Front Foot x Leith’s ‘Humour in Advertising’ event showed why funny ads are serious business

The event at a comedy venue in Soho provided insight, analysis, enjoyment and plenty of laughter all round.

On 26^th September, The Underbelly Comedy Club in Soho provided the perfect backdrop to the insightful and entertaining Front Foot x Leith Humour in Advertising event: A Healthy Dose of Humour.

Advertising Association Commercial Director Sharon Lloyd Barnes was first on stage, setting the scene to the packed house of over a hundred advertising and marketing industry professionals. Sharon noted that the Advertising Association’s role is to represent the ad industry in the UK and promote advertising that’s trusted, inclusive and sustainable:

“We’ve been tracking public trust in advertising for many years and doing a deeper dive for the last six. Many of you will have seen that research and the fact that the biggest positive driver of trust in our work is great creativity – ads that connect with people in some way, make them laugh or even cry. Part of our ongoing to programme is to celebrate and showcase work that the public loves.”

With Cannes Lions introducing a humour category for the first time ever this year, what makes funny, funny has been front of mind for more people in our industry than ever before. Next up, it was over to Leith Partner Brian Coane and the AA’s Research Director Dan Wilks to tackle: “Why funny ads are serious business.”

They explained to the audience that done well, humour is the most powerful driver of effective communications. In fact, Credos’ research shows that people who regularly laugh at advertising are:

• Twice as likely to notice advertising
• Three times as likely to remember advertising
• And four times as likely to respond to advertising

With 72% of people saying they would choose a funny brand over a competitor, it’s not hard to see why funny ads really are serious business. However, in recent dark times such as the pandemic, the stats on the number of funny adverts show that most marketers have tended to move away from humour – despite the fact that ‘gallows’ humour usually surfaces in the population as a way to lighten challenging times. Serious health situations can also lend themselves to funny ads that can be extremely effective, with the amazing power of humour in communication being highlighted by adverts with brilliant and effective straplines including ‘Your boobs saved my life’ and ‘, ‘Don’t be snobby. Test your jobby’. Dan then explained the two key reasons it appears that brands have moved away from humour – media fragmentation and fear of failure. They left us with a key question to consider: How can we all be braver by being funnier in the work we make and buy?

It was then over to Leith’s Marion Miranda and Debbie Morgan to explain to everyone why it’s important that they “Don’t Fear Funny”. They explained that 95% of business leaders fear using humour and there are many reasons why. This insightful session addressed the main reasons brands find to stay away from humour – and put the audience straight on the downside of not using it – what they amusingly term, ‘The Beige Tax’. Brands with dull advertising need to spend 7.3% more on media than funny brands to have the same effect – an average of £9.8m per brand in the UK. They looked at the seven different types of brand humour and how brands can best position themselves to make the most of their brand’s relevant humour type. Throughout the event, fantastic work was shown for brands including Irn Bru, UPS, The Economist and breast cancer awareness, as well as a few that got it wrong and some that certainly wouldn’t make it to the public domain today.

The audience was then treated to ‘A funny conversation’ (no pressure there) between Comedy Director Amanda Baker and Leith Executive Creative Director Phil Evans. This fireside chat involved a fascinating discussion about all things comedy; the 95 joke types, how timing is everything and when repetition is key to success.

The event was then well and truly rounded off by a stand-up set from Ria Lina, who had the audience in stitches with her impressive education, unusual domestic set up and valuable life lessons. Learnings and belly laughter – what more could anyone want for a Thursday afternoon in Adland?

If you enjoyed this event or are sorry to have missed it, why not sign up for our Front Foot Insight Session, The Best Christmas Ads Unwrapped, 11^th December, 9:00am – 9:45am, Virtual

Christmas is coming . . . In this interactive session, the top performers from this year’s festive ads will be revealed, with Lynne Deason, Head of Creative Excellence at Kantar, revealing their secrets of success and unwrapping gifts of inspiration. To register, or for any questions, please email Phoebe Sallitt.

Photographed by Hertfordshire Empowerment Photographer © Tigz Rice Ltd 2024. http://www.tigzrice.com