A catchy song about cartoon characters dying in ridiculous ways seems like an unlikely hit for a public safety campaign.
Yet Metro Trains Melbourne did it, and it worked massively!
“Dumb Ways to Die” became one of the most successful viral marketing campaigns ever, garnering over 320 million views and reducing rail-related accidents by 21%.
The term “viral marketing” might make you cringe. Maybe you think of images of forced attempts to create internet sensations.
I know I’ve seen some cringe attempts at going viral – and it usually doesn’t end well too (just check the comments next time you get that second-hand embarrassment from a video).
Yet “Dumb Ways to Die” proved that when done right, humorous viral marketing isn’t about chasing trends – it’s about creating genuine moments that people want to share.
Regardless of whether a brand or an individual runs a viral video campaign, the most important part is using humour the right way to get people on board with your message.
The “Dumb Ways to Die” campaign didn’t go viral by accident. Metro Trains Melbourne understood their audience, crafted a memorable message, and delivered it in a way that made people think, “I have to share this with someone.”
The result? Beyond its massive view count, the campaign achieved its core objective: a 21% reduction in rail-related accidents.
Why Humor Works in Video Marketing
When “Dumb Ways to Die” launched, it did something remarkable – it made railway safety entertaining. The campaign’s success wasn’t just about being funny; it tapped into fundamental aspects of human psychology and social sharing behaviour.
Studies show humorous content is shared up to three times more often than serious content. When Old Spice launched “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like,” they saw over a 100% increase in sales.
Why does humour work so well?
- Creates emotional connections
- Increases message memorability
- Breaks through advertising noise
- Encourages social sharing
- Builds brand trust through authenticity
Types of Humor That Work Best Online
Not all humour translates well to video marketing. While “Dumb Ways to Die” masterfully combines multiple types of humour – from musical comedy to character-based entertainment – understanding which styles work best can help shape your strategy.
Here are the most effective types of humour in viral marketing, backed by real campaign successes:
Character-Based Humor
“Dumb Ways to Die” created memorable cartoon characters that became cultural icons. Similarly, the Old Spice Guy became a brand mascot that generated ongoing engagement.
Musical Humor
The catchy “Dumb Ways to Die” song reached #10 on iTunes charts and inspired countless covers. Metro Trains Melbourne purposefully chose a style that would stick in viewers’ minds and encourage sharing.
Visual Comedy
Volvo’s “Epic Split” with Jean-Claude Van Damme (120M+ views) demonstrated how visual spectacle combined with subtle humour can create viral moments. The unexpected combination of Enya’s music with the stunt amplified sharing.
Educational Humor
Blendtec’s “Will It Blend?” series turned product demonstrations into entertainment by blending unusual items like iPhones. This approach increased sales by 700% while educating viewers about product capabilities.
Not gonna lie; I felt like buying a Blendtec Blender after watching this video.
Self-Aware Humor
Dollar Shave Club’s launch video (28M+ views) succeeded by acknowledging and poking fun at traditional razor marketing, leading to a billion-dollar acquisition.
What doesn’t work:
- Mean-spirited humour targets individuals or groups, damaging brand reputation and potentially alienating audiences
- Culturally insensitive jokes risk misunderstanding cultural nuances and values, leading to backlash and lost trust
- Overly complex setups lose viewer attention and dilute the message, while forced meme adoption appears inauthentic and can quickly date your content.
The best viral marketing humour feels effortless, even though it’s carefully crafted. It should seem like your brand just happened to capture something genuinely funny rather than trying too hard to make people laugh.
RELATED POST: From Zero to Million Views: Case Studies of Successful Viral Videos
Creating Humor That Aligns With Your Brand
Having a funny video go viral can be great, but going viral with the wrong kind of humour can damage your brand.
Bouncing back from a failed marketing campaign can be hard, so it’s better to avoid costly mistakes.
Remember, you’re not creating a comedy sketch – you’re creating marketing content that happens to be funny. Here’s how to strike the right balance.
Find Your Brand’s Natural Comedic Voice
Every brand has its own natural humour style. A financial services company might lean toward clever wordplay and situational humour, while an energy drink brand might go for bold, outrageous comedy. The key is authenticity.
Think about your brand as a person at a party. Are you:
- The witty observer making subtle, witty remarks?
- The energetic storyteller commanding attention?
- The self-deprecating friend everyone relates to?
- The clever expert who educates through humour?
Take Metro Trains Melbourne again – they didn’t try to be edgy or over-the-top funny. They chose observational humour that perfectly matched their target audience.
Their comedic voice felt natural because it aligned with their mission of educating the public by depicting ridiculous life-endangering scenarios in a light-hearted and memorable way.
