Thanks so much for your comment, Aaron. That was one of my first thoughts too about Jack in the Box–but I was surprised when I explored the site. It’s used for all types of positions, including professional. Home, Why Jack (the funniest part), and Benefits would be the same for all visitors, then on the Roles at Jack page, they can choose from Restaurant (job descriptions for team members, managers, etc.), Corporate (a long list that includes IT, HR, R&D, accounting, etc.), and Distribution. So I think the JITB messaging may be driven more by brand fidelity than by demographics. But I definitely agree with you that humor has to fit the audience!

Actually, the key thing about the Jack site may not be so much that it’s funny, but that it’s interesting. Although the Geico site isn’t funny, having the Gecko there adds interest–and differentiates from the competition–so it works well in its own way, without losing the professional tone.

Most of the sites I looked at for this post were both not funny and not interesting, but I’ll keep looking and if I find any that break out of the box, will do a follow-up.

Glad you enjoyed the post, Click and Inc! I suspect that many companies will want to appear extra-serious in these times of economic challenge. But as you point out, a touch of humor creates an optimistic impression–and that could actually have a lot of value right now.

I’d be curious to find a company website that is targeting mostly professional-level talent, but doing so with humor and levity.