Why Every Brand is Hilarious Lately

Brands want you to laugh with them, not at them.

That’s why some of the most powerful companies in the world — GE, Google, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Nestlé, among them — are hiring increasing numbers of stand-up comedians, improv masters and comedy troupes to produce and star in their advertising.

The campaigns, often short-form digital videos, are racking up millions of views and putting even staid-seeming brands into Facebook and Twitter feeds and other social media-fueled conversations.

Comedy aficionados, in the meantime, are finding themselves in demand as creators and spokesmen, with Upright Citizens Brigade, Funny or Die and Jash working with everyone from giant bureaucratic entities and nonprofit organizations (the U.S. government, the American Civil Liberties Union) to financial services companies and carmakers Read more...

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