Madhukar Sabnavis: Hasya ras in advertising

Laugh and the world laughs with you

What is common to Sharmaji se poocho, Phone ring toh ghanta singh, Chai with Charan, Shendi, and Babbar Sher? They are all programlets on radio, they come as fillers between the yakety yek of Radio jockeys and endless songs, and they all get a smile, a chuckle or a laugh on the faces of the listeners. The content and approach to humour may differ, but they are all designed to be gags that engage listeners. There is something interesting about humour. A joke well told has the ability to be heard over and over again, it is memorable and above all has the power to uplift senses in an otherwise tough and ruthless world.

Laughter is a unique emotion "" it is both physical and social. A good hearty laugh exercises all the face muscles; and laughter is one emotion that is infectious "" laugh and the world laughs with you!

Not surprisingly Hasya ras is identified as one of the nine emotions that natyakars (stage artists) and nrityakars (dance performers) use to connect with the audience. Hasya is defined as the rasa used to express joy or mirth. It can be used to depict simple lightheartedness or riotous laughter and everything in between. Clearly, where there is hasya, all is well with the world; there is joy all around and all are of good cheer.

This emotion has been part of Indian literature for centuries. The vidushak "" the fool "" came, said and did stupid things to bring laughter to the court. Being a buffoon, he had the right to say the stupidest of things and say things the way they were. While doing so, he often could be very insightful "" but always offered relief in otherwise tense stories.

This tradition continues in Indian story telling in Hindi movies. There was the comedian "" often the friend of the hero "" in the 60s and 70s who gave way to the hero himself indulging in comic acts in the 80s "" to the return of the vidushak in the plots in the 90s and thereafter. Co-existing with humour being a part of the Indian masala mix in its stories is the genre of comedy "" stories written solely for the purpose of bringing continuous laughter. The purpose of such stories "" whether comedies on the big screen or sitcoms on the small screen "" has always been just to tickle the laughter senses of viewers and provide comic relief from everyday life.

Brand building is about weaving stories around products to make them more endearing and desirable to end consumers. Advertising tells these stories "" thus connecting brands with consumers. At a more base level, by being likeable makes the brand likeable. This is where hasya ras has its use "" it creates immediate likeability! It has been used to be a 'burr' "" a memory hook "" just to get consumers to remember the brand to being integral to the story in the advertisements.

However, the spectrum of this hasya ras is wide. Jug Suraiya describes this genre interestingly. "Humour is man stepping on a banana peal; satire is created when the man stepping on the banana peal is the corrupt municipal official who has been cutting corners on garbage removal and is about to be hoist on his own petard, or peel. Satire is humour with a moral cutting edge..." Let's explore some of the more popular forms in the arts and advertising

* Spoofs: Real life Mimicry is a smart manifestation of this. A twist on the familiar, parodying popular people and stories "" the radio programlet  "Chai with Charan" "" is one such example. When used in advertising, it gives instant connect and a laugh but doesn't seem original. Care needs to be taken that the spoof doesn't joke about something people hold "emotionally" dear. Nirma, a few years ago, did a spoof on the 'K' serials and unconsciously hurt the sentiments of many middle class housewives. Spoofs are most rampant on radio "" often parodying voices of celebrities and famous dialogues. 

* Slapstick "" The Joker in the circus epitomises this. It is about enjoying at other people's predicaments "" caused by stupid and clumsy acts. Brands don't consciously use it "" could make the brand look foolish. However, when done well, can get great cut-throughs and connects. The recent Cadbury Dairy Milk "Pappu pass hogaya" campaign successfully used this genre. The 40-year-old passing his standard twelve examination and the nerd confessing his love in a bumbling manner get a laugh due to the pure "incongruity" and "awkwardness" of the protagonists.

* Come-uppance:  Pulling some one's leg is always delightful. The radio programlet Shendi works just for that reason. This is a favourite of advertising. Whether it is celebrity's trip being taken ("Motorola vs Abhishek" and Pepsi's "Thank you Uncle" series) or the apparently uncouth villager getting one up on his city brother (Feviquik fishing) or the cool dude getting a shocking haircut (Centre Shock), there is always a charm to see the cool dude being busted by the simpleton or the commoner. 

* Wordplay: Slapstick tends to be physical; wordplay is a more intellectual form of humour. Hasya Kavi Sammelan, where poets keep audience, engaged with just the power of wordplay is the Indian version of wordplay. The programlets Sharmaji se Poocho and Babbar Sher fall into this category. "Heere ko kya pata tumhari umra" (how does the diamond know your age?) "" a line said by an old man romantically to his equally old wife "" stirred hearts emotionally with a smile for SBI Life a few years ago "" a great example of just using words to charm.

* Satire: Read George Orwell's Animal Farm as a fairy tale and it seems buffoonery; read it in the context of communism and it becomes a powerful satire "" a comment on society. It is perhaps the most intelligent form of humour and brings with it a lot of depth. It's about a laugh with a message. The Times of India series of "Masthead of India" is a brilliant expression of this genre. 

* Mindlessness: The programlet Phone ring toh ghanta singh falls is mindless conversation at its best. It's about non-sense humour. Least exploited and toughest to do, this is the genre of advertising that has perhaps emerged in India this year. Two campaigns of this year stand out- Bingo which makes such strange connections between unconnected visuals and the snack food; and a recent Centre Fruit ATM commercial. The fun lies in the pure absurdity of the story.

While humour seems to be a simple and easy way to connect, think about it: how many books, movies and advertisements do you truly believe are really funny? It's not easy to be really funny.

Something worth thinking about.

The views expressed are personal. Madhukar.sabnavis@ogilvy.com