During the dark days of the pandemic, most brands steered clear of humour, deeming it inappropriate for the times. It’s an understandable response when there’s a deadly virus on the loose, but ads sombrely informing the public that the brand is “here for you” go to the opposite extreme – and have a limited shelf life.
Arguably, we need humour now more than ever as a way of lifting people’s mood as COVID vaccines ease a path back towards normality after more than a year of off-on lockdowns and an alarming death toll.
That would also be a reversal of...