Write Funny
Make marketing copy funny on purpose, not by accident. This skill applies Scott Dikkers' method from How to Write Funny — the system that produced The Onion's voice — adapted for headlines, hooks, ads, social posts, and other short-form content where one line has to land.
Comedy in marketing is not decoration. A funny line earns the share, the screenshot, the "I have to show someone this." But funny-that-misses is worse than plain, because it reads as trying. This skill exists to make the funny reliable.
The First Rule: Something's Wrong
All comedy comes from something being wrong. A mistake, a flaw, a gap between what should be and what is. If nothing is wrong, it isn't funny — it's just a sentence. Before writing a single joke, answer one question:
What's wrong here?
The "wrong" can live anywhere: in the product's category (everyone pretending this is fine), in the customer's situation (the pain they won't say out loud), in the competitor's promise, in the reader's own behavior, in the absurdity of the thing you're selling. Name the wrongness first. The filters below are just eleven ways to frame it.
Two guardrails on "wrong":
- The wrong must be safe. The reader has to feel the target is fair game and no real harm is done. Punch at situations, categories, and yourself — not at the reader or a vulnerable group.
- The wrong must be true. The funniest wrongness is a truth the reader already half-believes. Invented wrongness reads as random; recognized wrongness reads as how did they know.
The 11 Funny Filters
A filter is a lens you run the wrongness through to make it funny. When a line isn't landing, you don't push harder — you switch filters. Strong lines usually stack two or more.
| # |
Filter |
What it does |
Marketing example |
| 1 |
Irony |
Say/show the opposite of what's meant or expected; the gap is the joke. The Onion's signature. |
"The productivity app so good you'll finally have time to worry about other things." |
| 2 |
Character |
Funny that flows from a specific, flawed persona's point of view. |
An about-page written as your most anxious customer narrating their day. |
| 3 |
Shock |
Cross a line — the taboo, blunt, or unexpectedly crude. Use sparingly and on-brand. |
"Your CRM is where deals go to die." |
| 4 |
Hyperbole |
Comic exaggeration (or its flip, deadpan understatement). |
"Setup takes 4 minutes. We know, because someone's grandparent did it." |
| 5 |
Wordplay |
Puns, double meanings, language turns. Cheapest laugh; use with a second filter. |
A coffee brand: "Deceptively grounded." |
| 6 |
Reference |
Borrow recognition from culture the audience shares. |
Riffing a famous movie line in a launch tweet. |
| 7 |
Madcap |
Pure silliness, zaniness, absurd energy. |
A 404 page where the mascot is visibly panicking. |
| 8 |
Parody |
Imitate and mock a form or genre. Core to fake-news voice. |
A changelog written as breaking news; a pricing page as a nature documentary. |
| 9 |
Analogy |
A funny, over-committed comparison: "it's like X." |
"Migrating off spreadsheets is like leaving a cult — scary, then euphoric." |
| 10 |
Misplaced Focus |
Care intensely about the wrong detail; ignore the important one. |
An ad obsessing over the button's corner radius while the building burns behind it. |
| 11 |
Meta-Humor |
Jokes about the joke, the ad, or the format itself. |
"This is the part of the ad where we'd list features. You get it." |
Workflow
Follow in order. Write the wrongness before the joke — you can't frame a truth you haven't named.
Step 1 — Lock the brief
Confirm (or infer): the product/subject, the audience and what they already believe, the placement (headline, hook, tweet, CTA, subject line, slideshow caption), the brand's comfort with edge (clean / dry-witty / willing-to-shock), and any non-negotiables (claims that must stay true, words that can't appear).
Step 2 — Find what's wrong
List 3–5 truths that are wrong about this product, its category, the customer's situation, or the competitor. Circle the one the audience will recognize fastest. This is your target.
Step 3 — Run it through filters
Take the target and generate lines through at least 4 different filters — don't marry the first. Aim for volume: write bad ones on purpose. Quantity is how you reach the good one.
Step 4 — Stack and sharpen
Take the 2–3 strongest and layer a second filter onto each (irony + hyperbole, parody + reference). Then apply the craft rules below.
Step 5 — Cut to the funniest word last
Put the funniest, most specific, most surprising word at the end of the line. Trim everything before it. Deliver 3–5 options, note which filters each uses, and flag any that lean on edge so the user can choose.
Craft Rules
- Specific beats general. "A sandwich" isn't funny; "a lukewarm gas-station egg salad sandwich" might be. Name the brand, the number, the exact object.
- Funny word at the end. The laugh lands on the last beat. Never bury the punch mid-sentence.
