April 7, 2015

Standing Up For Comedy

James Rawlings, Co-founder at production company and content agency Hoot Comedy, tells us why brands are looking for laughs online

Asked 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 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 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 piece of storytelling which neatly 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 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.”

SFW

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 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.

Comedy Gold: James Rawlings’ Favourite Funny Ad

“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.”

Article by Jon Fortgang