What SNL UK can teach marketers about cultural nuance
The hugely successful Saturday Night Live has recently travelled across the Pond from the US to the UK. But, says Dominic Dithurbide, VP of Marketing at MarketFully, success in one territory doesn't guarantee success elsewhere, a lesson advertising must pay heed to.
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Stateside, Saturday Night Live has been a staple of weekend TV for nearly half a century.
Not only has it launched the careers of so many beloved comedians, but it’s been at the cutting edge of pop culture, launching classic bit after bit over the years. Somehow, it’s made the whole US feel like it was in on the joke, which is why it was exciting to see a new British iteration land on Sky TV recently.
Whatever success or failure is to come for SNL UK, it will certainly contain some big lessons.
Not because Britain doesn’t have its own set of brilliant comedy, or because America needs to export its humour abroad. Rather, it’s exciting to see how a format so utterly embedded in one culture can retain its spark when it launches headfirst into another.
Above: The UK version of Saturday Night Live needs to hone its cultural context if it is to succeed.
Does the punchline land?
For brands and marketers alike, whatever success or failure is to come for SNL UK, it will certainly contain some big lessons. Firstly, the same question you might ask with any joke; will it land? The early signs from its debut are positive. Sky has already confirmed an additional two episodes, extending its run to eight 75‑minute shows.
Words may stay the same, but meaning can completely change depending on where it's landing.
Despite this, it’s no secret that humour does not always travel well over the Atlantic. Stateside, comedy often leans loud, colourful and larger than life, while in the UK, jokes tend to turn up quieter and drier, but every bit as funny. Neither style is better. They’re the same language but built on different instincts.
That’s why SNL UK will be an interesting test. Its team of comedians, writers and producers won’t be able to follow the same playbook of success pioneered stateside. A sketch that feels witty, sharp and immediate in the US may go down as weird or over-the-top in the UK.
The difference isn’t in translation but in the cultural context. And that distinction matters for brands, especially those looking to make an impact outside of their target audience. Words may stay the same, but meaning can completely change depending on where it's landing.
Above: HSCB's 'Assume Nothing' campaign was one that, ultimately, didn't travel well.
Understand context and culture
So many brands still confuse being understood with being felt. Many think that global growth begins and ends with decent translation. Get your copy into the right language, make sure it looks consistent and then get it out. But it doesn’t work that way.
A message may be grammatically perfect but still feel emotionally off. It can be technically correct but miss the cultural context that makes it resonate. And that’s where so many brands are going wrong. It’s not that they are careless. It’s that many assume meaning is always portable. But context travels with the message, and it’s what gives a campaign its weight.
The good, bad, and downright ugly
There have been major mistakes in the past, like HSBC’s Assume Nothing campaign, where the bank rolled out a global campaign built around two words: 'Assume Nothing' which took on a different meaning when translated literally, morphing into 'Do Nothing'.
Getting it right means understanding real localisation and knowing how campaigns and content can be adjusted.
Sometimes an idea can work in one market but read differently elsewhere, and the principle sits behind less dramatic failures, too. Campaigns fail daily because they don’t localise or take into account cultural differences. They assume just because a phrase sounds clever in one country then it will work just as well in another, or that a tone that feels confident at home will translate the same way, when it can actually read as abrasive.
Getting it right means understanding real localisation and knowing how campaigns and content can be adjusted. This means adjusting references and tone for a specific audience - or transcreation - where the idea itself is reshaped so it creates the same feeling in a different culture.
Above: Coke's 'Share a Coke' campaign is an example of something that needs to be - and was - tailored for specific markets.
This all may sound like a hard task, but many brands have got it right, too. One great example is Coca-Cola’s Share a Coke. It’s an idea that's simple and universally human — your name printed on a Coke bottle. But its execution drove it further, allowing it to feel personal in different places. Coke catered names for its local market. It took the same expression of joy of seeing your name on the bottle, but brought that to the world.
A message is not just a message; it’s cues, habits, references, and expectations, all of which influence how it’s received.
It’s something that brands can miss. Consistency doesn’t mean doing the same thing. Your brand can keep its identity while still appearing differently from market to market and, by doing so, you can stay recognisable and relevant at the same time.
Bring it all back home
SNL UK will be a fantastic test of whether one of our comedy formats can travel across the pond the other way for once. And it’s too early to say whether it will mirror the success of its older American cousin. But it will show how much comedy depends on shared assumptions, and the same is true for your marketing. A message is not just a message; it’s cues, habits, references, and expectations, all of which influence how it’s received.
Whether you’re writing a sketch, launching a campaign or trying to win over a new audience, it’s the same message. Crossing borders isn’t just moving your content from one area to another. It’s about moving meaning and helping it find a new home in a new place.