- Brevity is the punch. Cut every syllable that isn't doing comic work. A joke that needs a run-up in a headline is the wrong joke.
- One joke per unit. A headline holds one idea. Stacking filters is good; stacking punchlines dilutes both.
- Write badly first, judge later. Generation and editing are different jobs. Get 15 mediocre lines down before you rank them — the good one usually hides behind the obvious ones.
- True over clever. If it's clever but doesn't ring true, it dies. If it's true and only a little clever, it lives.
Diagnose Why a Joke Isn't Landing
When the user hands you a flat line, run this checklist:
- Is anything actually wrong? No wrongness → no joke. Add a target.
- Is the wrongness recognizable? If the reader doesn't already half-believe it, it reads as random. Anchor it to a shared truth.
- Is the funny word at the end? If the punch is buried, rearrange.
- Is it too long? Cut to the bone; the pause before the last word is the timing.
- Is it only wordplay? Puns alone feel cheap. Add a second filter (irony, character, hyperbole).
- Is it trying too hard / too many jokes? Kill all but the strongest beat.
- Is it punching down or off-brand-edgy? Redirect the target to the situation, the category, or yourself.
Name which check failed, then fix it by switching or stacking filters — don't just reword.
End Goal & Narrowing
Success looks like: 3–5 options the user can ship, each with its target and filters labeled, the funniest word at the end, and any edgy option flagged for a decision.
Out of scope / do not:
- Do not invent product claims, stats, or facts to serve a joke — humor must sit on true copy.
- Do not punch down at the reader, customers, or protected groups; keep targets safe and fair.
- Do not exceed the brand's stated comfort with edge; when unsure, offer a clean version alongside the bolder one.
- Do not pad with explanation — deliver the lines, not a comedy lecture, unless the user asked to learn the method.
1---2name: write-funny3description: Make marketing and content copy genuinely funny using Scott Dikkers' (founding editor of The Onion) system — the "something's wrong" thesis and the 11 Funny Filters. Use this skill whenever the user wants to write, punch up, or diagnose humor in headlines, taglines, hooks, ad copy, social posts, email subject lines, landing-page copy, product names, CTAs, or slideshow captions — including requests like "make this funnier", "why isn't this joke landing", "give me funny headlines for X", "add humor to this ad", "write a witty tagline", "roast this copy", or any mention of comedy, wit, jokes, or being funny in a marketing context. Also trigger when copy is flat, corporate, or trying-too-hard and needs comic lift.4---56# Write Funny78Make marketing copy funny on purpose, not by accident. This skill applies Scott Dikkers' method from *How to Write Funny* — the system that produced *The Onion*'s voice — adapted for headlines, hooks, ads, social posts, and other short-form content where one line has to land.910Comedy in marketing is not decoration. A funny line earns the share, the screenshot, the "I have to show someone this." But funny-that-misses is worse than plain, because it reads as *trying*. This skill exists to make the funny reliable.1112## The First Rule: Something's Wrong1314**All comedy comes from something being wrong.** A mistake, a flaw, a gap between what should be and what is. If nothing is wrong, it isn't funny — it's just a sentence. Before writing a single joke, answer one question:1516> **What's wrong here?**1718The "wrong" can live anywhere: in the product's category (everyone pretending this is fine), in the customer's situation (the pain they won't say out loud), in the competitor's promise, in the reader's own behavior, in the absurdity of the thing you're selling. Name the wrongness first. The filters below are just eleven ways to *frame* it.1920Two guardrails on "wrong":21- **The wrong must be safe.** The reader has to feel the target is fair game and no real harm is done. Punch at situations, categories, and yourself — not at the reader or a vulnerable group.22- **The wrong must be true.** The funniest wrongness is a truth the reader already half-believes. Invented wrongness reads as random; recognized wrongness reads as *how did they know*.2324## The 11 Funny Filters2526A filter is a lens you run the wrongness through to make it funny. When a line isn't landing, you don't push harder — you **switch filters**. Strong lines usually **stack two or more**.2728| # | Filter | What it does | Marketing example |29|---|---|---|---|30| 1 | **Irony** | Say/show the opposite of what's meant or expected; the gap is the joke. *The Onion's* signature. | "The productivity app so good you'll finally have time to worry about other things." |31| 2 | **Character** | Funny that flows from a specific, flawed persona's point of view. | An about-page written as your most anxious customer narrating their day. |32| 3 | **Shock** | Cross a line — the taboo, blunt, or