• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, August 8, 2006

If there was ever a marketer that could take a joke, it's Costco. The warehouse chain once gave Jimmy Kimmel the run of the place. After putting on the standard-issue red vest and name tag, the comedian zipped his cart around and pointed out all the bizarre things in giant quantities--and, well, all the bizarre things.

Would Wal-Mart let Jon Stewart do a stand-up bit inside one its stores? Or interview one of the greeters?

Costco's ability to smile, if not laugh at itself, is hardly surprising. Remember, this is the company whose CEO answers his own phone and wears a name tag--just like his employees, reports ABC News.

Want more proof that the company isn't trying to ward off jokes? It sells coffins. Yes, the same store that hawks vats of artery-clogging mayo and massive quantities of high-cholesterol snacks likely to cause a myocardial infarction offers a permanent enclosure should the worst happen.

As Tom Vanden Brook in USA Today notes: "From cradle to grave, Costco wants your business. Literally. The warehouse retailer, which peddles everything from baby cribs to giant jars of mustard to wood chippers, now hopes to close the deal on your final purchase: a casket."

Costco wouldn't do that if it wanted to escape being the butt of jokes. And once again, it hasn't.

On the July 25 episode of NBC's battle of the amateur jokesters, "Last Comic Standing," one of the finalists seized on the Costco coffins--one of the top-ranked product placements of the week, according to measurement firm iTVX--for his bit.

Admittedly, it was pretty low-hanging fruit. After all, Costco even promises overnight shipping--if ordered by 2 p.m. EST.

Still, credit comedian Chris Porter for taking obvious, ripe material and digging a little deeper--pun intended. "Who's buying a casket at Costco?" he asks. "What the hell did Grandpa do to you?" Porter then took a swipe at Costco's multi-packs. Once again, not exactly challenging stuff. The 30-pack paper towels and who-knows-how-large bundles of toilet paper have long been fodder for comedians. But he gives it a nice spin. Porter jokes that Costco sells coffins in two-packs--then asks what someone would do with the leftover? His answer: take it home as a threat to the kids if they misbehave.

Later, he notes that coffins are sold across the aisle from alcohol and tobacco. Presumably, Costco doesn't sell guns, although it offers a "top-of-the-line" safe for rifles and ammunition.

Fact is, Costco executives were probably laughing right along with Porter's jabs. That's because the company knows the jokes work for them. This isn't Wal-Mart, where the ridicule would likely touch on unfavorable working conditions or outsourcing to China.

In Costco's case, the ribbing is all in good fun. The company has cultivated enough goodwill with its customers--mostly because they like the boulders of cheese and extra-large offerings--that its image isn't at risk.

And more consumer adoration could be on the way. Costco has gone to court to get states to allow it to sell cheaper beer and wine. That's pretty good stand-up material, too.

"This is the best place in the world," a shopper told ABC. "It's like going to church on Sunday. You can't get anything better than this. This is a religious experience."

If you buy a coffin there, maybe even more so.