Reviewing Brands Attempts at Comedy on Tik Tok
At work we have the radio on, and I am tortured by awful radio adverts with their terrible “jokes” all day long. This is infuriating but makes me appreciate how Tik Tok has changed brands approach to advertising with a focus on being entertaining first (to varying degrees of success) and being unbelievably annoying second.
With the rise of Tik Tok, which allows for random content to be thrust in front of anyone’s face at any time, many brands have started focusing on actually being funny in their advertising efforts as this approach gets the best engagement. People engage with content that affects them in some way and humour is normally the emotion that will get the most reaction.
This article started as a review of the Lumix video (which I think is pure genius) and then turned into looking into Ryanair and Duolingo’s efforts to see what works and what doesn’t. If you want to make Tik Tok content that gets engagement then check out my previous articles on Growing a Tik Tok Following and How to Make Hilarious Memes.
Why the Lumix USA Sci-Fi Video is so Funny
In this video, a man is setting up his room to look like a sci-fi setting ahead of a zoom call with his boss. The joke comes at the end when it’s revealed that he’s now 15 minutes late to the call due to him taking time to set up the background.
While this isn’t a directly selling anything, several items that Lumix (who are a subsection of Panasonic) sell are used and shown off in this video. Not only that, but cheap methods for creating really cool effects such as the water on the glass are shown off too which creates a sense of expertise. This falls in line with the rest of their page which goes over techniques to make shots look better whilst not doing anything too expensive or complicated (which is what makes video editors/students follow them to learn these techniques)
There’s also a really neat detail of the “camera” changing from whoever is filming the video, which I’m assuming is just a phone, to the professional camera which then increases the quality of the video. This is a really subtle way of selling the video quality of their cameras. It also leads perfectly into the joke which brings both goals of the video, the showing off of equipment/techniques and telling a funny joke, together.
The Joke is Perfect
The joke itself is built up perfectly with each shot having a slow zoom, the music crescendo, and the mans actions leading towards the eventual zoom call, all to be undercut by the music stopping and the reveal that he’s late to the call. It’s a very sudden change and almost blindsides the viewer which is what makes the joke so funny.
There are several ways that this joke could have played out with the most likely outcome being that everyone else in the meeting is normal and then there’s a man with a sci-fi setting. The majority of people would have assumed this to be the joke and, whilst that’s funny on its own, it’s not a laugh out loud funny but more of a “what a joker” funny. It could have gone that way and been fine, but it wouldn’t have made an impact on the viewer.
Laughing is actually a response mechanism for when unexpected things happen which is why you don’t find the same joke funny the 5th time it’s said. Our brains are always trying to predict what’s going to happen next so when something unexpected happens, it throws a spanner in the works. To fill the resulting disruption, the brain released endorphins which makes us laugh. There are several other aspects when it comes to comedy but at its core, that’s what happens in the brain. This is why the way the joke played out is so genius.
There’s also the element of the boss who does not have a sci-fi setting, is using his basic web cam, and is dressed normally. This is not only the complete opposite of the man but plays a bit into the earlier idea of absurdity amongst normality which then allows this vid to achieve both the assumed joke as well as the unexpected joke.
How Ryanair Fails at Absurdity
Ryanair is often regarded as the best brand on Tik Tok due to their social commentary, attitude towards opposition, and their overall no cares in the world vibe. Whilst their shorter videos with Capcut can be quite funny, especially the ones regarding random seating, many of their long form videos where they attempt to do something absurd fall completely flat.
Their most recent attempt at absurdity is the “How Planes Fly” video which follows the marketing team as they attempt to understand how planes fly. Not only does this video go on for way too long, which is difficult for a 31 second video, but the joke at the end just isn’t funny. From the introduction, the most obvious endings would be either a silly solution, a “I don’t know” conclusion, or a “we gave up and went on holiday” ending. Ryanair went with the silly solution ending which goes on for about 7 seconds without anything new happening.
Furthermore, the clips that lead up to the joke are messy, seem to go round in circles, aren’t particularly funny, and are overall a bit of a waste of time. If we compare this to the Lumix video, where the build-up takes about 10 seconds compared to Ryanair’s about 21 seconds, you can see how it’s overall not worth the time. There’s no story behind many of the clips and you can never be sure of when the joke will actually come (which in this case is bad).
