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Sep 30, 2025
Can a joke sell? In our quick poll of 119 people on LinkedIn and Instagram, 61% admitted a brand’s humor pushed them to try or buy something. Another 17% said maybe. Only 14% said no, and 8% couldn’t remember.
That’s nearly 8 out of 10 people open to being converted by a joke. The verdict? Humor sells.
But the question is how to use it right. And who better to answer this than Lianna Patch, who writes copy that makes people laugh and buy, and Dan Knowlton, who is the biggest fan of advertainment. Watch a snippet of what they have to say👇
We’ve tested, analyzed, and laughed (sometimes even cringed) at how humor works in marketing. The result? A free downloadable resource, plus two expert interviews with Dan & Lianna, packed with insights & examples 👇
In 2010, psychologists Peter McGraw and Caleb Warren published a study in the Psychological Science journal introducing the Benign Violation Theory (BVT). It explains why we laugh at some things but not others.
Humor happens when two things happen at once:
Threats that feel safe = funny.
A violation can feel safe for three main reasons:
And this isn’t just theory. Brands pull off benign violations every day. Here are two quick ones:
When Liquid Death turned hate comments into a full-length country song, they broke the unspoken rule of “never spotlight negativity.” That’s the violation. But the polished, tongue-in-cheek performance made it safe and benign. The result? Haters became part of the entertainment, and the community felt more connected to the brand.
In Planable’s case, our Senior Content Marketing Manager, George, pretended to interview “random strangers” about templates. Spoiler: they were teammates. The violation? Breaking the authenticity norm of man-on-the-street interviews. The benign? It was obviously staged, lighthearted, and funny without putting anyone down. And the kicker: the punchline delivered a real product feature.
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If a violation feels safe, it’s funny. If it doesn’t, you offend.
If it’s too safe, you bore. If it’s neither, you confuse.
👉🏻 Sharing isn’t random; it’s emotional
At Planable, we analyzed 3,600 social media posts to better understand what drives engagement and built our Connect-Express Framework. The idea is that content spreads when people connect emotionally and then feel compelled to express that emotion. Humor is one of the strongest triggers because it’s high-arousal: it grabs attention, sparks amusement, and makes people want to share the laugh.
👉🏻 Humor can soften tough news
In two‑sided messages (even with negative info), humor increases persuasive influence thanks to a “positive surprise” effect. Useful for price changes, policy updates, or mea‑culpas.
👉🏻 Memory loves relevant humor
Ads are more memorable when humor is strong and related to the message or audience.
Lianna Patch, co-founder of SaaS Marketing Gym, owner of Punchline Conversion Copywriting, and humor expert, believes that humor improves information recall. People remember the joke later when they’re comparing brands:
I once slipped a joke about Culver’s custard into copy for a government software site. Later, someone who signed up emailed saying, ‘I loved the custard joke.’
So that person remembered the joke and, by extension, the brand among many similar options.
Your humor style = your risk profile.
Psych researchers map humor into four styles.
For brands, two are safer; two are risk magnets.
Innocent Drinks nailed affiliative humor. They are light and playful, and make people laugh at sweet things:
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For example, De’Longhi’s Brad Pitt “Perfetto” playful, elegant coffee ad with humor that uplifts:
American Eagle’s “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” campaign featured edgy wordplay and became very controversial:
Ryanair’s TikTok is a masterclass in self-defeating humor style. They often poke fun at their own reputation for budget service, but do it carefully enough to keep control of the joke:
@ryanairjust buy a seat… 🤔♬ original sound – Ryanair
Match the style to your brand role and audience:
Humor isn’t binary.
Most brands think about this as funny or not funny. In reality, humor ranges from light puns and playful tone to something even absurd and surreal.
Lianna reframes this as less of a box-ticking exercise and more of a spectrum you can dial up or down:
Most people think of humor as an on/off switch: either you’re “reserved” like Oracle or “wild” like Cards Against Humanity. But there’s actually a whole spectrum. Most brands should be a little bit funnier, in ways that feel safe and authentic to them.
