The Return of Humour in Advertising: Using Laughter as a Strategic Tool

Remember the early days of the pandemic? It seemed like every brand suddenly spoke in the same voice: sad piano music, solemn voiceovers, and the inevitable "we're all in this together" message, think Apple's Creativity Goes On campaign. This was starkly different from the lighthearted comedic ads we saw roll out a couple decades prior. Fast forward to today, and it seems like advertising is finally learning to laugh again. While brands still want to evoke emotional responses, rather than trying to make you cry, brands are now competing to try and make you laugh. Cannes Lions even announced a discipline-wide humor category starting this year. From self-deprecating humor like Ikea's "Luckily There's Help" billboards that use poorly assembled billboards to poke fun at the fact that their furniture is hard to put together, to the absurdity of KFC's mini lifetime movie "A Recipe for Seduction." This shift in messaging is more than just changing times—it is a demonstration of how humor can be used as an effective strategic advertising tool.

The Humour Shortage

The pandemic prompted an interesting paradox within advertising. Due to worldwide lockdowns, advertising was forced to hit the collective pause button. The initial response from brands was to show solidarity through serious, empathetic messaging. However, this messaging got old fast, and brands discovered that consumers were experiencing “empathy fatigue”. People were tired of this apathetic "woe is me" mentality. So how did advertisers respond to this? With humor. In a world where things seemed hopeless and exhausting, humor became more than just a creative choice—it became a necessity. Consumers are no longer just open to lighter comedic content; they are craving it. This can be seen through the success of recent ads like Uber One's "Best Friends" commercial featuring Asa Butterfield and Robert De Niro on their journey to become best friends through their love of "eating food" and "going places". But what makes these ads different from the comedic ads we saw pre-pandemic? These ads are purposeful—they aren't just funny, they are strategically funny.

Media Matters

So what characteristics make these modern humor-based ads different? It's all about context and leveraging your platform. Successful campaigns have taught us that every platform demands its own specific genre of humor. This goes beyond just OOH vs. TV vs. social media. Within social media alone, each platform requires a different strategic approach. TikTok thrives on trends and spontaneity, whereas Instagram caters to visual comedy and polished wit (e.g., meme advertising), while LinkedIn values clever industry insights (yes, even B2B can be made funny). To create successful humor-based campaigns, we must understand this distinction between platforms. Take CeraVe's Michael Cera(Ve) campaign, for example: this campaign strategically catered to multiple social media platforms and successfully generated significant organic earned media.

Funny with a Purpose

However, being strategically funny isn't just about generating laughs—it's also about generating results. The best campaigns can achieve both of these objectives. One of the great things about comedic campaigns is their shareability; by creating shareable moments, brands can extend their reach organically. Humor also creates a strong brand voice that allows consumers to feel more connected to the brand, generating higher customer loyalty. Being funny also requires a strong sense of cultural awareness that helps humanize the brand and resonate with target audiences. Consider Burger King's "Whopper Neutrality" campaign: Burger King used humor along with their iconic Whopper to explain the 2018 net neutrality repeal in terms people could easily understand. This not only generated a ton of earned media but also leveraged a prominent social issue to relate and connect with consumers.

Key Principles

We are entering a new era of humor-based advertising, an era with new standards, new platforms, and new objectives. Good funny advertising finds the sweet spot between trending culturally aware humor and brand authenticity. As advertisers, some of the key principles to consider when incorporating humor include:

• Ensuring that the type of humor you are using aligns with your brand voice and values
• Testing the humor on a diverse audience to avoid crossing the fine line between funny and offensive
• Strategic timing—in both comedy and advertising, timing is everything
• Being open and prepared to pivot messaging if a joke does not land as intended

The Sum and Substance

The pandemic taught us a crucial human truth: when the world becomes serious, our need for humor doesn't diminish—it intensifies. The challenge we face in advertising is finding strategic and impactful ways to implement humor while maintaining authenticity and staying aligned with our brand voice; this is easier said than done. The best ads shouldn't just make us laugh—they should create connections. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.