Humor on a Business Website

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"The site that I am building concerns a serious issue -- security. However, I have always thought that presenting things in a 'light' manner helps alleviate some stresses around those areas. Do you know of any studies that have been done using humor (in good taste) to present products? What is the response to that type of marketing?" -- Chaz Steadman, Goddard Technology Corp. http://goddard.com

I haven't seen specific research.. But I know that people from different generations, ethnic cultures, and points of view often perceive a "joke" differently. What is funny in one culture might be offensive in another. Particularly for products and services that you are trying to market globally, you need to be very careful with jokes, especially translating jokes into different languages. With global sites, it is safest to test the humor with residents of each of the cultures or countries you are targeting. On the other hand, if you are marketing to a relatively homogeneous target group, tasteful humor can be very effective in building rapport and encouraging visitors to return for more.