WE were fascinated to receive a copy of a research paper from the Baptist College entitled: 'The Use of Humour in Advertising - The Case of Hong Kong'.
Anticipating a rollicking good read, we opened it up and discovered this piece was about as humorous as an evening's drinking with a brace of actuaries.
The authors do not use the word 'joke', preferring 'humorous execution style'. The reader is hit with amazing conclusions such as: 'One of the most beneficial aspects related to the use of humour is that individuals enjoy being entertained and provided with a good laugh.' Ground breaking stuff.
However, Lai See does agree with the basic premise that there is humour in Hong Kong advertising - but with one caveat: We are laughing at the adverts, not with them.
Perhaps one of the all-time classics is the Suzanne clip, presented by some goofy East End bimbo with a crying need for elocution lessons. There is something about the way she says 'very elegant' that isn't elegant at all.
At the end of the advert she shows us her 'faverit', which appears to be wearing a pizza down the front of her suit.
What about the Ginsu wonder knife, or whatever it's called. How many times have you been in the kitchen, finished cutting the potatoes in half and said: 'Finished the potatoes and I've just got time to cut that lead pipe in half.' There was also the air-conditioner advert which carried the immortal copy line: 'It's better to be white.' Why? It's an air-conditioner.