Truly Funny or Just Ad Funny? Comedians Assess Cannes Lions Humor Winners

As comedy makes a comeback, ADWEEK asks the ultimate critics for their unfiltered views

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Comedy is a powerful marketing tool, and many ad world mavens have long understood its intrinsic value as a clutter buster, brand builder and attention grabber.

And in 2024, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity finally got hip to the rib-tickling genre, after at least a decade of handing out hardware disproportionately to weighty, purpose-driven work. The coveted Oscars for commercials even added a humor subcategory for the first time.

Comedy in its many forms never left, yet it came roaring back at the recent conference, enough to give 2024 an unofficial name: The Year of the Laughing Lions.

There was “a massive swing toward more humorous winners,” according to System1’s post-Cannes study, which found 75% of U.S.

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