Humour in Advertising and Marketing
What works, and WHY
We’re pulling together insights examining what kind of comedy works in marketing, advertising and branded content – focusing on a new industry each week. If you’ve got a great example of humour that successfully sells, and you’d like us to feature it – get in touch.
(p.s.) Thinking about hiring a Comedy Writer? Don’t! Hire a whole hive-mind instead.
alexa99uk – Alexa’s Hidden Talent
Why we love it: This is comedy content creation at its laziest – letting your audience write the jokes for you. Here, Alexa UK have
Aldi Stores UK – Emergency Alert Hacked
Why we love it: Think about the ‘myths’ your audience might currently believe – the Objections and Limiting Beliefs that could be making them hesitant
washingtonpost – 7 Myths About Cooking with Salt
Why we love it: It’s not funny, but it is a beautifully executed and informative Instagram carousel, which takes advantage of the fact that the
LEGO – The Legend of the WFH Friend at 2 PM
Why we love it: In this recurring meme series, LEGO have found a way to showcase their products in the context of genuinely funny content
Ryanair – Gary is a liar
Why we love it: When we write and edit jokes, we obsess over the ‘leap’ we’re asking an audience to make. If the link between
The Marketing Millennials – 17 Views and a Sigh
Why we love it: Here we see perhaps the silliest form of graph gag in action – the ‘single answer’ pie chart. This one works
Adam Hunt – From Laughs to Leads
Why we love it: We wrote it! Look closer, see – that’s Adam Hunt from White Label Comedy. (No, not Buzz Lightyear. Above that.) This
jacksflightclub – The Epic Battle of Priorities!
Why we love it: The air travel industry has a strong track record when it comes to comedy on social media, spearheaded by RyanAir –
Dave Harland – COPYFEST
Why we love it: Dave’s done it again – dropping this spoof Glastonbury festival poster packed with copywriters’ relatable truths, on the same day the
alexa99uk – The Welsh Way of Saying it All
Why we love it: Weird design choice where they’ve tried to make a pie chart look like an Echo speaker aside… this is a solid,
Razer – I have no money because I spend it all on games
Why we love it: It’s a twist on a popular meme that Razer knows their (extremely online) audience will be familiar with. Usually, both ‘pills’
Dave Harland – Linkedin Whiners Unite
Why we love it: It’s another tight meta one-liner from The Word Man, Dave Harland. But importantly, it’s not just smart for smart’s sake –