Know Your Audience’s Humor Boundaries
Different audiences have different tolerance levels for various types of humour. What’s hilarious to Gen Z might fall flat with Boomers.
What works in one culture might be confusing or offensive in another.
Before creating your humorous content, ask:
- What makes your target audience laugh?
- What references will they understand?
- What topics are sensitive for them?
- What platforms do they use most?
Balance Entertainment with Message
The trickiest part of humorous viral marketing is maintaining the balance between being funny and delivering your marketing message.
Your video should be entertaining enough to share but clear enough that people remember your brand and product.
A good rule of thumb: If someone retells the joke later, would your brand’s message naturally be part of the story?
Test Your Humor
Before going all-in on a humorous campaign:
- Run it by people outside your creative team
- Test it with small focus groups from your target audience
- Consider how it might be interpreted in different contexts
- Think about how it will age over time
Remember, viral videos live forever online. What seems funny today might not be funny – or appropriate – tomorrow.
Keep It Professional (Even When Being Funny)
Even when creating humorous content, maintain professional production values.
Poor lighting, shaky camera work, or bad audio are a no-no (except, of course, they’re part of the creative elements of the campaign).
Otherwise, they can make your brand look amateurish, regardless of how funny the content is.
Invest in quality production while keeping the authentic feel that makes viral videos work.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid in Humorous Viral Marketing
Even the biggest brands sometimes stumble when attempting humour in their viral marketing efforts. Let’s explore the major pitfalls and how to avoid them.
Forcing Viral Moments
Nothing kills authentic humour faster than trying to manufacture virality.
Focus instead on creating genuinely engaging content that naturally encourages sharing.
The best viral moments often come from understanding your audience and delivering unexpected value, not from chasing viral status.
Misreading Cultural Context
Humour is deeply cultural and constantly evolving. What’s funny today might be offensive tomorrow, and what works in one market might fail in another.
Always consider the broader context of your humour and how it might be interpreted across different cultural landscapes and time periods.
Overcomplicating the Message
Simple, clear humour often works best in marketing.
If your joke needs explanation or relies on complex setups, you’ve likely already lost your audience.
Focus on straightforward concepts that can be quickly understood and easily shared.
Neglecting Brand Safety
In the pursuit of being funny, never compromise your brand values. Every joke, reference, and comedic situation should align with your brand’s core identity and values.
When a funny video damages brand trust, viral success becomes meaningless.
Losing Sight of Marketing Goals
Humour should serve your marketing objectives, not overshadow them. Before creating content, establish clear goals and ensure every humorous element supports these objectives.
Remember, going viral is not a goal in itself – it’s a means to achieve business results.
Poor Timing and Context
Timing isn’t just about when you post content; it’s about understanding the current social climate and conversation.
Be aware of current events and sensitive topics that might affect how your humour is received.
Inconsistent Brand Voice
Your content should feel like a natural extension of your brand personality, not a departure from it. Maintain consistency in your comedic voice across all marketing channels and campaigns.
Underestimating Production Needs
Even casual-looking viral content requires careful planning and professional execution.
Poor production quality can undermine even the best humour, making your brand appear unprofessional or out of touch.
Remember: The best viral marketing humour feels effortless because it’s:
- Authentic to your brand
- Respectful of your audience
- Clear in its message
- Timely and relevant
- Easy to understand
- Purposeful in its execution
Technical Aspects of Funny Viral Videos
Creating funny content is only half the battle. The technical execution of your video can make or break its viral potential.
Let’s dive into the key technical elements that can help your funny videos blow up.
Timing Is Everything
Comedy lives and dies by timing, and this is especially true in viral videos. Studies show you have about 3 seconds to grab attention on social media.
These opening moments must immediately signal to viewers that something entertaining is about to happen. Beyond the opening hook, maintaining engaging pacing throughout your content is essential.
Comedic timing in video differs significantly from live performance – it needs to be tighter, cleaner, and more precise. Your editing should enhance the natural rhythm of the video while keeping viewers engaged through to the end.
Video Length Sweet Spots
Understanding optimal video length is crucial for each platform.
Short-form content, ranging from 15-30 seconds, works best for quick jokes and visual gags that need to make an immediate impact.
Medium-form content of 30-90 seconds allows for more story-based humour and character development.
Long-form content of 2-3 minutes should be reserved for more complex humorous narratives where the extended length serves the story and keeps viewers engaged throughout.
Different platforms demand different lengths:
- Instagram/TikTok: 15-30 seconds
- Twitter: 45 seconds or less
- YouTube: 1-2 minutes for ads, 2-4 minutes for branded content
- Facebook: 30-90 seconds
But here’s the catch – your video should only be as long as it needs to be to land the joke and deliver the message.
