By John McCarthy, Opinion editor
At The Drum Live, the marketer explains how his new agency, The First Darrin (which he founded with JB Smoove), helps brands harness humor.
Jarrod Moses and Lynn Lester at The Drum Live
Comedy has long been advertising’s secret weapon, but in 2025, it is also becoming one of its most complex frontiers. Jarrod Moses, founder, chief executive officer and president of United Entertainment Group (UEG), recently teamed up with acclaimed comedian and Curb Your Enthusiasm star JB Smoove to launch a new comedic agency dedicated to helping brands get humor right. At Cannes Lions this year, we covered the launch.
Now, speaking at The Drum Live, he argues that the case for comedy is grounded in hard data. “Over 40% of ads around the globe are comedy-based, where there’s some kind of comedic thread pulled into the storyline of campaigns,” he says.
“If you use comedy in your campaigns, there’s a 70% higher likelihood of conversion to purchase than if you don’t. These are real statistics.”
But while comedy sells, it also misfires easily.
“So many people try to be funny in the world of advertising and marketing. And as all of you know, it’s really hard to do,” Moses says.
That is where Smoove comes in. Known for his improvisational energy and scene-stealing turns on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, he has been bringing his comedic voice directly into campaign storytelling.
“He writes copy that’s serious. He writes so that, if you come to him with a brief and you want to accomplish an objective… he writes it straight, meaning that he writes the story first,” Moses explains. “He then punches it up. He starts to throw in the left and the right of funny into the straight copy, because you have to have the message first before you make it funny.”
The new agency’s model also challenges the industry’s heavy reliance on outside talent. “If you’re running an agency, I’m willing to bet probably one out of two of your creatives are outsourced,” Moses says. By embedding comedy talent into the heart of campaigns, he and Smoove aim to build a more authentic, sustainable approach.
And then, artificial intelligence adds another wrinkle. “AI is here to stay. We all know that, but there are two things that AI will never do… AI cannot create taste and AI cannot create culture.” He adds that it will never have the nuance that the best comedy requires. It isn’t the correct response for everyone anyway. “There are brands that just can’t be funny and they’ll try hard to be funny and you’ll smell it, right? ‘This is ridiculous. I don’t believe it. I’m not going to do it.’”
From signing Rihanna to Secret Deodorant 17 years ago to early work with Taylor Swift, Moses has built a career on spotting talent before the world catches up. Partnering with JB Smoove, he believes, marks the next big opportunity: helping brands find their comic voice and their own audience in 2025.
Read the full article HERE.