If you’re thinking of doing something new for your brand, consider cartoons. This medium may provide the punch your marketing needs.
Cartoons aren’t just for kids or politicos. They show up everywhere and they can tell us a ton of information. Gone are the days of cartoons only consisting of falling anvils and fake train tunnels.
Sure, cartoons can make us laugh, roll our eyes, and even entertain our screaming children. But much like the best advertising campaigns, a one-panel cartoon can quickly tap into a cultural truth, insight, or relatable cultural behavior. They can also tell a big story in a short amount of time, with a simple execution. That’s something every brand everywhere should be trying to do. Lucky for marketers, a cartoon needs no camera crew, no pre-pro book, and no extensive list of niche, gluten-free craft services.
Simply put, cartoons are a smart and underutilized secret weapon for brands everywhere.
Why Opt for Cartoons in Your Marketing Creative?
Much like a one-panel cartoon, TikTok is just another medium brands use to showcase a sharp insight in a quick amount of time. This concept is no different than the beautiful print ads brands have been churning out since the dawn of advertising. TikTok’s most memorable clips usually hit on a relatable cultural behavior, then exaggerate it for comic effect. As a result, people respond with thoughts like “Oh, I definitely do that too.”
Taking a truth and exaggerating it for effect is something both cartoonists and advertisers do. TikTok videos, ads, and cartoons all have similar characteristics.
License these images via lyeyee, KatePilko, okchizh, okchizh, Chief Crow Daria, yokunen, and julymilks.
How to Use Cartoons on Social Media
Think of the relatable ideas, habits, and scenarios that involve your brand first. Next, think of how to lightly incorporate your brand into these ideas. Call to different, yet relatable, consumer behaviors in your brand’s industry. Relating to consumers’ daily lives with your cartoon is the impactful sweet spot you want to reach.
Say I’m a car rental company, and I start churning out a small, tastefully done, once-a-week one panel digital cartoon for my Instagram Grid. My cartoon could simply showcases the random objects people leave behind in their rental cars. An example like this is a fun, low lifting, and relatable way to engage your consumers without being too sales-y about your product on social media.
Relatable human behavior is on display here, because accidentally leaving something in the car is something we’ve all done. This example of a branded cartoon for social media will make readers relate to your content, while subtly reminding them that your brand exists to serve them.
All in all, when approached thoughtfully and with tact, cartoons are an unexpected and original way to present sharp brand insights and relatable consumer behaviors to your audience.
Feel Free to Experiment
Cartoons—whether they be single panel cartoons or simply incorporated into your branding—can be as impactful as a print ad, a TV commercial, and even a TikTok. All can contain insights, consumer interests, and have ample space for strong visual metaphors.
Your brand can use cartoons thoughtfully to give your consumers fun, easy-to-make, insightful content. The next time you see a cartoon that hits you in some way, think through your reaction and deconstruct why you emotionally reacted to it. You’ll find out that like a strong conceptual ad, the cartoon can teach you a lot about a brand or artist, their causes, and their senses of humor.
License additional in-story images via Martyshova Maria and cover image via miniwide.
