it’s just like when Gretchen mean Girlsiconic teen-movie parody, exclaims, “That’s so glamorous!” and Regina, the movie’s queen bee, bursts her bubble, “Gretchen, stop trying to be glamorous! It’s not going to happen!”
The humour in the ad is ‘quite charming’, and the global award jury feels so, Regina. Why else would Cannes Lions announce humour categories in different themes from this year? It’s because ads are getting harder to laugh at. Remember how funny ads used to be a few decades ago? Fevicol’s fishing rod was a particular favourite in my house, followed by Asian Paints.New house…nice‘.It was powerful when commercials made you laugh.
The ‘curricularisation’ of creativity
Those of you familiar with the advertising awards landscape have seen trends come and go, and will know why I consider humor a thing of the past. One reason is that genuinely funny work is not getting the most appreciation on global platforms; the reason advertising has taken its place. It is understandable; the spirit of the global age is not in a good state. We are currently in the midst of two global conflicts, polarized political views, confusing social norms, and above all, a pandemic that has wiped out three years of laughable moments.
Bounce back
According to market research platform Kantar, humor in ads has been on the decline for some time, with the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic causing major drops. However, things started to change in 2022 and last year, at Cannes Lions, 52% of the winners in the film category were intentionally funny. The Grand Prix in the film category was, in fact, awarded to Apple’s ‘RIP, Leon’, a funny ad about a dead lizard and human error.
Don’t get me wrong, the world definitely needs powerful and impactful work like Bodyform’s ‘Womb Stories’ in 2023, which tackles the emotion, grief and euphoria that often come with being a woman; Nike’s ‘Dream Crazy’ in 2020, which focuses on brands being agents of change; or Callum’s ‘The Last Photo’ last year, a campaign for suicide prevention. Even the ‘Unfiltered History Tour’, a guerilla tour of stolen artefacts from the British Museum – which earned India its first ‘Agency of the Year’ title at Cannes Lions last year – was as purposeful as could be.
Nike’s Dream Crazy
‘The Last Photo’ by Calm
But not all such campaigns are run with the same sincerity. Vocwashing is as dangerous as being tone-deaf. As more brands are embracing purpose and action, few are staying committed to their objectives. Unfortunately this has led to a ‘syllabus-isation’ of creativity where purpose and humour are not mutually exclusive. I agree with what BBDO Worldwide CEO Andrew Robertson said at Cannes Lions last year: “There’s a kind of misconception that brand purpose has to be presented in a very serious way. And I don’t think it is… If brands really want to make the world a better place, we could do a lot worse than make people laugh.”
“Humour cuts through the noise. We’re in a constant state of assault on our senses, but if something is funny, you’ll find it. That doesn’t mean we shy away from the hard stuff, humour is one of the best ways to deal with the hard things going on in the world”Kenan Thompson of ‘Saturday Night Live’ speaking at Cannes Lions 2024
Let’s laugh again
Laughter is not the opposite of sadness. Happiness is the opposite of sadness. Laughter is a reaction, and it can exist in both situations – a neglected truth pointed out by Scottish comedian Daniel Sloss. When the world goes up in flames, it still needs a clown to bring hope. Then every laugh becomes a small revolution.
So, why not reward funnier ads? Why do we need a separate award category for this? Imagine two scenarios in the jury room: one, where some jury members feel they are unable to reward humorous work because objective work dominates, and the other, where jury members feel that humorous work is being ‘more rewarded’ despite the lack of an accurate category. Whichever side you are on, a separate category for humor sounds like a win-win.
from the French Riviera
The 2024 comedy category received 798 entries, including Serave’s campaign with Michael Cera and Knorr’s ‘Bouillon Bag’. According to Marion Brannelly, global director of awards for the Lions, this demonstrated a “change in tone and the rise of effective commercial work designed to entertain”.
Brands and creatives have been given their holy trinity – love, laughter and roar. This is the most wonderful opportunity to stop underutilising the inventiveness of humour. And contrary to the concern that humour is hard to make work across platforms, I would say humour is like a Swiss army knife that cuts across platforms. It can turn jokes into PR, like CeraVe’s campaign with Michael Cera, rewrite the rules of hospitality as seen in Artotel Group’s ‘Rockstar Status’, and even make hyaluronic acid fun, as demonstrated by The Ordinary’s ‘Science Over Celebrity’.
So what can we expect from this new category in the coming years? I’m excited by the prospect that the next decade of advertising could be a multinational collaboration, where we borrow and learn from the exaggerated, slapstick humour of Thailand, such as Thai Life Insurance’s ‘Unsung Hero’, or the political satire of South Africa, such as Nando’s ‘Last Dictator Standing’.
Imagine challenging the dichotomous nature of humour in South Asia too — the way we tell jokes in ‘safe spaces’ and not in public spaces because we think it’s ‘counter-culture’. For example, ours is not a region where satire sells anything. But as the region is changing rapidly, our appetite for new genres of humour may grow proportionately. The last few years have shown us what kind of brilliant, funny work we can produce. Will they do us proud on the biggest stages in the world? There are exciting times ahead, and it’s very exciting.
The author is a founding member and creative at Talented Advertising Agency.
