Putting the LOLs into OOH: Why are brands overlooking the power of humour in outdoor?

In a world that’s got some pretty serious problems, it’s actually quite heartwarming to see that we haven’t lost the ability to laugh. 

Comedy is having a real resurgence, with comedians from Ali Wong to Peter Kay selling out vast arenas. In fact, gross income from stand-up shows has nearly tripled over the last decade, generating more than $900 million in the US last year, according to Pollstar. 

Mystifyingly, very few advertisers are tapping into comedy when it comes to their outdoor campaigns, with 13 per cent of OOH using humour compared to 41 per cent of TV.

Of course, the direness of the straits we find ourselves in is directly proportional to our growing appetite for comedy. Comedy binds us and, crucially, offers the perfect relief and distraction from stress and perpetual bad news.

Comedy binds us and, crucially, offers the perfect relief and distraction from stress and perpetual bad news.

Brands have also joined the party and upped their investment in humour in their creative output to engage and entertain consumers and boost brand love. But, mystifyingly, very few advertisers are tapping into comedy when it comes to their outdoor campaigns, with 13% of OOH using humour compared to 41% of TV.

Maybe humour requires a level of risk-taking that brands simply aren’t prepared to take in OOH ads.

Comedy seems to have lost its way somewhere in the media plan. The reason for this is unclear. Maybe humour requires a level of risk-taking that brands simply aren’t prepared to take in OOH ads. But, now that we’re seeing the return of comedy to our screens, shouldn’t brands also start taking it to our streets?

Humour isn’t a tone of voice, it’s a creative strategy that brands can’t afford to ignore. It’s also one of the few things that can unify people in polarised times. 

There’s a tonne of research to show that humour pays, and leads to more effective work. A staggering 90 per cent of consumers say they’re more likely to remember a funny ad and 72 per cent would select a humorous brand over the competition, according to research from Oracle.

Brands earn affection along with attention when they tap into humour in outdoor.

Brands earn affection along with attention when they tap into humour in outdoor, which is one of the most powerful and trusted mass mediums. Outdoor presents an unskippable moment in a person’s day, and brands are missing out on the opportunity to make that moment matter with an idea or experience that makes people smile, chuckle, or – even better – feel like they’re in on the joke. 

And with increased innovation in outdoor and more brands investing in multisensory OOH experiences, the potential for delighting audiences in new ways through comedy is boundless.
 
Here are some tips and brand lessons on how to win over audiences through comedy in OOH.

Specsaver's Billboard Mishaps not only made people laugh, they offered a moment of visual surprise and delight. 

Put a creative spin on slapstick

Outdoor is a physical medium and as such, the perfect platform for physical comedy. Specsavers is among those brands leading the way here. Its Billboard Mishaps campaign featuring a series of special-build ‘fails’ featuring billboards with purposely wonky printing or installed the wrong way up was a masterclass in slapstick comedy. The ads not only made people laugh, they offered a moment of visual surprise and delight. 

Intellectual comedy isn’t loud. Instead it’s quietly satisfying and this can be a big differentiator in the increasingly noisy brand landscape. 

Fold7’s Laugh Through It campaign for Audible Comedy featured a series of crafted mishaps, from a bike literally getting stuck in cement to a guy falling into a bin (someone even stole the bin-bound mannequin’s trousers) and showed that slapstick is contagious).

Be quietly clever in a world of noise

Smart brands earn extra engagement in liminal spaces, like bus stops and tube stations, with whip-smart humour that’s designed to flatter the audience’s intelligence and make people think.

The Economist’s Graduate Trainee by AMV BBDO remains one of the greatest ads of all time because it makes you feel clever for getting the joke. Intellectual comedy isn’t loud. Instead it’s quietly satisfying and this can be a big differentiator in the increasingly noisy brand landscape. At a time when so many advertisers are shouting platitudes into the void, a sublimely clever ad can land like a mic drop. Allow the audience to do the last 10 per cent of the work, and reap the dividends. 

Fold7’s Laugh Through It campaign for Audible Comedy featured a series of slapstick mishaps.

Playfully interact through high-concept comedy

High concept comedy focuses on "what if..." scenarios. It’s a form of comedy that lends itself to cultural observation, with the humour coming from the fact that it’s steeped in irony, and all done with a knowing wink. This sort of humour isn’t aiming for belly laughs—the goal is to make you think, smile and maybe even give you a nudge in a new direction.

With the advent of new tech, AI, and the rise of ‘retailtainment’, we’re only scratching (and sniffing) the surface when it comes to the possibilities for humour in outdoor.

The interactivity of outdoor makes it an extremely effective format for tapping into a cultural moment with high-concept humour. KitKat’s Grand-Prix-winning Phone Break campaign by VML Czechia did this to great effect by calling on people waiting in everyday situations, like at a train station, to put their phones away and replace them with a KitKat. Meanwhile, Lynx took product demos to a new level with its scratch-and-sniff billboards. Also leveraging the interactivity of outdoor, the brand’s multi-sensory campaign encouraged passers-by to rub the briefs worn by the model in the ad in order to smell the fragrance.