#vooza

As we begin the long process of saying goodbye to David Letterman, we acknowledge his forever gift to us of satire and silliness, late at night when we appreciated it the most.  Especially us college students who were obsessed with REM and all the other new bands that would reveal themselves on the show.

Letterman was truly a pioneer in comedic satire, with his silly games and quintessential top 10 lists.  He showed us the power of a good mocking, and how it could be used to diffuse a difficult situation, respond to critics or just to make others laugh.  This generation of comedians and hosts have all talked about his influence on their styles and aspirations. 

In the advertising world the grandfather of satire and silliness was Stan Freberg who brought his brand of radio comedy to ads in the late 50s and 60s.  His breakthrough Jeno’s Pizza Roll spots openly made fun of other brands and ads, mocking their slogans and shticks within the ad, like an early version of a mash-up. The mocking was direct and out in the open, aired in between the same shows as the ads being made fun of.

But today in our buzzfed world of hilarious memes and gifs, there are more indirect channels for brands to use for mocking groups, other brands and situations.  Off-air channels like Twitter and YouTube allow for satire that’s slightly less in your face but just as funny.

Chipotle is experimenting with a scripted satire Hulu miniseries, written to be funny while addressing the serious situation of “unsustainable farming".  It's called Farmed and Dangerous.

Vooza says they’re the Spinal Tap of startups.  While lambasting their own ilk for good laughs, they've invented a fun way to create native advertising.  Here is their Worst TED Talk Ever. 

And magnanimous McDonald’s showed us its skills in short form mocking with its imitation is the sincerest form of flattery post in response to Taco Bell’s sorry-not-sorry for coming right after your breakfast customer ad.

The RVA Creativity Awards is very excited to have Matt Ruby as its keynote speaker! From his time as employee #1 at 37Signals (now known as Basecamp), to his standup gigs, to founding startup satire video company Vooza, here's what you can expect from Matt.

Vooza founder (and standup comedian) Matt Ruby explains the tips he’s picked up in the trenches of the startup world. He’ll teach you how to behave more like Steve Jobs, how to pitch your business, and why it’s a good idea to pay employees to quit. After this talk, you’ll never look at the startup world the same way again. He’ll also explain his path from employee #1 at 37signals to creating his own company and the secrets behind Vooza’s comedy.

If you want to catch Matt speak, make sure to keep checking here or at the RVA Creativity Awards website for event tickets. In the meantime, check out links to Matt's work and enjoy Vooza's "advice" on "The Pitch."

Matt's Twitter

Matt's Comedy Blog

Vooza bringt uns erneut den Mittwochstipp!