Has Advertising Lost Its Sense of Humour? You Must Be Joking
It’s fair to say that we live in an age that doesn’t always inspire belly laughs. I’ve recently written a book about the last 25 years of stand-up comedy (as per all client feedback, get the product in early) and naturally that led me to spend some time pondering the major events of that time period. From wars and pandemics to global financial meltdowns and catastrophic referendums it’s been a bumpy ride.
What’s most unnerving is that reality itself now seems up for grabs. We’ve long since outsourced happiness to the tiny anxiety computer in our pocket but at least before now the algorithms were just making us feel bad about our job rather than replacing us in it. And while there have always been megalomaniacal leaders threatening to plunge the Western world into chaos, it made a bit more sense when they were in Pyongyang or Moscow as opposed to Washington.
Against this backdrop would it be any surprise if ads no longer saw the funny side of life? Indeed, there’s evidence that they don’t. A 2024 survey by Kantar found that the proportion of ads that use humour as a creative strategy has dropped from 53% to 34% since 2000. Now, far be it from me to claim that we’ve had enough of experts but while the figures don’t lie, I would make the counter argument that in lots of ways humour in advertising is in rude health.
While there might be fewer of them, those ads that utilise comedy to their advantage do so in a way that often cuts through much more memorably and effectively than the more po-faced work that we so venerate. The best example of this recently is the IRN-BRU ‘Made in Scotland From Girders’ anthem to celebrate the Scots returning to the World Cup after a near 30-year hiatus. It’s as good as you’d expect from Lucky Generals, who surely claim the crown of the most consistently comedic agency. It also made a noticeable impact on the c-word: culture.
Remarkably in this case that meant being featured on ‘Have I Got News For You’. Not in a ‘disparaging remark from Ian Hislop or throwaway comment from the host’ way but in a ‘full clip being shown on primetime TV’ way. Panellist Chloe Petts, one of the finest stand-ups currently around, talked about how much she loved it. Now that really is exposure that rises far above the standard industry onanism.
The star of the IRN-BRU epic is the legendary Su Bo AKA Susan Boyle, who has become quite the comedy advertising icon in the last couple of months. As well as singing for Scotland, and busting some breakdancing moves to match, she was also the star of Golin’s recent PR coup to bring back the legendary ‘Just One’ Cornetto song.
The build-up to this saw Boyle showcase a fierce style that was less ‘I dreamed a dream’ and more ‘I spat some bars’: big shades, fake fur, Juicy Couture tracksuit and a blonde bob. Even Vogue couldn’t resist speculating what was behind the new lewk.
This wasn’t making something funny and hoping it got some press, it was generating a comedy news story and fanning the flames while it spread across the media. Golin have form when it comes to using musical icons to great comedic effect having previously won big at Cannes Grand by getting Rick Astley to record a ‘Misheard Version’ of his biggest hit for Specsavers.
Smart comedic advertising lives like this now, in work and in moments that are committed yet apparently effortless, timely but unexpected. This has always been the spirit of great comedy; it's just the form that it takes in ads has dramatically of late. I hanker after the funny 30-sec TV spots of the past as much as the next middle-aged ad creative, but you’d have to be pretty blinkered not to see that some of the best comedy work is being done right here, right now.
The demand for good comedy advertising is such that dedicated agencies are even appearing. Earlier this year ECD Rob Bovington and comedy writer James Menzies set up Pointy Stick with the explicit aim of producing comedy-driven creative. It makes perfect sense, give clients what has been proven to cut through time and time again and leave the black-and-white brand film with the heartfelt VO to someone else.
Advertising has never lost its sense of humour, and it remains undimmed. Yes, it might appear more sparingly but that only adds to its potency. What was true 25 years ago is still true now: make people laugh and they’ll remember not just you but how you made them feel. What could be a better punchline than that?
‘Reading The Room: The Inside Story of UK Stand-Up in the 21st Century’ by Jonathan Grant is available now from Go Faster Stripe. It contains original interviews with over 50 key figures in the comedy industry. Sadly, Susan Boyle is not one of them.
