Re: Humor as a communication technique

[Hope Cascio <hope -dot- d -dot- cascio -at- US -dot- ARTHURANDERSEN -dot- COM>]

This is relevant to the last post, and to the subject line, but off the
technical communication path (though possibly applicable).

There's been a new radio ad campaign for canned Lipton iced tea.  Both of
them try humour to make me want to buy their product.  One succeeds.  One
offends.  The first is a mock testimonial from a sufferer of Repeat
Lightning Strike Syndrome, who's "cooled to the core" by this beverage at
the critical moment he's struck by lightning.  The chances of someone
listening to this ad who has been or knows someone who has been struck by
lightning are pretty slim, and I think that's why this can be funny.  A
lightning strike, aside from its rarity, is probably as tragic as cancer,
and is funny where cancer isn't only because many people know people (or
are people) who've suffered pain and loss from cancer, while (the
perception is) almost no one has suffered from being struck by lightning.

The second is offensive, because it is about a little boy who burns ants
with a magnifying glass, then ultimately drowns them with iced tea.  I
found this one pointlessly sick and violent.

My point (and I do have one) is that someone, somewhere found both of these
amusing, and then universally projected his/her idea of humour onto the
entire radio listening population.  Just because I think it's cute  to put
a taxpayer named Seymore Butts (to borrow someone's example, and FYI, no, I
don't think it's funny) in a screen shot in my tax software documentation
doesn't mean that a CPA in early April is going to be nearly as amused.

.02,
Hope Cascio

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To:     TECHWR-L @ LISTSERV.OKSTATE.EDU
cc:      (bcc: Hope D. Cascio)
From:   Laurel Nelson <Laurel_Y_Nelson -at- NOTES -dot- SEAGATE -dot- COM>
Date:   06/16/98 12:22 PM
Subject:  Re: Humor as a communication technique
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Lisa Comeau wrote: "My fave was my grade 11 Physics teacher who discussed
the principles of accelleration and decelleration by using the example of
swinging a cat  over your head by it's tail and then letting it go..."

I found the above statement very offensive. To me, cruelty to animals is
not funny even when it's imaginery. As some people have said, you have to
be very careful when using humor. It's all a matter of perception.

Laurel Nelson
My comments represent my personal views and not those of my employer.