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?

2. Is there sense in humour?
Will Rolls
DigitasLBi

3. Humour rules the internet.

4. What would the Internet be without funny things?
Cat pics, multiplayer games, porn and LinkedIn endorsements

5. These were the most shared videos on YouTube 2013
Dove Evian K-Mart
Budweiser Pepsi Ram Trucks
Three H&M Audi
Source: Unruly Media

6. These were the ones that were funny
Dove Evian K-Mart
Budweiser Pepsi Ram Trucks
Three H&M Audi
Source: Unruly Media

7. 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?

8. Lesson number 1:
Don’t try to make everyone
laugh

9. Humour is difficult to research

10. Fear is a near-universal response

11. Sex is a near-universal response

12. Hunger is a near-universal response

13. And the funny thing about
funny?

14. For every person amused by something…

15. One is not amused

16. Humour is complex, and so brands experience barriers to being funny

17. One is not amused
Let’s watch this baked beans ad

18. Unlike fearBut imagine you’ve got to sell the idea in here.

19. (That ad was never sold to the brand, as the brand doesn’t exist)

20. 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

21. 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.

22. Adapting a concept works, but then where
can you take it?
It’s not yours to ‘take’.

23. 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.

24. Success in comedy is like anything else:
If you try to be to everyone’s liking, you’ll be to no one’s taste.

25. According to Millward Brown, using
distinctive themes allow brands to outperform
the competition by up to 300%.

26. 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.

27. Lesson number 2:
Work with funny people

28. Money is always an issue…

29. 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

30. Yet funny content can have rock-bottom
production costs.

31. Oreos were spontaneous and nimble

32. Sainsbury’s gave us an ‘aaah’

33. But don’t mistake low production cost for low cost.

34. Talent costs money

35. Work with professionals.
Your agency is a group of professionals; for
many things; your strategy, your co-
ordination, your brand guardian, your
creativity.

36. And if we’re hiring professionals

37. There are professionals who make people
laugh*.

38. *comedians and comedy writers

39. 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.

40. Lesson number 3:
Ideas must work in more than
just the one channel.

41. It’s #ITBBerlin, so let’s look at
some travel examples

42. Travel is about either:
a) getting to a destination or
b) the destination itself.
With destinations, you can play to
stereotypes…

43. Comedy gold?

44. Whereas getting there is a logistical matter of
price, safety and peace of mind.

45. Could, say, an airline be funny?

46. JetBlue Airways can

47. Air New Zealand can
YouTube Video – 11m views

48. Air New Zealand keeps things amusing across the board
Facebook Cover Pic

49. Air New Zealand on Twitter
Tweet re new plane

50. Even with a change of subject, Air New Zealand
maintains its twinkle in the eye

51. An idea has to be strong
enough to work across all
your channels.

52. 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.

53. Case study: low production

54. Insurance isn’t entertaining.
But we have to find a way to get people to
think about their premiums.

55. Asstel Insurance
Take Bruce Willis in Die Hard, a man with potentially high premiums

56. See the film through the horrified eyes of an insurer

57. Make it interactive

58. Case study: zero production

59. “88.2% of statistics are made up on the spot”
Vic Reeves
Get inspiration from a comedy genius

60. 0 0 1
Create a Twitter account with an absurd idea
of no practical use to anyone.
Made-up stats
@madeupstats

61. 0 0 1
Spread made-up statistics that contain a
grain of real-life truth.
Made-up stats
@madeupstats

62. 3,696 2,434 61.4K
Over 60,000 users later, draw some lessons.
Made-up stats
@madeupstats

63. 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.

64. The final word:
Be brave, honest, original, and
if you’re laughing...
(it’s probably good)

65. DigitasLBi
www.digitaslbi.de
@willrolls