Cannes Lions 2024: Comedy Ads Finally Get the Last Laugh

(Image: L - Annick Mayer, R - Renee Masse)

Cannes Lions featured incredible speakers from advertising and media addressing a range of topics from sports to AI, but also a third, pivotal topic for the Croisette: comedy in advertising. This year marked the first year Cannes Lions added a Humour category to the Cultural and Context section, and attendees - myself included - had thoughts.

Many creatives feel comedic ads can be overlooked in awards shows in favour of their heartstring-plucking cousins. As a nod to the compelling creativity comedic ads still possess, the awards show created a much-deserved new category. The question remained, however: did giving humour its category serve to level the playing field? Marketers had mixed opinions. 

I attended the “Why So Serious? The Key to Comedy in Advertising” panel at LBB & Friends Beach, and the topic of this new category came up across all the panel’s industry experts. As comedy was a recurring touchpoint throughout the event, I asked the panellists: would they want to see other awards shows adopt a comedy-specific creative category? Their response was yes…with a tentative asterisk. Because, unfortunately, relegating comedy to a Humour category may serve to side line comedy even more from top awards categories. 

I’m ecstatic that DoorDash’s 'All the Ads' campaign earned the Titanium Grand Prix; the feat is a step forward for the genre. According to an Oracle Global Report, 91% of responders want brands to be funny, and 72% would pick a brand they perceive as humorous. Those are staggering figures! And yet, “95% of business leaders fear using humour in customer interactions.” DoorDash’s win, hopefully, demonstrates that leveraging humour on a grand scale yields amazing dividends for brands and advertisers. BUTTER and our collaborators at Liquid Death also got some shine in the comedy categories, with the e.l.f. x Liquid Death 'Corpse Paint' campaign, which earned a Bronze for humour in the Social and Influencer category. Brands should accept that being funny sells, where is the risk in that?

I’m glad comedy got its moment in the South of France, and I hope it gets even more recognition next year. Even if brands are trepidatious, numbers don’t lie: comedy is effective and deserves more appreciation than it gets.