Article: SOMETHING FUNNY?\ HUMOR IN ADVERTISING CAN BE EFFECTIVE, BUT RISKY.(Business)

Byline: Greg Paeth Post staff reporter

Bruce Carlson remembers the health club billboard in California as if he had passed it five minutes earlier.

The message: "When the aliens come, they'll eat the fat ones first."

Catchy. Funny. Effective in delivering a message about slimming down.

And ultimately so controversial that the health club ended its campaign early, Carlson said.

Carlson, who does freelance work in the advertising business in Cincinnati, and other members of The Post's Advertising Roundtable, agreed the billboard is a good example of the risks involved in using humor in advertising.

Although plenty of ...

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