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The Business Case for Nonsense

Tim Washer — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:42:11 +0000

I went to Harvard Business School.

But it was only for one evening. Last Thursday, I was invited to present a case study on using comedy in corporate YouTube videos, and shared “Mainframe: The Art of the Sale.” This video series we published in August 2006 continues to be discussed, simply because it’s funny. It’s listed as a case study in the second edition of bestseller The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott, published this month. (Congrats, David!)

Comedy done well has the power to cut through clutter and to influence, and that’s helped me get an honorable mention on Click-Z’s Social Media All-Stars list. My thanks to Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics.

Here’s my presentation:The Business Case for Nonsense: IBM Social Media

View more presentations from Tim Washer.

Thanksgiving Comedy Show

Tim Washer — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:47:22 +0000

On Saturday night, November 21, $10 buys you a five dollar dessert and nearly two bucks worth of comedy, yielding a net loss for the evening. “Weekend Update – Thanksgiving Edition” will be co-anchored by Bob Tedeschi, New York Times columnist, and Tim Washer, whose influences include Tom Brokaw, Brian Williams and Ted Baxter. Special musical guest Elza will play a few tunes from her new CD, Gettin’ Free. Childcare and a movie will be provided for the kids and any adults who get bored. In Martin Hall underneath Jesse Lee Church, 207 Main St. Ridgefield, CT, 7:30PM. Tickets available at the door. All proceeds benefit the Jesse Lee Youth Mission trip to New Orleans, LA.

Comedy, Social Media and Big Business

Tim Washer — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:59:50 +0000

David Wenger and I had a conversation recently on the role of humor in the corporate world, social media, and “stretching the boundaries of comfort when talking Big Business.” Read or listen to the interview on his blog.

Advertising Age: IBM’s Zany Viral Video Chief

Tim Washer — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:33:31 +0000

Earlier this week AdAge reported on the case study I discussed on the use of humor in corporate web video. I showed a few clips including one from our Smarter Planet campaign. “Mainframe: The Art of the Sale” earned some great press coverage. The San Francisco Chronicle blog “What are They Drinking in Armonk,” ZDNet compared it favorably against Microsoft’s broadcast ads with Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates, industry luminary James Governor blogged “Selling big iron the David Brent way,” and Comedy Central selected it as a finalist in its Test Pilot’s contest.

Case study presentation from the BDI Conference:

View all six videos in the Art of the Sale series here.