How’s things with you?
Since we last spoke, ChatPGTips has taken over the planet, my wife discovered how to mute the annoying “click” sound the Amazon firestick makes when you’re rifling between apps, and I’ve started experimenting with innovative contractions for “It’s been”….
S’been a wild ride.
Speaking of ChatPG-13…
I’ve been thinking a lot about it, specifically this question:
Is Chat GTA a threat to personality/humorous copywriters?
I don’t doubt the prompt “give me 10 jokes about jam” will bless you with some zingers you can use to liven up Grumpy Gladys at your next WI meeting, but does that mean it’s the end of human-created comedy?
To save me waiting for you to hit reply and answer, I’ll rudely interrupt…
The answer’s “no”.
When you think about AI taking over the world, you might be tempted to probe your mind for jobs it can’t replicate.
Sure, Elon can build a car that can automatically take you home after a wild night out with your local campanology club. But where are you going to get that late-night, thrilling minicab, “Holy shit, this guy thinks he’s Lewis Hamilton. I’M GOING TO DIE!!!” experience that makes you glad you deleted your browsing history earlier that day?
There’s a better question peeking from behind the “what jobs can’t robots do?” query though…
“Are there things that people will NEVER pay AI to do?”
As a former magician, my mind immediately goes to performing arts.
(That’s a total lie. As an immature and childish human being, my mind went straight to the same place YOURS did, you filthy animal. But let’s pretend we’re both better than that for a moment, shall we?)
I’m certain someone could build a robot that performs magic tricks… solves a Rubik’s cube in record time… or can paint a perfect replica of the Mona Lisa upside down, but…
Would you travel to Las Vegas and pay hundreds of dollars to see that show?
Would it even come close to the excitement you’d feel, being there LIVE, seeing a real human being do those amazing things?
Same with comedy – there’s something deeper going on.
Whether you’re on stage or in someone’s inbox, comedy is not just about saying funny words. It’s about relating to your audience.
I’d argue this is even more important when it comes to comedy copy, where we’re not just looking to make our audience snigger…
We’re looking to build a connection that makes them happy to open their wallet for you.
They won’t do that unless they can relate to you.
Ever found yourself yelling “OMG – YES!!!” or “I do that too!” while Fanta spurts out of your nose, as you laugh at your favourite comedian?
That’s because of a fundamental principle about humour that most people miss:
Farting IS funny.
All humour starts with TRUTH.
I’ve been banging on about that ^^^ for a while now.
And here’s a clickable piece of blue text to prove it… and give you some ideas about how to use it
We use our words to connect with people. Comedy is a great way to deepen that connection, but you can’t get there by copying and pasting a list of generated gags.
You have to know your audience. You have to know what’s true for them.
Gags get you “when I read your email, I laughed my ass off!”
Relatable gags get you “when I read your email, I laughed my ass off… and knew I wanted to work with you…”
John