Creating music for comedy spots is no laughing matter

Why is the Super Bowl the 'Oscars of Advertising'? We all know the answer: viewers like the funny ads! Sure, spectacular, heart-wrenching commercials also play during the big game, but the spots that top the USA Today Ad Meter tend to be of the comedy genre. 

Comedy campaigns have serious brand value that have gone undervalued in the ad awards circuit.

This year’s winner was the State Farm Like A Good Neighbaaa, ad starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, which I was very lucky to work on with the BUTTER team and our talented composer Nat Jenkins. 

Comedy campaigns have serious brand value that (up until this year) have gone undervalued in the ad awards circuit, but are also worth participating in from a creative standpoint.  

Above: The Schwarzenegger starring spot for State Farm uses music to exagerrate the comedy. 

Comedy music in advertising has been the biggest reason for my creative success and is definitely my personal sweet spot. It’s not easy - you have to take it seriously, it’s scary to do, and you can easily blow it. It also takes a village, where you surround yourself with amazing talent. Furthermore, the not-so-secret to great comedy ads is still the creative. Even though we’re talking about the music, it’s seldom the main focus. But it can be responsible for a third, or up to a half of the impact of the commercial. I do believe that in this business, in particular, people often consider it too late in the process. It’s always time to talk music! 

It’s always important to ask; what if we did this? What is the least expected thing? What serves the moment best?

Regarding my approach, I will make every effort to be involved as early as possible and try to elevate the creative that extra 10-30 percent, and earn my right to be a part of it. I love working on a great pitch and, even if it becomes an unchosen campaign, I love to help push that rock up that hill. There is no greater fun than to be sitting in a room with some great creatives and making three or four different versions of the same spot in real time. Time and proximity (and pandemics) often don’t allow for in-person moments like these, but when they do, magic can happen. 

It’s always important to ask; what if we did this? What is the least expected thing? What serves the moment best? We love this… now what’s the opposite? Leave room in your process to be surprised. Also, understand that the first idea may be the best one. 

Above: "Comedy as art relies so much on timing, just like music."

It is no secret that comedy can come from a dark place. Someone (or something) hilarious lives in that creepy overgrown mansion on the hill but you just have to make friends with it, and score the moment correctly. Often, that can mean taking it deadly seriously. 

A 2022 Oracle study showed that a staggering 91% of customers preferred what they deemed 'funny' brands, especially among Millennials and Gen Z. As well, 90% of people remembered ads more easily when they were funny. Working on a comedy ad isn’t just fun; it’s business-building. Sure, the brand stands out, but as a creative partner, by extension your work on the ad also stands out. 

In tandem with great writing and acting, music amplifies and elevates the humour to exaggerated heights that make it all the funnier.

Where does music matter? In tandem with great writing and acting, music amplifies and elevates the humour to exaggerated heights that make it all the funnier. In Like A Good Neighbaaa, the music swelled with each attempt to match the morale-boosting anthem of a dramatic film, but stopped playing entirely when the director had to call “Cut”, over and over again, which dramatised the joke even more by taking it seriously. 

Above: Music in the BMW spot, Talkin' Like Walken, matches the "environment and tone change".

Another great example of the stop-and-go musical approach that makes jokes land that much better can be heard in the other Ad Meter-winning comedy ad for BMW, Talkin’ Like Walken. The sleek car commercial track thrums in the background and builds to a breaking point, only to cut out entirely when the first… creative Christopher Walken impression lands. The music goes on to match each environment and tone change, transforming the ad from a Bond-esque car commercial to the tongue-in-cheek spot it wanted to be all along. 

What’s an earworm, after all, but a song that gets stuck in your head? 

Remember that comedy ads are proven more memorable, and a huge component of their longevity relies on the music. What’s an earworm, after all, but a song that gets stuck in your head? Great advertising music and sonic branding use the same qualities to keep you humming that McDonald’s jingle. I don’t even have to share it, since we all know what it is already.