Sound-Off Strategy
Nearly 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound. Modern viral videos must work equally well with or without sound, as many viewers watch content on mute.
Strong visual humour ensures your message lands even without audio, while thoughtful sound design enhances the experience when available.
Your audio strategy should include clear dialogue when needed, strategic music choices that enhance rather than compete with the content, and sound effects that amplify humorous moments without overwhelming them.
Your humour needs to work silently:
- Use captions creatively
- Rely on visual gags (funny visuals such as facial expressions or ridiculous outfits or situations) when possible
- Make text part of the story
- Consider adding dynamic subtitles
Aspect Ratios Matter
Each platform demands unique technical considerations.
Video aspect ratios must be optimized for where your content will appear – vertical for stories and TikTok, square for feed posts, or landscape for traditional video platforms.
Understanding each platform’s compression algorithms and resolution requirements helps maintain quality across all distribution channels.
Native uploading often provides better results than sharing from other platforms.
- Vertical (9:16) for Stories, TikTok, Reels
- Square (1:1) for feed posts
- Landscape (16:9) for YouTube
Always shoot with multiple crops in mind to resize your content for different platforms.
Technical Quality Requirements
Professional execution matters, even when aiming for a casual or amateur-style look.
Stable footage creates a foundation for your humour unless camera movement specifically serves the joke.
Audio quality must be pristine – poor sound can immediately break viewer immersion.
Lighting should be intentional and appropriate for your content’s tone, while high-resolution video ensures your content won’t degrade when compressed and shared across platforms.
Even “amateur-style” videos need professional touches:
- Clean, clear audio (poor sound quality kills credibility)
- Stable footage (unless shaky cam serves the joke)
- Proper lighting (even if going for a casual look)
- High-resolution footage that won’t pixelate when compressed
RELATED POST: Low-Budget Viral Videos: Tips and Tricks for Small Businesses
Editing for Impact
The edit is where your humour comes together. Precise cut points can make or break a joke’s timing. Strategic pauses give viewers time to anticipate or react to humour.
Your visual rhythm should support the comedic elements while maintaining viewer attention. Transitions between scenes or jokes should feel seamless, never disrupting the flow of entertainment.
Most importantly, every edit decision should serve both the humor and the overall message you’re trying to convey.
Humour often lives in the edit:
- Quick cuts for high-energy
- Dramatic pauses for punchlines
- Match cuts for visual humour
- Strategic use of music and sound effects
Pro Tip: Test your edits on multiple devices. What looks smooth on your editing monitor might stutter on mobile.
Optimizing for Shares
Make your video easily shareable by:
- Adding share buttons clearly
- Creating snippable moments
- Using descriptive but intriguing thumbnails
- Including a clear call to action
Platform-Specific Technical Tips
YouTube
- Create compelling custom thumbnails
- Optimize titles for search
- Use cards and end screens
- Enable embedding
TikTok/Instagram Reels
- Follow trending formats
- Use native text tools
- Leverage music library
- Consider loop potential
- Upload natively (don’t share YouTube links)
- Optimize for News Feed preview
- Add a compelling meta-description
- Consider premiere features for longer content
Remember: Technical excellence should be invisible. Your audience shouldn’t notice the technical aspects – they should just enjoy the content.
Measuring Success: Beyond Viral Numbers
Going viral feels great, but did it help your business? Let’s explore how to measure whether your video marketing actually achieved its goals.
Looking Past Vanity Metrics
While 1 million views sound impressive, it doesn’t tell the whole story. Here are some key metrics to track:
- Conversion rates: The percentage of viewers who take your desired action (purchase, signup, etc.) after watching your humorous content.
- Brand recall: How well people remember your brand when asked about your video or its content later.
- Sales lift: The measurable increase in sales during and after your funny video compared to previous periods.
- Email signups: The number of new subscribers who join your mailing list as a direct result of your viral content.
- Website traffic: The increase in visitors to your website that can be attributed to your humorous video campaign.
- Customer acquisition cost: The total amount spent on your humorous campaign divided by the number of new customers it generated.
- Social media follower growth: The net increase in followers across your social platforms during and after your campaign.
- Audience sentiment: The overall positive, negative, or neutral feeling expressed by viewers in their reactions and comments to your content.
Understanding True Impact
Raw view counts tell only part of the story. True success in humorous viral marketing combines quantitative metrics with qualitative impact.
Engagement rates, sharing patterns, and audience sentiment provide deeper insights into how your content resonates.
Most importantly, these metrics should align with your original marketing objectives, whether that’s brand awareness, conversion rates, or behavioural change.
