Mocking the sorry plight of your customers is never a good marketing tactic.

I was listening to the radio this morning when I heard an ad acknowledging all the people who couldn’t afford insurance. How not having insurance was such a worry. And how one company has a solution for all those suffering people.

The next thing I know, Coors is talking about the insurance on the labels of their 12 ounce cans. About how we can all feel more secure knowing that the can labels will turn blue — just like the bottles — to “insure” that the can is ice cold.

Then I thought… I bet everyone knows someone without health insurance. It’s a scary thing when you have to worry about not getting the health care you or a loved one needs, or the astronomical bills you can be stuck with if you do.

Do people without health insurance buy expensive bottles of wine? No, I bet they buy beer. But probably not Coors now.

Humor always carries a risk. Humor at the expense of a segment of your customers is never worth the risk. Customers want their needs to be understood, but not mocked.