My favorite stand-up comedian of all time, the late Bill Hicks, had some pretty rough things to say about advertising:
“If anyone here is in advertising or marketing: kill yourself. There’s no rationalization for what you do and you are Satan’s Little Helpers. [...] You are the ruiner of all things good.”
In his sets, Hicks constantly referred to America as the “United States of Advertising,” and railed against musicians and celebrities who did product endorsement by acting out imaginary fellatio between these perceived sell-outs and The Devil himself – complete with nightmarish sound effects.
It’s funny. Trust me.
To be honest, Hicks’ rants on marketing were one of the reasons I hesitated to start this site for so long. I’m a designer by trade, so much of my work bleeds into the world of marketing and advertising. And every time it does, I feel a little slimy. Every time I use the terms “customer engagement” or “conversion ratio” when talking with a client, I hear Bill’s hellish sound effects in the back of my mind.
But I’m also a comedian (specifically, an improviser). And while I agree with Hicks that American society and media is far too saturated with and dictated by advertising, I know one thing:
Performing for empty houses sucks.
I want people to come to my shows and see my work. I want people to come to your shows and see your work. How can we get that if we don’t advertise and promote? Is marketing evil when we’re promoting ourselves?
Deciding the answer to that question is “no” was the last hurdle preventing me from putting up this site. That, plus the fact that marketing comedy truly interests me. Everything from design to methods to the psychology behind getting people to pay attention to our work is interesting to me.
If that’s evil, then it’s a necessary evil.
I’m sure at some point, Bill Hicks was just like us: young, hungry, doing great work – but frustrated that no one was coming to see it. Or maybe he wasn’t – I dunno – the guy was a genius and a prophet. The point is: in order to get people to pay attention to our comedy, we have to market it. We have no choice. But we do have a choice about how we go about it. I think as long as we produce quality work and draw attention to it in an honest, non-manipulative way, we can all sleep easy at night.
For final solace, I turn to a throw-away comment Bill made on his great, posthumous album, Rant In E-Minor, while talking about celebrities who appear in commercials:
“…If you’re a young actor, OK, I’ll look the other way…”
Thanks, Bill. Now let’s get to work.
Do you agree or disagree with Bill Hicks on marketing and advertising? Let me know in the comments.