This joke could have worked if the video was shorter, the joke was more unexpected, and the clips had more structure to them. For example, the team wants to know how planes fly so they try to figure it out, can’t, and then go back to doing x (something ridiculous but also sensible such as playing at a park).
How Ryanair is a Master of Social Commentary
Ryanair is a master of social commentary with many of their social media content mocking or being an observation on current events in the world. Think of “Spain on a Plane” whenever Spain are knocked out of an international tournament.
Ryanair understands the mechanics behind memes, those being relevancy and creativity, and use them in almost every video that they make. When someone views a meme, the more relevant that meme is to them the more affect it’ll have on them. For example, we’ve all had the experience of coming in late to an assembly at school and having to walk past EVERYONE to get to our seat. This is incredibly embarrassing and so anything that reminds us of this experience will have an effect on us.
Ryanair understand this and tackles a different social situation in every video they make which means that they’ll have an effect on someone with each video. Taking a flight is a very broad topic and Ryanair uses different Tik Tok trending sounds, as well as getting their own sounds, to tackle situations from different angles. This not only allows them to stay trending on Tik Tok but also allows them to repeat topics as the sound is bringing a new angle on the situation.
This approach of memes first, any other message later, allows Ryanair to tackle a range of subjects as long as it’s got some loose connection to them. Take the Jenna Ortega video which is hilarious due to how ridiculous it is whilst still being relatable. With this approach, they’re always staying fresh and not repeating ideas too often. It also adds to the unexpected humour as you often have no idea where these types of videos are going.
How Duolingo Embraces Memes but Doesn’t Understand Memes
You will not see any other brands that market themselves the way that Duolingo does and their strategy of becoming a meme works wonders in today’s social media landscape. Their Tik Tok’s follow their mascot, an owl called Duo, as he wanders around causing havoc to the area around him. Amazingly, this came from people making memes about how threatening they found his reminders to practise a language were and then Duolingo themselves jumped on the trend.
Unfortunately, I feel like most of Duolingo’s efforts miss the mark with most videos relying on the fact that they’re so different than every other brand to carry the humour instead of there being an actual joke. There’s a running trend of a rivalry with Google Translate, and there is some mention of when users don’t do their daily Spanish, but most videos have Duo doing random things and it’s just not funny.
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This completely random approach can work in a “throw everything at the wall” kind of way however there needs to be a connection no matter how small. This is where Ryanair shines because even when they reach absolute absurdity, there is still a connection to the brand or to the experience of flying. In Duolingo’s case, the only connection appears to be that Duo is doing something without much connection to the brand or the learning of languages. I will say however that in the cases where this approach does work, especially the “I clogged the toilet” video, the results are laugh out loud hilarious.
Why the Duolingo April Fools Video is Hilarious
Despite most of Duolingo’s efforts seeming random, their April fools 2023 video is not only hilarious but is also relevant to their brand. This video mocks Love Island but adds the twist that no one can speak each other’s language and that Duo is snooping about causing chaos in the background. It establishes characteristics quickly and then uses them for humour, such as the German guys German reactions, and increases the stakes/tension throughout so the video never feels boring.
This sketch is pure genus. It’s shot like an episode of reality TV, something that everyone will be aware of so it immediately put’s expectations in their mind, and switches shot every 3 seconds (which holds the viewers’ attention) until the twist is revealed. Then, it immediately jumps into joke after joke until the end which keeps the viewer laughing throughout. Duo also plays a role in the video and this time his randomness works as he causes further confusion amongst the contestants.
This is an example of how he should he played, as the absurdity in a normal situation, as he isn’t there to find love but seemingly for no reason at all. Even funnier is that Duo is still the absurdity in an already absurd situation as he starts throwing contestants off of balconies and running around the house in the middle of the night.
This creates 2 types of jokes within the video, the language barrier jokes and the Duo jokes, which alternate so the viewer never gets bored of 1 type of joke. The language error jokes are also hilarious which is a plus.
In Summary
·??????The funniest videos build up to jokes in a traditional way (setup/payoff)
·??????The more connection to the brand and what they do, the better the video is
·??????There must always be a connection to the brand or something that they do
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