Why comedy is having a serious moment

Comedy has long been one of advertising’s most polarising disciplines. 

Is it a LOL comedy? Or LMAO?  Is it a funny situation with serious people? Do they talk? Is it all eyebrows? Is it physical comedy? SNL comedy? The Office? If The Office and SNL merged, but with Modern Family and The Bear? If it’s just a wink, is it a quirky happy wink or a wry wink? 

Comedy is one of the most valuable and challenging creative crafts in commercial storytelling.

The thing is, comedy is complicated. When it works, it looks easy; a light touch; a quick laugh; a clever turn of phrase. Effortless. But effortless comedy has long been underestimated and treated as less technical than other forms of directing. 

Meanwhile, we know the truth: comedy is one of the most valuable and challenging creative crafts in commercial storytelling. It's also a lovely escape from certain dumpster fires in life we’d all like to ignore! That’s why clients gravitate towards it and it will always be in high demand, regardless of the political landscape and the state of the economy.

The Hidden Complexity of Comedy Direction

What makes comedy so difficult is precisely what makes it so powerful (and oh-so-fun!). Unlike action, where you can just blow something up and call it a day, comedy operates in subtleties. 

When comedy goes wrong, it doesn't just fail, it sucks! It flops and becomes awkward, not the good awkward, the get-me-out-of-here kind.

Its success depends on elements that are barely perceptible and, let’s face it, somewhat subjective: timing measured in frames, tonal consistency, performance restraint, and an authentic understanding of how audiences read behavior. That’s right: there are approximately seventeen million things that could go wrong. And when comedy goes wrong? It doesn't just fail, it sucks! It flops and becomes awkward, not the good awkward, the get-me-out-of-here kind. The kids get it and gifted us with cringe as a quick way to point out to miserably failing at being fun.

Above: Awkward comedy with a bite, directed by Stoney Sharp.

There’s no single way to direct comedy well. Some directors lean into deadpan realism. Others embrace visual absurdity. Still, others rely on improvisation, shaping performances in the moment and discovering humour organically. 

What unites strong comedic work is intentionality. Whether tightly scripted or loosely structured, successful comedy is designed, not accidental. Ok, fine, sometimes it is accidental, but you can’t build a career or a reel counting on happy accidents. Different comedic sensibilities demand different approaches, a reminder that comedy is not a single skill, but a spectrum of disciplines.

Effective comedy depends as much on the right voice, approach, and intention as it does on the idea itself. 

This is what has led us to deliberately build a comedy roster spanning different tones and approaches: from dry, performance-led work to more heightened or absurd styles. Effective comedy depends as much on the right voice, approach, and intention as it does on the idea itself. 

As Tinygiant director Stoney Sharp puts it, “genuinely funny moments come from genuine expressions.” When comedy works, it’s not about forcing humour onto a product. “When I’m telling a joke that truly works, I know I’m sharing a laugh with someone on the other side of the screen. And that is an authentic experience.” 

Above: Quirky comedy, directed by Aleksandra Kingo.

Timing, Tone, and Performance 

At the heart of strong comedy direction, there are these three interconnected elements: timing, tone, and performance. Timing goes far beyond punchlines. It’s about knowing when to let moments breathe. 

Many of the most effective comedic brand films rely on restraint, trusting pauses, or understated reactions to do the work. Basically, often the opposite of what your client's first instinct will be. ("Can we make it faster?" No. No, we cannot.)

I tend to direct towards the tone equally as much as the joke, the two are wedded to me.

Tone is equally important because comedy lives across a wide spectrum; dry, awkward, absurd, satirical, surreal. Audiences quickly sense when a piece isn't sure where it wants to land. It's like watching someone tell a joke and halfway through realising they've forgotten whether it's meant to be funny or deeply profound. Tone is often inseparable from the joke itself. 

Director Doron Max Hagay says: “I tend to direct towards the tone equally as much as the joke, the two are wedded to me. Culture is no longer linear. Context has collapsed and intentionality around tone is how I make work that feels rooted in the world.”

The most important thing is that the audience should never be aware of what the camera is doing, they should just be along for the ride.

Performance is often the most undervalued element of comedy direction. The strongest comedic work rarely comes from pushing actors toward jokes; it comes from grounding performances in truth. Subtlety often lands harder than exaggeration, especially in brand storytelling. 

That restraint extends beyond performance into camera language. Director Chloe Coetsee explains why visual choices should support the joke without drawing attention to themselves. “The most important thing is that the audience should never be aware of what the camera is doing, they should just be along for the ride.” So, whether it’s a locked-off frame or letting action play out just off-centre, visual comedy really depends on both precision and invisibility.