156: Tom Fishburne on why the best marketers are the ones who can laugh at themselves

This week we deliberately trapped ourselves in a cartoon like the dude from A-Ha in order to cross paths with marketing’s MirthMaster 3000, Tom Fishburne aka The Marketoonist. Apart from your CEO accidentally getting trapped in his own futuristic private bathroom over the bank holiday weekend, the funniest stuff in marketing usually comes from Tom’s brain. The comic genius behind The Marketoonist, Tom has been skewering this highly skewerable business for years – giving a reassuring chuckle to millions of marketers along the way. As well as being a famous side-splitter he’s also an expert eye-opener, with his Marketoonist agency having persuaded mega brands like Google, Microsoft and even LinkedIn of the value of having (and giving) a laugh. And, in his bid to remove the ‘po’ from the face of marketing, he also shares his wit and wisdom as one of the industry’s most in-demand keynote speakers. This episode is dedicated to David and Claire Hyatt from Wales, as without these two Tom’s cartooning may never have transitioned from hobby to work.  ///// Follow Tom on LinkedIn. Tom Fishburne's website here. The Marketoonist website here. Timestamps: 02:14 - Quick Fire Questions with Tom Fishburne 03:21 - Tom's Career Journey: From English Major to Cartoonist 07:00 - Early Influences and Inspirations 08:42 - Observations and Humour in Prague 10:09 - First Office Cartoons and Their Impact 13:49 - Humour in Marketing and Business 17:55 - Finding Material for Cartoons 19:06 - The Role of Humour in Serious Topics 23:21 - Can Any Brand Embrace Humour? 25:18 - Humour During the COVID-19 Pandemic 27:50 - Variety of Brands Tom Has Worked With 29:54 - Consistency of Human Nature in Humour 30:41 - Listener Questions: Balancing Satirical Humour 33:28 - Digital Transformation and Industry Jargon 35:07 - Listener Questions: AI and Humour 38:07 - Listener Questions: Humour Category at Cannes 39:38 - Listener Questions: AI vs. Human Comedians 42:26 - Four Pertinent Poses: Advice to Younger Self 43:23 - Four Pertinent Poses: Banish One Thing from the Industry Tom's Book Recommendations are:  Orbiting the Giant Hairball – Gordon MacKenzie  School is Hell – Matt Groening  /////