Islanders love a good joke — and here are the signs

Cows vice-president Chad Heron says he gets asked the question all the time: Who comes up with all the funny puns for the T-shirts and ice cream flavours?

The answer, he said, is Islanders themselves. Ideas come from staff and customers, and the best ones make the cut.

"It's not just one person, although that would be a fantastic job, it's definitely a team effort," Heron said.

Humour has been part of Cows culture for decades. It's a testament to how much Islanders love a good joke, Heron said.

"I think Islanders have a great sense of humour. I think it comes from just being laid back generally. They find the humour in situations."

That sense of humour can be found in many different businesses and organizations across the Island. From a church that advertises "prayer" conditioning in the hot weather, to a garden centre showing their favourite bloomers, to a restaurant offering to shake it — the milkshake, that is.

Even the Kensington Police Department uses humour to get its message across. Their Facebook page, rife with memes and witticisms, is a must like.

Victor Vanhul, one of the owners of Good Guys Auto Glass in Charlottetown, said the company has used humour in its advertising since the early 1990s, when former owner Brooke Brehaut dressed up as the nutty Professor Feedlemeyer trying to invent a softer rock that wouldn't damage windshields.

It's been a hit with Islanders ever since.

"How many people come in here in the run of the day to say, 'Have you found a softer rock yet?" he mused.

Felecia MacLeod, an assistant manager at Harvey's on University Avenue, said staff meetings are fun every week trying to come up with witty slogans.

For example, when they introduced a new burger with an onion ring, they borrowed a phrase from a Beyoncé song — "If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it."

"Instead of just putting 'come have a burger' or whatever, we just try to think of something with a little bit of funny to it," she said.

MacLeod said customers seem to get a kick out of the signs.

"We're hoping that they enjoy them as much as we do. Because we enjoy making them up."

Not all jokes go over so well, however. Ramsey Bassett, general manager of Queens Arms Inn in Charlottetown, recently had to take down a sign that said "Your Affairs are Safe With Us."

"I did get people that did like it." he said. "But there was some people that thought that it was inappropriate."

But he said it won't stop him from using humour in the future.

"I'm just trying to get some chuckles out of people."

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