From Bosch to Brat, humorous design sticks with us

In the ever-evolving social media landscape, where new platforms and trends emerge year after year, the essence of what makes content shareable remains rooted in humor. The challenge lies in engineering visually compelling and funny viral content while navigating the balance between timely and timeless theories.

Both design and humor are artistic expressions that demand efficient and clever communication to surprise and delight. Just as a simple shift in a design can alter the balance and energy, tweaking a single word can be the difference between a joke landing or falling flat. Skillfully utilizing available tools in any medium is essential to evoke emotions, be it laughter or any other. In video, crafting a narrative that unfolds over time establishes a personal connection with the viewer.

Let’s explore the intersection of design and humor through a few successful examples:

The Minions’ Gruquet post scored 7.3m TikTok impressions and half a million likes on TikTok and Instagram combined. Inspired by the trending bouquet theme used for Shrek and Michael Cera, the post gives the joke a unique spin with the Gruquet pun. The graphic design added a humorous touch, starting with the infamous Comic Sans font and ending with the freeware Coolvetica font, poking fun at the official Minions account’s use of fonts not taken seriously by professionals.

• Minions Gruquet Post
• Shrek Bouquet
• Michael Cera Bouquet

Lionsgate’s digital marketing team successfully revived interest in Saw X, returning the franchise to its roots between Saw I and II. Humor played a pivotal role, with standout moments like turning Billy the Puppet into a Swiftie and a parody of Nicole Kidman’s AMC bumper. The campaign embraced madness, maintaining the franchise’s iconic rusty bathroom aesthetic.

Notable efforts included collaborations with Duolingo and satirical tabloid drama involving Billy, Annabelle, and Chucky. Billy also took a comedic approach by roasting Letterboxd reviews. Despite the absence of the previous film in the franchise starring noted comedian Chris Rock, Saw X cleverly leveraged humor, resulting in an impressive $18m opening weekend against a $13m budget. Social media amplified the buzz, reaffirming the franchise’s enduring appeal in the horror genre for two decades.

• Saw X Campaign on Twitter
• Nicole Kidman AMC Bumper Parody
• Collaborations and Satirical Drama
• Billy Roasting Letterboxd Reviews

The Grimace’s Birthday browser game by Krool Toys for McDonald’s is a standout example.

Targeting millennials aging out of the typical profitable bracket, McDonald’s aimed for nostalgia, promoting kids’ birthday parties at their restaurants. The campaign cleverly tapped into ‘90s and ‘00s internet nostalgia, reminiscent of portals like Yahooligans! and AOL Kids Only.

The kidcore aesthetic and playful spoof of archaic web design trends effectively sold the idea. Beyond pixel art nostalgia, the game, resembling retro gaming, revealed quirks from 8-bit portable games. Developed as a new GameBoy Color title, it could run on an actual GameBoy. This authenticity garnered recognition in the retro gaming community, aligning perfectly with McDonald’s target audience.

• Grimace’s Birthday Game

The last piece I want to dive into is TikTok’s adaptation of Trolls.

Despite the movie being in theaters for a couple of months, this clip snagged 1.8m views once it hit digital streaming. The challenge here lies in condensing a joke that thrives in a 16x9 format into less than a third of its original viewing area. By splitting the screen, respecting the original comedy, and playing with creative transitions to maintain humor – it successfully translated the scene while also allowing for in-art copy that targeted the parents who engage with the Trolls TikTok account.

• Trolls TikTok Adaptation

Drawing from these examples, we’ve got a few essential takeaways:

1. Humor’s effectiveness lies not just in the joke but also in the form and delivery chosen.
2. The punchline isn’t just for laughs; it’s a persuasive element, urging engagement with the content.
3. Maintaining authenticity not only triggers nostalgia but also reflects a sincere affection for the subject being parodied.

Next time you encounter a brilliantly crafted social post, take a closer look. There’s often more beneath the surface, waiting to be discovered if you’re willing to explore and understand its dynamics.

Further reading:

• Charli XCX’s Brat campaign should turn you all green with envy

• A Kamala Harris meme cannot sell the American dream - but maybe ‘Freedom’ can