Mike Sharman, chief creative officer and founder of Retroviral (Image supplied)

“I always show my team the GIF from Gladiator where Russell Crowe stands in the Coliseum and says, "Are you not entertained?" That’s what we need to do. We need to bring entertainment back into marketing.”

The #NedbankIMC conference took place on Thursday, 19 September at The Focus Rooms, Johannesburg, where a lineup of international and local experts shared their knowledge with 2,000 delegates who attended virtually and in person.

Bizcommunity chatted to some of the speakers and sponsors.

Sharman says let’s have fun.

“We didn’t take this job because we are Doctors Without Borders. We don’t run around with physical hearts in cooler boxes to save lives.

“The only hearts we deal with are the dopamine-driven hearts on social media algorithms. The reality is, we need to start by having more fun.”

He adds that we have a fun job. “We’re in a privileged position, so let’s lean into it and enjoy it.”

Cannes has created a humour category and he says now that Cannes has given its blessing, everyone feels free to use humour again.

Humour can go horribly wrong

But comedy is harder to execute.

“We have such a nuanced market, and humour can go horribly wrong if done poorly.”

But he says, we have one of the best senses of humour in the world, shaped by decades of advertising and communication.

“We have some of the funniest, most poignant, and most entertaining brands in the world, and we should embrace that rather than trying to be like other brands.

“Let’s make our brand the most entertaining and valuable to the person engaging with it, even if we’re just a functional product or a grudge purchase.”