Burger King has launched a humorous ad that sees a young girl confused by the realistic taste of the restaurant chain’s vegan food range. Embracing humor and irony, the brand aims to show customers that its plant-based offerings are just as tasty as meat-filled options.

An Re/Max ad has humorously tackled the issue of getting recommendations from strangers on big decisions like buying a house. It emphasises its agents as trusted experts amid the pitfalls of word-of-mouth recommendations, positioning the brand as a reliable authority and source of truth.

In 2024, there will be decisive elections in the US, UK, and Germany while the cost of living crisis is likely to intensify. Instead of engaging in serious rhetoric, how might brands harness humour to diffuse societal tensions and engage consumers with a more playful tone of voice?

What will be the impact of lateral communication? Is influencer culture dead as we know it? What does brand empathy mean to people? In this part of the 2023 Expert Outlook, we speak to three experts about how the search for control and connection is shaping the Communications sector.