She also highlights the tradeoff: affiliative humor casts a wide, friendly net, while aggressive humor creates intense loyalty but only within a niche. In other words: Do you want a broad reach or a smaller army of superfans?
And if you’re working across markets, some humor styles travel better than others:
Observational humor usually works anywhere. Self-deprecating humor can work too, and “cute fails” travel really well. Those are safer than cultural references or niche memes that don’t always translate.
Dan Knowlton, co-founder of Knowlton Video and Social Media Marketing Agency, is a strong fan of Advertainment:
Advertainment is entertaining advertising. It’s content people enjoy consuming that also sells your product.
Dan stumbled into it back in 2017 while making a spoof testimonial video. Real customers gave serious endorsements, but he and his co-founder also showed up in wigs and mustaches pretending to be clients. The humor hooked viewers; the message sold their services. That one video drove new business and shaped an entire methodology.
The lesson? If people like your ad, they’ll stick around long enough for the sales message to land.
But there’s a twist.
Years later, when the agency was pitching global brands, the wigs came back to haunt them.
Someone at an event said, ‘Aren’t they the guys that just make silly videos wearing wigs?’ That was a lightbulb moment for us. We still do comedic sketches now, but they’re more cleverly designed, tied to senior marketers’ problems, and backed with proof of results.
PSA: funny is powerful, but if it drifts into “silly” without substance, it can dent credibility. Dan’s team adapted: they still use parody and humor, but paired with authority-building proof.
Humor isn’t a universal lever. Both Dan and Lianna agreed: knowing when not to be funny is just as important as knowing when to turn it on.
Dan’s take:
Sometimes funny doesn’t work. We ran a campaign for a care home, and comedy wasn’t right. Instead, we leaned into emotion. Making people laugh is one lever. But you’ve also got nostalgia, pulling heartstrings, or teaching something useful.
Lianna’s take:
Should every brand be funny? In some places, to the extent that it makes sense. Humor isn’t binary. You can dial it up or down, and sometimes the right answer is to skip it.
Dan also stresses that context matters:
Top-of-funnel content is where funny shines. It lowers people’s guard and makes them watch. But if you’re trying to overcome objections and build trust, humor isn’t the best play.
Lianna believes that consistency is critical:
It’s such a letdown if you’re funny on social, but then your email flows read like a default Shopify template. Every touchpoint should carry the brand’s personality.
And if you worry about losing authority, Dan suggests balance:
You don’t want to get stuck with the ‘silly guys’ label. Earn trust first, then add the funny layer. Or borrow credibility by working with trusted influencers who deliver the humor.
He proved it with a SunnyD relaunch in the UK, where a nostalgic campaign starring actor Shaun Williamson doubled sales volume. Funny + trusted face = win.
Another common pitfall? Humor that’s bolted on for the sake of being funny. As Lianna explains:
Humor that’s bolted on and unrelated to your message won’t stick. People remember the joke but forget who made it. The joke has to connect back to the brand.
Funny isn’t a gamble. It’s a framework.
Here are some practical rules of thumb from Dan and Lianna:
We took these lessons, theory behind humor, and “that joke didn’t land” moments, and built 4 A’s of Brand Humor. This filter will help you make sure your humor works.
The 4 A’s won’t make you a comedian, but they’ll help your humor land safely.
Grab our free playbook plus expert interview recordings to learn when and how to use humor in your comms. Go beyond theory and start applying it smartly!
Miruna Dragomir, CMO @Planable, ex Social Media Comms Manager @Oracle & ex Marketing Coordinator @Uber. 9 years of experience in social media and marketing. Built Planable’s brand and reputation and helped grow it from 50 customers to over 6.5K. Social media fanatic, tech geek & a sucker for learning.
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