In Cannes, is humour back on the menu?

When I grew up in Germany in the 80s/90s, there was a show on television called The Funniest Commercials from Around the World. 

We are talking about linear TV back then. No internet. No TikTok. Actually, I hope somebody brings it back as a channel.

A weekly show, hosted by a not-so-funny man, that was one hour long, showing the funniest spots from around the world. And I was glued to the screen, watching commercials for a straight hour. Of my own accord. It felt like the first award jury room experience I had in my life. Only with more laughs.

[The Funniest Commercials from Around the World] felt like the first award jury room experience I had in my life. Only with more laughs.

I begged my parents every week to watch the show. Watching these badly recorded (resolution) commercials from around the world was an amazing view into the humour and, more so, the culture around the world. The crazy ones from Asia, the celebrity-studded ones from the US and the UK; smashing that British sense of humour into my brain.

It was amazing. It was a laugh. For everyone. You had "Did you see this hilarious commercial from Argentina last night?" conversations with your friends. Especially because German commercials were not particularly funny. And, truth be told, still are not. Hello, industry?

Above: Apple's Grand Prix-winning R.I.P. Leon, in which "the music and the humour is spot on".

I think the last couple of years, globally, as an industry, we tried to solve all the problems of the world - multiple times over. Did we succeed? Definitely, a few good works made an impact, and we should strive for it and continue to do so. I believe good ideas can make a difference. Creativity can change the world.

But, we should also focus again on the product itself, on the things we try to sell. Or actually being paid to sell. Building a brand and a culture around it. The commercials back in the day all sold products. They did not sell the dream of something. It was cheese, a running shoe, or a small car. We kinda forgot one of the biggest emotional drivers we have along the way - humour. We made amazing teary Christmas commercials, but we forgot the fun ones. Maybe it wasn’t the time for it. But I am glad the time is coming back. Slowly but steadily.

We've forgotten one of the biggest emotional drivers we have along the way - humour.

I do feel the award show industry is giving us a pat on the back by introducing humour as a category. And, sure, to make some extra bucks. But we all should embrace it and craft our humour skills to do exactly that. I mean, the festivals never introduced a "shed the most tears" category. 

In a way, I feel Cannes Lions started this last year with the Grand Prix winner in Film for Apple, R.I.P. Leon. A 30-second spot. Every second timed perfectly. The music, the humour – it is spot on. So, I was not in the jury room, and I might be wrong, but my gut feeling is the jury wanted to make a statement in a way.

Awarding humour and a clear product-focused commercial, 30 seconds long. To give us all a bit of a push to make more of these. And rightly so.