FIGARODIGITAL.CO.UK
ESSAYS
James Rawlings, Co-founder at production company and content agency Hoot Comedy, tells us why brands are looking for laughs online
sked once to describe his approach to advertising, the former VP of OfficeMax Bob Thacker famously had this to say: “The secret is respecting the consumer. You’re
interrupting their life. All advertising is unwanted, so if you’re going to crash the party, bring some champagne with you.”
In a world awash with marketing
messages, comedy can provide brands with the sort of fizz other content can’t. Getting it right though, is more easily said than done. Hoot Comedy, created by Perrier Award-winning comedian James Rawlings, BAFTA-nominated screenwriter Ben Bond and RTS- nominated producer Ben Thompson, are a comedy production company and content agency. Rawlings’ Perrier success came in 2002 with his group The Consultants who went on to have four series on BBC Radio 4. He’s also worked with the likes of Chris Morris, Rob Brydon, Steve Coogan and Bill Bailey. So how did he get from there to here, and what can gag-merchants in the business of comedy do for actual merchants in the business of business?
SERIOUS ENGAGEMENT After his time with The Consultants, says Rawlings, “I had three or four TV shows in development but not much was happening, so in 2005-6, I was asked by friends in agencies to come and help write some online pieces.” The first of these involved the
creation of a character called Dan Fielding for Electrolux at a time when the brand sought a cooler, more youthful audience. Played by Rawlings, Dan was a comically conceited ‘domestic god’ pitched somewhere between Nathan Barley and Jamie
Standing Up For Comedy
Oliver and his videos contained unreliable advice on everything from dating to housework. “We played him for real,” says Rawlings. “It wasn’t packed with jokes. In fact we made him so annoying that there was almost a hate campaign directed against his MySpace page. People were asking, ‘who is this arse?’”
Initially the Electrolux branding was
played down, but despite – or perhaps because – the character proved so polarising, the campaign was highly successful and there was talk of a TV series. From there Rawlings, Thompson and Bond saw that it might be a short hop to forming a company that drew on their background in writing, acting and directing and specialised in providing brands with properly conceived comic content. “If you’re a brand that can use
comedy well,” says Rawlings, “you’re engaging people. Comedy tells you that a brand doesn’t take itself too seriously. There’s an air of self- deprecation which can be appealing.” There is, however, no formula for success. “The approach is different on every job. The best time for us to come in is when brands say, ‘We want to do something funny but we’re not really sure what it is’.” As an example of how a lateral
approach to content can spark a comic reaction, Rawlings describes Hoot’s early work with Phillips, who wanted to inject a bit of life into some
rather dry product reviews. Not a lot of laughs, surely, in the world of consumer electronics? Recruiting actor Ben Willbond from Horrible Histories, Hoot wrote and directed the deadpan rom-com Nigel & Victoria, which followed Willbond’s marketing manager Nigel as he fell for
ARTICLE JON FORTGANG
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