Welcome to Nerd Alert, a series of special episodes bridging the gap between marketing academia and practitioners. We’re breaking down highly involved, complex research into plain language and takeaways any marketer can use.

In this episode, Elena and Rob explore how humor in advertising drives stronger brand recall and sales despite its 37% decline over the past two decades. They reveal why creating memorable, relatable comedy leads to measurable business results.

Topics covered:   

• [01:00] "What's Working in Humorous Advertising"
• [02:30] The decline of humor in modern advertising
• [03:45] Data proving funny ads outperform competitors
• [05:10] How humor magnifies brand memories
• [06:05] Why humor drives brand fame
• [07:20] Balancing humor with brand connection 

 





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Resources: 
WARC. (2025). What’s Working in Humorous Advertising. WARC Strategy. Retrieved from WARC. 
 

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