't clown around. But smile when you sell that!"
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