Campaign and Havas will be hosting a session at Cannes on Wednesday 22 June exploring this very issue, asking whether advertising has lost its sense of humour.
In addition, members of the 2021 Cannes jury explained purposeful ads dominated that year, with Zaid Al-Zaidy, group chief executive of The Beyond Collective, adding many brands were joining the “purpose parade”.
After all, the younger generation is more likely to engage with brands that want to do more than sell. Research conducted by Screenshot Media found that 86% of 1,500 Gen Z-ers said they were “more likely to buy from a brand that’s vocal about purpose-led initiatives”.
With all of these debates about advertising’s expectation to tickle people’s funny bones, Campaign asked adland whether the ads of today are missing out on the power of laughter.
