is there sense in humour?
DESCRIPTION
Nothing spreads online like funny content. And brands have budgets and talented agencies. So why are brands underachievers when it comes to producing truly funny content?TRANSCRIPT
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Is there sense in humour?
Will RollsDigitasLBi
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Humour rules the internet.
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What would the Internet be without funny things?Cat pics, multiplayer games, porn and LinkedIn endorsements
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These were the most shared videos on YouTube 2013
Dove Evian K-Mart
Budweiser Pepsi Ram Trucks
Three H&M Audi
Source: Unruly Media
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These were the ones that were funny
Dove Evian K-Mart
Budweiser Pepsi Ram Trucks
Three H&M Audi
Source: Unruly Media
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They’re good ads. They make you smile. But despite having deeper pockets, brands aren’t making the truly funny stuff; the stuff that makes people laugh.
The comedy gold is being made by people you’ve never heard of.
Why?
LOL
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Lesson number 1:Don’t try to make everyone laugh
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Humour is difficult to research
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Fear is a near-universal response
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Sex is a near-universal response
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Hunger is a near-universal response
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And the funny thing about funny?
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For every person amused by something…
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One is not amused
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Humour is complex, and so brands experience barriers to being funny
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Unlike fearBut imagine you’ve got to sell the idea in here.
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(That ad was never sold to the brand, as the brand doesn’t exist)
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The barriers that brands experience
• Things only become funny in production, not at concept level
• It‘s tricky to test humour before production starts
• Funny single executions are easier than funny ongoing ideas, and brands want to buy the latter
• Social media is tricky enough without needing to make people laugh at the same time
• There’s a risk of offence
• There’s a risk of no one laughing
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So people play safe, adapting proven concepts
Der Tourist: ‘Supergeil’A proven cult phenomenon on YouTube
Edeka: ‘Supergeil’Based on a proven phenomenon, this was not a risky move.
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Adapting a concept works, but then where can you take it?It’s not yours to ‘take’.
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Creating original humour is worth the pain. And the gain is enormous.As long as you realise that the best humour has never appealed to everyone.
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Success in comedy is like anything else:If you try to be to everyone’s liking, you’ll be to no one’s taste.
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According to Millward Brown, using distinctive themes allow brands to outperform the competition by up to 300%.
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Example: A small flower company sets its up its own Twitter account and its own brand of surreal humour. Not everyone gets it, but 20,000 people do.
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Lesson number 2:Work with funny people
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Money is always an issue…
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Can a brand ‘own’ a subject in the digital age?Which brands have managed this, and which models can we learn from?
We have identified three potential approaches to this subject.
And creating content can seem daunting
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Yet funny content can have rock-bottom production costs.
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Oreos were spontaneous and nimble
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Sainsbury’s gave us an ‘aaah’
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But don’t mistake low production cost for low cost.
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Talent costs money
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Work with professionals.Your agency is a group of professionals; for many things; your strategy, your co-ordination, your brand guardian, your creativity.
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And if we’re hiring professionals
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There are professionals who make people laugh*.
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*comedians and comedy writers
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If humour is part of a long-term strategy, make managing comedy talent a challenge, and ensure that you invest solidly.Funny professionals create funnier stuff, and are better at selling it in.
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Lesson number 3:Ideas must work in more than just the one channel.
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It’s #ITBBerlin, so let’s look at some travel examples
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Travel is about either:a) getting to a destination orb) the destination itself. With destinations, you can play to stereotypes…
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Comedy gold?
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Whereas getting there is a logistical matter of price, safety and peace of mind.
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Could, say, an airline be funny?
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JetBlue Airways can
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Air New Zealand can
YouTube Video – 11m views
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Air New Zealand keeps things amusing across the board
Facebook Cover Pic
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Air New Zealand on Twitter
Tweet re new plane
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Even with a change of subject, Air New Zealand maintains its twinkle in the eye
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An idea has to be strong enough to work across all your channels.
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And not just your own channels.
Genuinely funny stuff begins its virality on channels like this. They can’t be bought – it is simply survival of the
most entertaining.
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Case study: low production
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Insurance isn’t entertaining.But we have to find a way to get people to think about their premiums.
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Asstel Insurance
Take Bruce Willis in Die Hard, a man with potentially high premiums
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See the film through the horrified eyes of an insurer
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Make it interactive
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Case study: zero production
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“88.2% of statistics are made up on the spot”
Vic Reeves
Get inspiration from a comedy genius
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0 0 1
Create a Twitter account with an absurd idea of no practical use to anyone.
Made-up stats@madeupstats
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0 0 1
Spread made-up statistics that contain a grain of real-life truth.
Made-up stats@madeupstats
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3,696 2,434 61.4K
Over 60,000 users later, draw some lessons.
Made-up stats@madeupstats
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Smaller lessons
• Observational humour that people can relate to gets shared.
• Be topical, which works against rigid editorial plans.
• However: a 24-hour incubation period works for funny content. If it survives the night, post it.
• Don’t re-style and repeat a joke – move on.
• Get a brand seen more by dialling it down.
• Don’t adopt a tone of voice you can’t get out of.
• Form alliances. Funny isn’t an arms race.
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The final word:Be brave, honest, original, and if you’re laughing...
(it’s probably good)
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DigitasLBiwww.digitaslbi.de
@willrolls