Flowers & pearls: Not funny.
Sarah Pally, a linguist and partner at the agency Partner & Partner, takes a close look at (advertising) language in her column «Blüten und Perlen.» This time: a humorous self-reflection on everyday life at the agency—why the seemingly harmless phrase «It’s okay to be funny» turns into a nerve-wracking Western-style showdown, and why good ideas often emerge precisely when you deliberately let expectations come to nothing.
«It can be funny»... After this supposedly innocent statement in some briefing on a random Tuesday morning, the purest head cinema starts running inside. Literally.
Imagine yourself in the Wild West, it's oppressively hot, it's five to twelve, it's high noon. A gunslinger with her eyes squeezed shut. Sweat is pouring, her jaw muscles are twitching and so is her trigger finger. Maximum tension. Because questions after questions are suddenly popping up in the room and making you really nervous. What the hell do you mean by funny - and am I up to it? Do you think it's as funny as I do? Are we talking about haha-funny or rather aha-funny, höhö-funny, autsch-funny or rather hihi? Does funny even fit the brand? And if not, would it still be ok as long as it's just straightforwardly hilarious? After all, humor is debatable - or something like that. In any case, Hanspeter finds something else funny than Cheyenne. And she finds something else funny than Karen, the wife of the Chairman of the Board of Directors, who secretly approves of the headline. And the obviously humorless and in any case clueless marketing intern doesn't actually find anything funny. And I actually find almost everything funny.
The fatal question
All these questions flash through your mind in a matter of seconds. What to do - the clock is ticking! «Do you have an example that goes in the desired direction?». There it is, the only possible question at this moment, but also the fatally wrong one. You are guaranteed to come up with examples that are inappropriate, trite or contradictory à la: «Like Hornbach, but not as exaggerated» (in this case, not like Hornbach?). Above all, however, these examples nip the effect in the bud. Because funny always means a bit unexpected, surprising. So it's best not to conjure up any expectations in the first place. Or to put it another way: in a duel, you shouldn't necessarily invite your opponent to shoot first.
Stay cool, cowboys
Experienced cowboys and cowgirls know this: don't ask this question, even if it tickles your funny bone. Just stay cool, nod knowingly (even if you know you know nothing) and shoot. The die is cast, the game is on. The bullet is already on its way and will shoot the bird. Maybe. But at least it comes as a surprise!
Analyzed since 2025 Sarah Pally In her column "Blossoms and Pearls", she uses industry-related terms and comments on them with a personal touch, from a linguistic perspective - as well as with a precise view of developments in the industry. Pally is a partner in the Partner & Partner agency in Winterthur. She has been working in the fields of content marketing, text/concept and storytelling in the communications and marketing sector for 15 years.
