of scary raptor reptiles, of carrot-eating contests, of mutant poodles. In fact, I once sat down and identified four types of humour that will – if done well – invariably spread. 1. Jocular: and the joke is often against someone, as it is with the enduring genre of fail videos. 2. Pranky: the “lost” bikini top that turns into shark’s fin as a guy retrieves it. 3. Cute: a computer mouse dangles on a cord that a cat holds in its mouth. “They told me it was a mouse. They lied.” 4. Absurd: a bulldog riding a skateboard. A skateboarding dog? An archetypal example of the absurd form of humour. There is no doubt that humour like this can help create magnetic content. And Ogilvy & Mather have used all of these forms of humour to do so. Here’s a prank. We had to publicize a new car rental service: a flexible multiple subscription allowing one to use a car on demand no matter when or where. Our Paris office tricked a few unsuspecting members of the Parisian public into believing their cars had been crushed into blocks of scrap metal. We captured the ensuing drama, including the car owners’ expressions of anger, with hidden cameras. Actors posing as police officers stepped in and offered a telephone helpline number.