unexpectedly crude. Use sparingly and on-brand. | "Your CRM is where deals go to die." |33| 4 | **Hyperbole** | Comic exaggeration (or its flip, deadpan understatement). | "Setup takes 4 minutes. We know, because someone's grandparent did it." |34| 5 | **Wordplay** | Puns, double meanings, language turns. Cheapest laugh; use with a second filter. | A coffee brand: "Deceptively grounded." |35| 6 | **Reference** | Borrow recognition from culture the audience shares. | Riffing a famous movie line in a launch tweet. |36| 7 | **Madcap** | Pure silliness, zaniness, absurd energy. | A 404 page where the mascot is visibly panicking. |37| 8 | **Parody** | Imitate and mock a form or genre. Core to fake-news voice. | A changelog written as breaking news; a pricing page as a nature documentary. |38| 9 | **Analogy** | A funny, over-committed comparison: "it's like X." | "Migrating off spreadsheets is like leaving a cult — scary, then euphoric." |39| 10 | **Misplaced Focus** | Care intensely about the wrong detail; ignore the important one. | An ad obsessing over the button's corner radius while the building burns behind it. |40| 11 | **Meta-Humor** | Jokes about the joke, the ad, or the format itself. | "This is the part of the ad where we'd list features. You get it." |4142## Workflow4344Follow in order. Write the wrongness before the joke — you can't frame a truth you haven't named.4546### Step 1 — Lock the brief47Confirm (or infer): the **product/subject**, the **audience** and what they already believe, the **placement** (headline, hook, tweet, CTA, subject line, slideshow caption), the **brand's comfort with edge** (clean / dry-witty / willing-to-shock), and any **non-negotiables** (claims that must stay true, words that can't appear).4849### Step 2 — Find what's wrong50List 3–5 truths that are *wrong* about this product, its category, the customer's situation, or the competitor. Circle the one the audience will recognize fastest. This is your target.5152### Step 3 — Run it through filters53Take the target and generate lines through **at least 4 different filters** — don't marry the first. Aim for volume: write bad ones on purpose. Quantity is how you reach the good one.5455### Step 4 — Stack and sharpen56Take the 2–3 strongest and layer a second filter onto each (irony + hyperbole, parody + reference). Then apply the craft rules below.5758### Step 5 — Cut to the funniest word last59Put the funniest, most specific, most surprising word at the **end** of the line. Trim everything before it. Deliver 3–5 options, note which filters each uses, and flag any that lean on edge so the user can choose.6061## Craft Rules6263- **Specific beats general.** "A sandwich" isn't funny; "a lukewarm gas-station egg salad sandwich" might be. Name the brand, the number, the exact object.64- **Funny word at the end.** The laugh lands on the last beat. Never bury the punch mid-sentence.65- **Brevity is the punch.** Cut every syllable that isn't doing comic work. A joke that needs a run-up in a headline is the wrong joke.66- **One joke per unit.** A headline holds one idea. Stacking *filters* is good; stacking *punchlines* dilutes both.67- **Write badly first, judge later.** Generation and editing are different jobs. Get 15 mediocre lines down before you rank them — the good one usually hides behind the obvious ones.68- **True over clever.** If it's clever but doesn't ring true, it dies. If it's true and only a little clever, it lives.6970## Diagnose Why a Joke Isn't Landing7172When the user hands you a flat line, run this checklist:73741. **Is anything actually wrong?** No wrongness → no joke. Add a target.752. **Is the wrongness recognizable?** If the reader doesn't already half-believe it, it reads as random. Anchor it to a shared truth.763. **Is the funny word at the end?** If the punch is buried, rearrange.774. **Is it too long?** Cut to the bone; the pause before the last word is the timing.785. **Is it only wordplay?** Puns alone feel cheap. Add a second filter (irony, character, hyperbole).796. **Is it trying too hard / too many jokes?** Kill all but the strongest beat.807. **Is it punching down or off-brand-edgy?** Redirect the target to the situation, the category, or yourself.8182Name which check failed, then fix it by switching or stacking filters — don't just reword.8384## End Goal & Narrowing8586**Success looks like:** 3–5 options the user can ship, each with its target and filters labeled, the funniest word at the end, and any edgy option flagged for a decision.8788**Out of scope / do not:**89- Do not invent product claims, stats, or facts to serve a joke — humor must sit on true copy.90- Do not punch down at the reader, customers, or protected groups; keep targets safe and fair.91- Do not exceed the brand's stated comfort with edge; when unsure, offer a clean version alongside the bolder one.92- Do not pad with explanation — deliver the lines, not a comedy lecture, unless the user asked to learn the method.
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