ESSAYS
JAMES RAWLINGS, CO-FOUNDER AT HOOT COMEDY
Victoria, the actress starring in his new ad. Eight three-and-a-half minute episodes were shown on YouTube in 2010. Racking up over a million views, the result was a deft a piece of storytelling which successfully framed the product info, shone a favourable light on Phillips and showcased their innovation.
MAKING MISCHIEF Some brands of course, lend themselves better to comedy than others. For the booze and betting industries, the connection’s clear and Hoot mined the seam successfully when they worked with two famously loose cannons in their respective fields: Paddy Power, renowned for their headline-grabbing but controversial advertising stunts, and UKIP’s leader Nigel Farage, renowned for his headline-grabbing but controversial politics. “The opportunity came
SFW
If you’re a brand that can use comedy
through Paddy Power’s PR agency Mischief,” explains Rawlings. “The ad was for the 2014 Ryder Cup which is between Europe and the US, so they had the idea of making a pro-Europe ad.” Farage proved game and Hoot’s script has him extolling the virtues of Continental cheese and quoting the 2Unlimited songbook. “The script went through a lot of changes,” acknowledges Rawlings. “Everyone wanted a say. But Paddy Power and Mischief really understand comedy, so they defended what we wanted to do. The shoot itself was the day after the Scottish referendum. We needed Nigel all day but I think we got him for about three hours. He turned up and nailed the script straight away. Afterwards the reaction on Twitter was overwhelming.”
well you’re engaging people. It tells you a brand doesn’t take itself too seriously
The debate over whether anything is off limits when it comes to comedy is complex and, generally speaking, futile. Anyone who believes in proscribed topics is refuted the moment someone else laughs at something they shouldn’t. But in a marketing context are there industries, sectors or brands that shouldn’t go looking for laughs? “I don’t think so,” says Rawlings. “We’re doing some work with a cancer charity at the moment. It won’t be scripted but it’ll involve comedians talking candidly about their experiences of cancer. There are ways to bring comedy to a topic without going, ‘Hey, let’s make a funny piece about cancer.’ Industries like banking and insurance are very dry in terms of what they need to communicate, but you can always find a way to dress it up. We’ve been in a position where brands have said, ‘Hmm, that joke has to come out.’ But once you start doing that there’s a danger the whole project turns into a house of cards. Sometimes, for whatever reason, brands find themselves being pushed into doing comedy and they
don’t really want to. They don’t understand it or know how to respond. A lot of our work involves a bit of hand- holding and educating.” Nevertheless, Rawlings believes
there’s a significant opportunity in the UK for the right brand to step up to the mic and make comedy its own, just as Red Bull have adopted extreme sports. “Comedy doesn’t really have a digital home. What is there for all the YouTubers and vloggers making funny stuff at home? Fosters seemed to be getting close when they commissioned new material from Alan Partridge and
50 issue 24 may 2015
The Fast Show in 2011. But what they didn’t do was create a platform that could have been a hub for new comedy. There’ve been other attempts. Will Ferrell’s Funny or Die tried and failed in the UK. Comedy Box, a project which Blackadder producer and QI creator John Lloyd oversaw, didn’t quite work out. It feels like a brand - or a group of brands - could step into that space and do something significant.” Great comedy, of course, is slippery,
unpredictable, volatile and subversive. That’s why we love it. Whether there’s a brand with the balls (and bucks) to do as Rawlings suggests and give it a home online remains to be seen. But the champagne’s on ice for anyone who pulls it off.
hootcomedy.com
James Rawlings’ Favourite Funny Ad COMEDY GOLD
“This was something brought to my attention by Jim Field Smith who directed The Wrong Mans on BBC2. It’s an ad for Old
Milwaukee beer and though it played on the night of the 2012 Super Bowl in the States, it was only broadcast in one county in Nebraska. For 30 seconds Will Ferrell walks through a field to the accompaniment of this very dramatic score. He doesn’t say anything but it all feels very big and American. Just as Ferrell gets to the camera someone
throws him a beer. He opens his mouth and he’s about to say “Old Mil…” Then it cuts. It’s brilliant because it’s so ballsy. It says, ‘Yup. We’ve got the biggest comedy star in the world. And
we’re not even going to use him.’ I don’t think I’ve seen anything that rivals that.”
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