We’ve been hearing voices
Leveraging wit + wisdom is all about generating unique, breakthrough ideas to help your brand stand out. We’re not sure if the peeps at ElevenLabs took our advice on this, but we would have loooved to be in on their latest brainstorm. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. We can have dead people read stories.” Stick with us for a minute. The company has twisted age-old text-to-speech technology into a whole new shape. They’ve partnered with the estates of late celebrities to enable their voices to read your favorite content. So now you can have Burt Reynolds read your grandma’s fave fried chicken recipe in his “Smokey and the Bandit” voice (hopefully)! More to the point, ElevenLabs is grabbing attention everywhere. Even the hoity-toity types at The Atlantic are weighing in. Well played, ElevenLabs!
These aren’t the droids we’re looking for
The robots are coming! How worried should we be that AI will take our jobs? According to a recent survey, nearly half of Americans have some anxiety over how AI will impact their line of work. But there’s good news! The more you’re able to weave humor into your job, the more likely you’ll be able to tell AI to go unplug itself when it comes knocking for your paycheck. A new Google DeepMind study challenged 20 professional comedians to use AI to help them write jokes. The results? An utter disaster for our robot friends. One comic called the output “a vomit draft,” a phrase we’re going to borrow starting now. When asked to write a joke about pickpocketing, AI came back with this winner: “I decided to switch careers and become a pickpocket after watching a magic show. Little did I know, the only thing disappearing would be my reputation!” Suddenly, we’re feeling much better about the AI takeover.
Just tell yourself you Cannes do it
Cannes Lions has spoken – and humor is back! The annual International Festival of Creativity just wrapped up, and this combo of the Oscars, Emmy, and Grammys for the ad industry was all about the smiles. Many award winners leaned into laughs and good vibes, signaling that it’s time for all of us to lol more. For example, check out this Uber Eats spot with Bobby DeNiro, and try not to break into a huge grin. “Do you eat food”? In fact, an analysis from System1 found that 75% of Cannes Lions winners from the US and UK used humor, up from 52% in 2023. Hate to say we told you so, but we told you so. Humor is the best way to make a memorable connection with your audiences. So what are you waiting for??
PepperPicks
If you’re headed to Montana this weekend for Under the Big Sky, check out DeSoto Grill in Kalispell for some rockabilly BBQ. We recommend the Frito pie!
