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.
Lucozade Energy – Cheaper than a flight to Barbados
Why we love it: Alright, so technically it’s an ad – and it’s more of a witty strapline than a joke – but this one
Napolina – Overheard in Naples
Why we love it: Napolina haven’t crossed our radar before, but we’re impressed by their recent experiments on social – especially this ‘Overheard in Naples’
lego – Marching into Fun
Why we love it: By using a fact about March as a jumping off point, Lego were able to make a joke about their products
Flexa Careers – RIP 5-day week
Why we love it: It’s not quite a joke – but it is a creative, scrollstopping way of presenting a bold and potentially provocative statement,
Fray Bentos Official – Nostalgic Nonsense
Why we love it: Fray Bentos use a topical news story (classic sitcom Fawlty Towers is coming back to our screens) as a jumping off
Fray Bentos Official – don’t feed the trolls
Why we love it: Fray Bentos have taken something they’re normally criticised for – having tins that some people struggle to get into – and
Fray Bentos Official – COMPETITION TIME
Why we love it: Giveaways can be a great way to grow your audience on social – but they’re often awkward, eggy and bland. These
Paddy Power – Woke up like this
Why we love it: Paddy Power are total pros when it comes to clashing multiple topical ingredients into a single piece of comedy content. This
Aldi Stores UK – Battle of the Brands
Why we love it: There’s a longstanding feud between Aldi and M&S – largely due to Aldi’s habit of ‘borrowing’ other brands’ trademarked product ideas.
SURREAL – Top Cereal Launch 2022
Why we love it: We’re sick of seeing bland, self-aggrandising ‘announcement posts’. Here, SURREAL found a way to show off the fact they’d won an
Domino’s Pizza UK – Food Wars
Why we love it: Domino’s don’t currently get masses of engagement on Twitter, so this is great going by their standards. A rival brand gave
LawFinder.at – The Case of the Artificial Attorney
Why we love it: At first glance, this doesn’t look like comedy content – especially to an audience who, at this point, are very used
