The case for humour is clear – so why are there so few funny campaigns?
Humour is the most popular category in UK podcastingi. The second biggest category on BBC iPlayerii. It’s thought to be the most important characteristic of a strong relationshipiii, and for the last ten years, the “crying with laughter emoji” has been the most used in the worldiv. Kantar’s analysis of their database showed that “humour is the most powerful enhancer of creative receptivity.” (my italics) .
So why have we seen such a decline in brands using humour in advertising over the last twenty years?vi. Why are we ignoring the facts about what people are seeking out, looking to be entertained by, and sharing with their friends? Why do 95% of business leaders claim that they “fear using humour in customer interactionsvii”?
The decline of humour as an advertising approach – and its negative consequences on engagement - is one of the points covered in Orlando Wood’s excellent “Look Out”viii. He notes how advertising in the last decade has become “considerably less funny”, as another kind of response has been sought: one of “pride” and “being pleased for others”. His analysis shows that these responses are not linked to effectiveness, whereas humour is.
Kantar (who note the huge leap in effectiveness between “LOL” funny ads and “kinda funny” ads) have issued a cautious hint that humour might be making a return to the stageix, Apple’s “Leon’s Dead” (an Effectiveness winner in Cannes 2022) and CeraVe’s “Michael CeraVe” this year show that humour continues to work for brands. The fact that the Cannes Festival of Creativity added a Humour category, and that it reignited the conversation about its value is great news – but isn’t it weird that our industry needed this kick up the arse?
Agencies know this stuff. We’ve seen it work. We’ve even got the data on our side – and the shortest sense check with our own lives underlines the point. Humour is one of the main things that bonds our tribes and communities – an accolade to be aspired to. It’s one of the most magnetic qualities there is: yet we don’t use it to give brands the unfair share of attention they need to grow.
Humour doesn’t make you stupid
A distinctive sense of humour makes us want to hear from brands. Whether it’s the wit of The Economist or The joyful silliness of Ryanair, Duolingo or Aldi. Humour doesn’t lessen a brand’s stature or its intelligence, any more than it lessens a person’s. President Obama’s 2016 performance at The White House Correspondents Dinner enhanced his status – and left his notoriously humourless successor disempowered. The Harris/Walz ticket has picked this up and run with it: poking fun at someone leaves them with few options. Humour is a brilliant challenger strategy, and it’s a characteristic of the US Presidential race – hardly a low stakes issue. Our first response to David Mitchell’s opinion “For as long as I can remember, I have always thought that being funny is the cleverest thing you can dox, may be “Well he would say that, wouldn’t he?” – but that doesn’t stop it being true.
Humour doesn’t need to be “always on”
A brand doesn’t need to be funny all the time: but it should be able to use humour. Dodge’s very funny Durango campaign featuring Will Ferrell’s Ron Burgundy character, didn’t mean Ron’s distinctive persona permeated the driver handbook and the aftercare sales. A person who never displays a sense of humour strikes us as weird: a brand that never displays one may not be as unsettling – but it’s unlikely to be one people feel close to.
Humour loves short form
68% of consumers find on-line advertising “boring”.xi The economy intrinsic to most humour is perfectly suited to address that on-line. As the man said: “brevity is the soul of wit”. The most popular replies and reposts on social are so often succinct responses (even an acronym or an emoji) to long-winded posturing. We know we’re fighting for attention before anything else – why not run at an approach that gets more attention, and creates more shareability than others do? Charmin’s #TweetFromTheSeat, Wendy’s joyful trolling of McDonalds, or Liquid Death’s continued commitment to bringing “stupidity and entertainment” to marketing all do a great job of breaking through the “cat videos and crazy dancing people” Dan Walker calls “the cauldron of the internet”xii and they’re doing it in short-form social content.
Humour is about connection
Brands showing their sense of humour (especially on social platforms) draw in audiences based on a genuine value exchange. In real life, people rarely walk away when they think they’re about to hear a joke: they want to share in the fun. This is the argument made most consistently in favour of humour: it’s a technique that promotes sharing. Whatever reaction humour provokes - a guffaw, a gasp, or a groan – is proof of a connection being made.
There’s a theory that Christmas cracker jokes are intended to be terrible. Gathered around a table, with tensions running high and an exhausted cook at their wits’ end, everyone can all share a groan at a terrible pun. We all get it, we can all join in. That is the job of the joke: to elicit a shared reaction among a whole group. It doesn’t have to be gut-busting hysterics, which is good news for the programmes that write the jokes…
To make it easier for people to notice our brands, might mean making some things harder for ourselves. This is why humour has been hiding in the wings, rather than commanding the spotlight: it’s hard to do well. Not “advertising well” - but really well, like Lynx “Funeral”. So much of it is in the delivery – or the execution – and that’s the hardest bit for us to measure in advance, to find guardrails for, to follow the playbook on. We’re left with our judgement, our trust and our understanding of what our audience (rather than we) find funny. That is what makes it so exhilarating when it works and when we see the connection being made. Of course, there’s a chance of missing the mark – but it’s the failed seriousness of Pepsi’s “Kendall Jenner Solves Society” (and its like) that is the bigger risk to a brand than a crappy pun.
Social media is often said to be an echo chamber. Well, so is a theatre, a comedy club, and a packed-out arena, If other creative professionals can make those spaces echo to the sound of laughter and create a swell of community and connection through hard work and craft, then so can we. Not easy, but worth it.
By Richard Kelly
Strategy Partner at MullenLowe
i Source: CuePodcasts July 2024
ii Source: FlixPatrol August 2024
iii Source: The British Psychological Society, January 2024
iv Source: BBC, “World Emoji Day”, July 2024
v Source: Kantar, February 2022
vi Source: Ibid
vii Source: Oracle, June 2022
viii Source: Orlando Wood, “Look Out”; IPA October 2021
ix Source: Polly Wyn Jones, “Starting to Laugh Again”, August 2023
x Source: David Mitchell, “Back Story”; Harper Collins, October 2012
xi Source: The Drum, April 2024
xii Source: Campaign, June 2024