‘We wanted to take ourselves less seriously’: How brands like Men’s Wearhouse handle humor in marketing

Matt Repicky said initial focus groups showed customers thought the main character could “come across as a little bit of a jerk.” That feedback led them to choose a different actor — but the brand still went forward with the spot.

“We used that as we went in and cast it,” Repicky said. “And I think we nailed it, and got it to a really great place.”

Men’s Wearhouse is just one of many companies that seem to be taking themselves less seriously in their marketing efforts of late. Repicky spoke about the company’s repositioning at the Modern Retail Marketing Summit last week, where brands like Liquid Death and Edible also shared how they’re also using comedy to reach customers. But it’s hardly the same playbook from brand to brand.

At Men’s Wearhouse, Repicky said the 52-year-old brand has leaned more toward humor and light-hearted messaging in recent campaigns as it seeks to shake its old-fashioned reputation. Men’s Wearhouse hired an external ad agency, Party Land, to help reshape its creative, Repicky said. “We took a step back, and we had some insights that we were seen as a little bit outdated, and we wanted to take ourselves less seriously,” he said.

But it can be tricky to walk the line between funny and downright cringe. Repicky also said it’s less about getting a viral sensation than it is using comedy as a throughline that goes across all channels– not just a one-off social post or campaign. “It is an alchemy, for sure,” he added.

Building more of a reputation around humor ultimately means brands have to take themselves less seriously, both internally and externally. But at many companies, that’s a challenge. A widely cited study from Oracle and author Gretchen Rubin in 2022 called The Happiness Report found that while 91% of people prefer it when a brand is funny, around 95% of business leaders fear using humor with customers.

For his part, Repicky said he takes people poking fun at Men’s Wearhouse in stride. “The Onion had an article about Men’s Wearhouse [in February], and I was like, ‘We’re in, we’re done,'” Repicky said at the summit. “When you’re reflected in pop culture that way, that is a sign that you’re in the zeitgeist. And so we need to be able to just show up a little bit differently, take ourselves less seriously.”

Edible, formerly Edible Arrangements, has also leaned into funny TV commercials and social campaigns as part of its rebrand for the 21st century. Ads feature people diffusing awkward moments by ordering a quick treat from Edible. Kevin Keith, chief marketing officer, said the point of the ads is to show people the many opportunities they have to order an Edible. “If you need to say sorry, there’s an edible for that,” said. “If you forgot your wife’s anniversary, there’s an edible for that.”

Part of the reasoning behind the strategy, Keith said, is to resonate with a younger, hipper audience. That can be a challenge at an older company — Edible launched in 1999 — but Keith wants to make the brand “viable for the 21st century beyond,” he said.

Few brands can exclusively use humor as their marketing strategy. But those that do are the ones that have learned to embrace any trolls that might come their way as a result of thinking outside the lines. Canned beverage company Liquid Death made humor the cornerstone of its branding from the start, going to many nontraditional lengths with its beer-like, heavy metal cans of still or sparkling water. Humor touches every aspect of the brand, from its packaging to its SMS and email marketing to its abandoned cart messages. Its latest campaign is a giveaway for a fighter jet called the “Dehydrator,” inspired by the documentary “Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?”

Chief Marketing Officer Dan Murphy said Liquid Death uses humor and comedy the way an energy drink company may use extreme sports: It’s both a way to stand out and a through-line in its campaigns. “We needed people to walk down the beverage aisle and see a thing and stop,” he said. “Peeling the curtain of Liquid Death back, somebody might have the perception that we think we’re badass and hardcore, but it’s a joke. We look like a beer, and it’s a joke.”

Internally, that means operating more like a writer’s room than a startup brand, Murphy said, and hiring people who are professionally funny. “We don’t have people with traditional kind of marketing backgrounds in the creative group,” Murphy said. “It’s people that are Adult Swim writers and wrote for movies and wrote for The Onion.” That team also works with a comic ambassador team of professional comedians who weigh in to punch up scripts or copy.

But being bold and funny also comes with its fair share of trolls. Liquid Death regularly deals with commenters who tell the brand that their product is overrated or poke fun at its strategy. But Liquid Death takes it in stride, including once challenging people who said they hated the taste of Liquid Death to a blind taste test. Those who could identify Liquid Death were either offered $1,000 or getting tased based on what they guessed. Murphy said they had two takers — and some pretty fun exchanges with their legal team along the way. 

“We’re an internet brand. Our goal is to win the internet, and that comes with it,” he said.