A historical cultural understanding by Footsteps of the use of humor when advertising to the African American community

1. MIA: Black Humor in Advertising
Did you hear the one about…?
No, neither did we…

2. Background

3. #1’s
‖…was TV's biggest hit
in the 1980s, and almost
single-handedly revived
the sitcom genre and
NBC's ratings
fortunes‖— TV Guide
#1 Five Consecutive
Years Nielsen Ratings
―Eddie Murphy is undoubtedly the
most successful comedic actor of
all time‖
— toptenz.net
Movie gross $3.7 Billion
―…by the end of the '70s he
became the highest-paid
starring comedian
in films‖— NY Times
Comedy Central’s
#1 Top Comedian

4. But Before All of That…
There Was This

5. Stereotypes: American Humor
and African Americans
• Prior to the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans had
little or no control of their images in the media, especially
with regards to humor
–It was quite literally black people (or people in black face) acting out
the humorous denigrations of how people who were not black felt
about them
• This type of stereotypical humor dominated mainstream
movies, radio shows, television, and advertising

6. From 1964 Until Now
• In the past five decades, black humor in
America has been more and more defined by black people
and embraced by the black community as part of African
American culture and a way to commerce
–It has also come to be enjoyed by the general market as a genuine
picture of African American perspectives

7. Black Comedy Defined

8. Comedy = Culture
• Today comedy is recognized as a linchpin in
Black Cultural Arts
• It is also an acknowledged feeding ground for many black
comedians and a pathway into general market movies,
network television, and pop music

9. Comedy = Commerce
• Black stand-up comedy has spanned a lot of attention from
general market media as well as African American
networks producing long-running and profitable variety
shows and sitcoms

10. • Despite the importance of comedy in African American
culture, it does not play as prominent a role in advertising
oriented towards black consumers
In Advertising,
Comedy ≠ Commercial

11. In Advertising,
Comedy ≠ Commercial
• While a few comedians, like Bill Cosby,
have made a lot of commercials, black
comedy and black humor have been and
still are largely absent from the
advertising landscape

12. Why the Disconnect?
• If humor is such an important part of African American
culture — just as much as music and dancing and sports
— why is it not used more in black advertising efforts?
• And why, when used, are there so many questions about
its appropriateness?

13. • To answer these questions we must first explore what
black humor is
• There are currently three dominant strains of black humor
plus a small niche area
3 + 1

14. 3 Types of Black Humor
The three types of black humor are grounded in three
different origins
Socio-political
Commentary
Evolutionary
Playing the Dozens
Cultural
Story-telling

15. Evolutionary Humor

16. Evolutionary Perspective
• Evolutionary social scientists say that humor has served
as a (non-violent) way in which to establish either group
membership or rank within the group
–The theory here is that exchanging humorous put downs can
establish whether someone has allegiance to the tribe and/
or what a person’s rank/status is within the group
–For African Americans, this type of humor is translated as Playing
the Dozens

17. Urban Dictionary: A Definition
of Playing the Dozens
• Playing the dozens is an African-American custom in which
competitors — usually males — go head to head in a battle
of comedic trash talk
–They take turns "cracking on‖ (insulting) one another, their
adversary's mother, other family members, heritage, or any of their
physical characteristics or behavioral signatures until one of them
has no comeback
• In the U.S., the practice can be traced back to chattel
slavery, when violence among slaves was a property crime
with potentially draconian consequences.
–Verbal sparring became a substitute for physical contention and
status assignment

18. • This State Farm ad (by the African American Ad Agency
Translation) is an example of humor grounded in Playing
the Dozens
• The back and forth putdowns of spousal preference
between the African American male and female, coping
with the aftermath of a car mishap, are in service of
showcasing the proficiency of State Farm’s Agents
Commercial Example: State Farm Ad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I79Jmgb8nyw

19. Storytelling Humor

20. Cultural Perspective
• African American culture, with its roots based in Africa’s
oral tradition, places high regard on storytelling
–In Africa, the griot was the history keeper of a tribe where it was said
that ―when an elder passes on, it is as if a library has burned‖
–In America, African Americans continued that
tradition using folktales, often with animals like
Brer Rabbit, to help manage the process
of coping with a new world

21. Storytelling
• The point of African American
folktales was to entertain the
listener while providing them
with information upon which
to develop strategies for
managing the New World
–Wit was often a tool of the Brer
Rabbit as the rabbit is an animal
with little power except its nimble
intelligence

