Deep: Why We Wish Creatives Acted Like Comedians
As big fans of Comedy— we* see a lot of similarities between Comedians and Creatives. And yet, we wish Creatives embodied more of the spirit of Comedians.
In the last decade and with the advent of podcasting (and possibly more importantly) video podcasting; Comedians have created a new industry for themselves outside of the circles of Corporate giants like Comedy Central, MTV, Viacom and even seemingly new platforms like Netflix.
As go-getters and hustlers, we love seeing this "do it yourself" mentality and wish to see more of it percolate within the Creative Industry. Our friends at Center Design have created a beautiful format-focused show... are they the first to break the mold? God, we hope so.
Having A Voice
Like Comedians, Creatives must have a voice to become successful. In order for that success to be seen, managed, and promoted—Creatives also need to learn how to be great at networking, marketing, and getting their ideas out there. Whereas Comedians ruthlessly stand up in front of crowds of people, Creatives must pimp visuals in whatever way possible to get eyeballs and sales. We are both reclusive creatures who rely on extroversion to put food on the table. What can we learn from how Comedians that we aren't already doing?
There's much to learn from Comedians! How comedians uphold their communities. How they shit on each other and show love at the same time; reminding each other (and the audience) that they are, indeed, joking (comedy!). The internal networks and channels we outsiders have grown to love and wish to be a part of, has, alone, set their industry on fire. Many Comedians operate on Patreon, Youtube, and social media to create their audience. Maybe most importantly, we* love how Comedians encourage underdogs to rise to their level of success.
Taking Our* Power Back
Both Comedians and Creatives are often seen as cynical, brooding people. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Great Creativity requires courage & conviction, equal to mastery of literary prowess. A turn of phrase takes gumption and understanding both sides of the argument. The same characteristics we look for in great Comedians we seek out in fellow Creators. Those who cannot take a joke and those who bash Art are typically those who cannot be vulnerable themselves, so they lash out.
What Comedians have done for Comedy is create opportunities for their voices to thrive (and spread like wild-fire) as solo acts and within unique genre's of Comedy. The underbelly of Comedy culture like the Death Squad or the wildly popular and irreverent Blue Collar Comedy trio shows that the successes of Comedy culture takes many forms,. Industry producers like Brian Redban, or Redban for short, have quietly created a very loud Video Podcasting market for many to thrive; the hilarious take on Redban from YMH using 'Blueban' as their producer helps illustrate how Comedians uphold their culture and craft down to the smallest details.
When we* think about Creativity—there really isn't a common example to point to with the same kind of support. Individuals and well-known Artists exist, think Banksy, Revok, or Jeremy Fish. But there isn't one source we can all point to for Creative community. Back in the day, magazines like Hi-Fructose and Juxtapoz Magazine were huge... what happened to them in the wake of digital? We've seen super rad examples of magazines supporting Creatives like Lucky Peach, but they folded as no one really cared (sad face). Where's our Redban? Where's out network?
New Broadcast Media, 2024
Always planning for the future, Creatives are notoriously lost in thought. Great Creatives have the ability to perceive where trend is headed and execute. Take the late, great Designer, Virgil Abloh. He predicted the use of Trademarks and Registered Trademarks as Design Element's with Off-White™. Initially launched in 2012, Virgil Abloh predicted industry trend for Design, Fashion, and Business/Corporate takeover. Today, countless brands, including ©Local* use trademark symbols as Design Elements. Why? Because it's cool to let people know what you own.
Right as the pandemic was kicking off, our Founder—Neil, began seeing trend need for growth into symbolism. Today, with remote and hybrid work environments as Creative Industry standard— our use of language has become a larger player in the game. The Meta overlords have begun using the time symbol to define who they are and what their products do. Disney+ is taking over Industries like streaming across platform mergers like Hulu. Symbolism is upon us.
Along with the kick-off of symbolism, we* began defining 5 key terms:
- New Agency Standards
- New Sustainable Missions
- New Active Economies
- New Language Brands
- New Active Economies
These terms speak to our awareness of trend growth towards new technologies, industries, and standards. As our world continues to shift and morph, we* see the importance of Creatives upholding stronger communities, voices, and the unity that binds industries like Comedy, together. With these changes—we* too are interested in what big terms like broadcast, and ownership mean. Taking our* power back is as much about creating new standards as it is about getting our voices out there.
Here, here! Comedians... we*re very inspired by you! Please continue to take risks, create communities, and change agendas.
Why We Wish Creative Acted Like Comedians
The difference between Bansky & members of the Death Squad is privacy. Artists, by nature, are reclusive whereas Comedians are, by nature, performative. This is the key difference we* see between what drives the Comedy Industry and why the Creative Industry needs to take notes.
With these changes, we see the importance of hitting the ground running equal to taking zoom meetings; how and where we work (and why) is what makes all the difference. How we show up for our* communities, matters.