Understanding Engagement Quality
Not all engagement is created equal. Compare these scenarios:
- A video gets 1 million views but no comments
- A video gets 100,000 views with 5,000 meaningful comments
The second scenario often indicates a better audience connection. Not all engagement carries equal weight.
A thousand genuine comments often provide more value than a million passive views. Look for indicators of authentic connection: do viewers share personal stories in the comments? Are they tagging friends?
Are they creating their own content in response? These behavioural patterns indicate your video has struck a meaningful chord with your audience.
Tracking Brand Sentiment
Monitor how your humorous content affects overall brand perception. Track changes in brand sentiment before and after your campaign.
Watch for shifts in brand voice perception, customer engagement patterns, and audience demographics.
Pay special attention to how your existing customer base responds – humour should strengthen, not alienate, your core audience relationships.
Here are some areas to track for brand perception changes:
- Social media sentiment analysis
- Comments and reactions quality
- Brand mention context
- Share message analysis
- Customer feedback
- Media coverage tone
Platform-Specific Analytics
Each platform offers unique insights into content performance. Track how viewers interact with your content across different platforms.
Understanding watch time patterns reveals where your humour lands most effectively. Analyze drop-off points to identify which jokes resonate and which fall flat.
This platform-specific data helps optimize future content for each channel’s unique audience.
RELATED POST: How to Optimize Your YouTube Videos for Maximum Virality
YouTube
- Audience retention graphs
- Click-through rates
- Subscriber growth
- Watch time
- Traffic sources
Facebook/Instagram
- Engagement rate
- Share velocity
- Saved posts
- Story completion rates
- Forward/backward taps
TikTok
- Video completion rate
- Sound-on percentage
- Hashtag performance
- Duets/Stitch usage
- Comment sentiment
Long-Term Impact Measurement
Viral success often creates ripple effects that extend far beyond initial views. Track how your humorous content influences long-term metrics like brand recall, customer loyalty, and purchase intent.
Monitor whether your content inspires user-generated content or becomes referenced in broader cultural conversations. These lasting impacts often provide more value than immediate viral spikes.
To measure long-term impact, track these metrics over time:
- Brand awareness lift
- Customer loyalty metrics
- Repeat purchase rates
- Brand search volume
- Social media following growth
- Customer lifetime value
ROI Calculation
Calculate return on investment by considering all campaign elements. Factor in production costs, distribution expenses, and team resources against tangible business results.
Remember to include long-tail benefits like improved brand perception and increased customer loyalty in your calculations. A truly successful viral campaign generates value that extends beyond immediate metrics.
Calculate the true return on investment:
ROI = (Revenue Generated – Campaign Cost) / Campaign Cost x 100
Consider all costs:
- Production expenses
- Paid promotion
- Talent fees
- Agency costs
- Platform advertising
Learning From Analytics
Use performance data to refine future content strategies. Identify patterns in what types of humour resonate most strongly with your audience.
Understand which platforms deliver the best results for your brand. Learn from both successes and misfires to continuously improve your approach to humorous content.
Use data to inform future content:
- Which jokes resonated most?
- When did viewers drop off?
- Which platforms performed best?
- What time of day saw peak engagement?
- Which audience segments engaged most?
Red Flags to Watch For
Monitor these warning signs:
- High negative engagement
- Rapid follower drop-off
- Inappropriate content association
- Brand safety issues
- Unwanted audience targeting
Remember: Success looks different for every brand. This is why it is super important to define your success metrics before launching your campaign.
Conclusion: Making Humor Work for Your Brand
Creating viral humour isn’t about luck – it’s about understanding your audience, staying true to your brand, and executing with precision. As we’ve seen through examples like “Dumb Ways to Die,” when humour is done right, it can transform your marketing from forgettable to unforgettable.
Key Takeaways
- Authentic humour resonates better than forced viral attempts
- Your brand’s comedic voice should feel natural and consistent
- Technical excellence matters as much as creative content
- Success measurement goes beyond view counts
- Different platforms require different approaches
- Testing and learning from data helps refine your strategy
Getting Started
Ready to add humour to your video marketing? Start small:
- Study your successful competitors’ funny content
- Test humorous concepts with a small audience
- Start with one platform you know well
- Measure everything
- Adjust based on feedback
- Scale what works
Remember what made Metro Trains Melbourne so successful – they didn’t try to be something they weren’t. They just focused on being relatable and creative.
Final Thought
Humour is one of the most powerful ways to break through the noise. But the goal isn’t just to make people laugh – it’s to make them remember, relate, and respond to your brand.
Start with what you know about your audience, be authentic in your approach, and remember: sometimes the best viral moments come from simply being genuine.
Can’t think of an idea for your next viral video? Check out this list of viral video ideas to get started.