22. Storytelling Comedy
• Nowadays African American comedians tell stories to
showcase strategies for dealing with life’s traumas and
obstacles and taking advantages in situations where
others see none to be had
–This storytelling comedy can be either ―clean‖ (e.g., Bill Cosby
or Sinbad) or ―profane‖ (e.g., Richard Pryor or Eddie Murphy)
• Either way it’s humor is grounded in the truth of real-life situations often
times fraught with conflict, fears and anxieties

23. Advertising Example: Not My Shoes
• This commercial for Lowe’s by Footsteps Advertising and
Marketing Agency uses storytelling as a way to reflect on
the manner in which her husband use to dress in his
younger years
• This commercial’s humor rests on the recollection of the
colorful dressing style which the husband thinks is being
a trendsetter and the wife thinks is just plain funny

24. Socio-Political Commentary

25. Socio-Political Commentary
• As an out group member in America, African American’s
―double consciousness‖ has meant that black people often
process the way in which they appear to the majority group
in America, knowing that they are seen as group members
(with attendant stereotypes) rather than as unique
individuals (to be judged on their own merits)

26. Commentary on America’s Irony
• The irony that America was a country founded on
individual rights and freedoms — yet, when it was found
expedient, the country often restricted the rights and
freedoms of others — was fodder for commentary that
often could not be delivered straight forwardly but only
through the misdirection of humor

27. Commentary Humor
• For African Americans, pointing out the contradictions
of American life was first heard in blues songs; later,
it became a staple of ―out-group‖ humor
• This humor could be politically oriented (as with Dick
Gregory or D.L. Hugely) or about social and personal
issues (as with Dave Chappelle or Steve Harvey)

28. Advertising Example: Gillette Face-off
http://www.gillette.com/en/us/mens-style/face-off-with-JB-smoove.aspx
• Gillette Face Off Challenge developed for the web by
Footsteps is an example of using humor to cope with an
emotionally tangled situation for African American men:
proper shaving techniques
• The webisode puts AA men in a game show setting and,
with commentary from J.B. Smoove, helps them embrace
better shaving techniques

29. Physical Imitation

30. An AA Niche: Physical Imitation
• Although black comedians can be animated in their
delivery, physical comedy/slapstick is not a part of
black humor
–Perhaps because of its close association with stereotypical humor
of exaggerated black physical characteristics
• Having said that there are a few comics who have made
physical imitation a mainstay in their acts

31. Imitation of Life
• The few African American comedians who have made this
type of humor the mainstay of their act use physical and
vocal exaggeration to portray truths about people habits
and perspectives
–Arnez J and Michael Winslow are examples of such

32. • Wassup came from a short film by Charles Stone III and
his friends that was picked up by DDB, the ad agency for
Budweiser, for use in their True campaign
• The successful approach
was eventually spun out
to include many ethnic
groups’ interpretation
of ―Wassup‖
Wassup
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJmqCKtJnxM

33. Advertising and Black Humor

34. The Purpose of Black Humor:
That Black Humor Has a Purpose
• The Dozens
–Defining status amongst group members
• Storytelling
–Coping strategies with life’s situations
• Commentary
–Providing clarity on life’s challenges
• Physical Imitation
–Not take oneself too seriously

35. Humor With a Purpose
Is Not Humor “Just for Fun”
• Black humor is funny but it is funny with a greater purpose
and cultural connection
–That is why it is reality-based and not ―just for fun‖
• General Marketing advertising often uses humor for
entertainment purposes – as an emotional escape/release
from reality -- more so than aligning it with a higher-order
cultural context
• For African Americans this type of humor is pre-1964

36. Black Humor in Advertising
• To do funny black advertising, the humor must place the
brand within a cultural context to make a meaningful
connection
• While placing advertising within a cultural context might
seem axiomatic to making good advertising, the point that
black humor is purposeful and not ―just for fun‖ is at odds
with the way in which humor is used in general market
advertising

37. Black Humor in Advertising
• And that is why when a black person is used in a general
market commercial that is supposed to be funny, the
humor, for a number of reasons, can often miss the mark
with African American audiences
–Because it seems silly (humor for the sake of humor)
–Because it has no relevance to their world-view
–Because it can be offensive to the way in which black people see
themselves

38. Black Advertising
• How to make good black advertising?
–Make a cultural connection between the brand and an African
American consumer that is reality-based and relevant
• How to make good funny black advertising?
–Use black humor to make a cultural connection between the brand
and African American consumer that is reality-based and relevant