For eons, brands had this image of a serious, uber professional, and corporate entity. Boardrooms echoed with discussions about ROI, market segmentation, and brand integrity. Advertisements mirrored this ethos, often showcasing polished, straightforward messages designed to convey trustworthiness and reliability.
However, the past decade has changed it all. Brands are trying to break the mould. They are taking dig at themselves like Zomato recently did in its birthday roast, and others like the comment section beneath it. They are partnering with stand-up comedians extensively for marketing; case in point - Netflix’s association with the likes of Tanmay Bhat and Aishwarya Mohanraj. And most recently, Naukri.com with Disney+ Hotstar created a special web series, titled, ‘Hardly Working’ featuring leading comedians like Prashasti Singh, Kumar Gaurav, and Nishant Suri among others. At this point, one might wonder, what is making comedians such a crucial part of these brands’ marketing strategies? IMPACT explores.
Voice of the Unafraid
Stand-up comedians have become a major cultural phenomenon these days, with a distinct voice on most matters. They often present bold socio-political views and frequently find themselves in hot water for it. Therefore, to the audience, they have become a voice that cannot be tamed and can be relied on.
Harish Bijoor, Brand Guru explains, “Comedians are to a certain extent the new reality – in many ways they represent the voice of the unafraid. They are respected for their forthright approach to things.”
“That gives them a cutting & buzzing edge kind of feel with consumers. For brands, their straightforward and irreverent appeal is an attraction. Further, their videos have a tendency to go viral and that’s what brands depend on.”
Humanising Brands
Brands, in the age of doom-scrollers and digital natives, want to establish real connections with the customers. Their best bet is to appear as human as they can! Being funny, taking a dig at themselves, and creating unserious social media movements give them that chance. Brands like Zomato are essentially built on that strategy, wherein they prompt people to even chat with them on their preferred networking apps as if they are a real human being behind the screen. Comedians, therefore, become a natural fit for their marketing plans.
As Shan Jain, Independent Director, Brand Strategist and Marketing Transformation Advisor elaborates, “Stand-up comedians connect with audiences at a deeply personal level, through humour and relatability, offering unfiltered takes on everyday life. When brands team up with comedians, they’re not just selling a product; they’re creating laugh-out-loud moments that make brands feel human and approachable. And that is the true objective of these brands, isn’t it? Also, comedians as influencers add a hilarious twist to brand narratives, making content shareable and engaging. As they say, ‘Laughter is the universal language of connection; it bridges gaps and creates bonds that words alone cannot’ and in the world of marketing, comedians can help brands laugh their way into brand loyalty.”
Take A Dig, Win Big
There has been a long-standing relationship between brands and comedy. Right from the print spreads that made you chuckle to tongue-in-cheek TV commercials, ads have frequently taken the humorous route to impress viewers. However, today, brands are going a step further and taking digs at themselves. We have already covered the Zomato roast. Just recently, Cred, too, got Arpit Bala & Siddharth Tewatia to diss a Cred member’s friend. Netflix has been using Tanmay Bhat to review its content library, which often takes a deprecating tone, for quite some time now.
According to Jagdeep Kapoor, CMD, Samsika Marketing Consultants, roast formats are gaining popularity because they make things light-hearted. He says, “Gone are the days of raising a toast, now you roast! It is just accepting that no one is perfect but as long as (a brand) performs the role, the rest can be light-hearted. When you laugh at yourself, the mood simply becomes lighter and the likelihood of getting appreciation goes higher.”
Striking A Balance
Using comedians in marketing has become a potent brand building tool for the advertisers. They can be a channel to cut through the TG, reach a wider set of audiences, and create stunning brand recall.
Pankaj Malani, Senior Vice President, Revenue, Only Much Louder, a platform that represents multiple comics and works on creating brand partnerships for them, notes, “At OML, we’ve several examples of how we’ve got comedians to front-end on some very ambitious briefs, whether it’s in front of the camera or behind, writing and directing. If done well and with sufficient creative freedom provided to an artist, a brand campaign can successfully garner high engagement and reach. Whether it was producing Zomato’s birthday roast with Samay Raina; the ‘Hardly Working’ series for Naukri.com; or Sprite’s ‘Joke-In-A-Bottle’, we’ve always found a way to engage with audiences using humour, even getting comedians to be involved in the writing process for a campaign. This is the sort of direction brands are working toward.”
Shail Gaurav, EVP & Head of Marketing, Naukri.com adds in reference to their series ‘Hardly Working’, running on Disney+ Hotstar, “At Naukri.com, we see them as a potent channel to get our message across to the right TG. The comics’ organic reach and high engagement rates on digital platforms give us another lever to achieve our objectives, beyond traditional advertising. Moreover, their content resonates strongly with our core demographic - GenZ & millennial white-collar professionals - offering us an authentic way to enhance brand affinity and drive recall.”
Overall, comedy is indeed not a funny business for brand marketers today. As British actor Peter Ustinov had once said, “comedy is simply a funny way of being serious,” and brands today are excelling at it.
