I once had to coach a radio morning show — a good morning show — that wanted nothing to do with me. I eventually won them over, but it didn’t start great.
They had a daily benchmark called “Hilarious Theater.” It was often funny, but almost never hilarious. I told the main host it was a good concept, don’t lose it, but the setup/name did two things that could be problematic.
- It creates an impossible expectation of constant hilarity. That’s a high bar to clear every morning.
- Humor is subjective. What Jenny on the block finds hilarious may cause Sally in the alley to cringe.
I wasn’t being overly literal, even though the audience often is. The goal was to avoid situations where listeners expect one thing and get something different. Like when you’re promised amazing pasta and just get basic spaghetti.
The host disagreed and kept everything the same.
It wasn’t just the name of the benchmark. The bit itself had a big, long, overproduced intro that all but promised the second coming of all Comedy Gods were on the way.
Months later, the show got the chance to hear direct feedback from listeners in a focus group when I played “Hilarious Theater” (and other segments) for the room. I’ll paraphrase but not exaggerate — the general response from the room was:
“It’s OK, but not hilarious. They should call it ‘trying to be hilarious theater.’”
Focus group attendees are ruthless and never easily impressed. The point though stuck: don’t ruin a good payoff with an overzealous setup.
This isn’t just a morning show thing. It’s everywhere.
All programmers can relate to the uber-hyped setups they hear for a new single going for adds: “Amazing! Wait ‘til you hear it, I can’t stop listening — might be the song of the year!”
You’ve heard your friends rev you up: “OMG, you will NOT believe what JUST happened to me!” Followed by a story that’s both believable and kinda boring.
The problem here isn’t striving to be hilarious or being excited to share. It’s the approach. The moment we label something EPIC, MASSIVE, HILARIOUS, BEST, UNBELIVABLE, OMG — we’re writing checks that are hard to cash. Restraint is often better.
“Maybe Not Hilarious Theater” would be more likeable. It’s self-aware, disarming, honest and human. It still signals humor is coming without promising you’ll be ROTFLYAO.
Your friend simply saying, “I want to tell you what happened to me,” would get your attention but not make you expect you’re about to hear how he got stuck in an elevator with Sydney Sweeney.
Hyped set-ups are everywhere. Ad agencies and marketers are famous for creating their super amazing and super spectacular set-ups. Stopsets at Radio and TV are jammed with sensational setups:
• “Our biggest sale ever.” (But it’s the same sale from last month.)
• “Two-For-One Blowout All Weekend.” (But it’s always Two-for-One.)
• Football fans know “LAST CHANCE NFL DEALS” actually get better each week.
It’s natural to want to create excitement, urgency or to convey “bigness”. Just make sure it’s for the right moment and that the payoff meets the promise.
• Let’s not run the edgy “THIS IS ROCK” production piece going into “Under the Bridge.”
• Let’s not say we’re Alternative going into the most mainstream song of the hour.
• Let’s not shout “45 minutes non-stop” when there’s only one song left in the sweep.
• How about we don’t call it “Hilarious Theater” when it’s likely not hilarious to many.
• And maybe the circus promo shouldn’t sound like it’s Rush’s final tour.
In the end, “Hilarious Theater” disappeared, but the solid concept remained. By not trying so hard to be so funny, the show actually got funnier.
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Keith Cunningham is a music industry and Rock/Alternative columnist for Barrett Media and the founder of Black Box Group, a modern-modeled creative & strategic consultancy built for brands that need strategies with teeth. He’s the former Master of Mayhem at 95.5 KLOS-FM in Los Angeles for over a decade, a nationwide consultant, and has been repeatedly voted one of America’s top Program Directors and strategic thinkers. Keith has built his career by taking multi-million-dollar brands from worst to first and leading Marconi & Gracie award winners along the way. A data nerd with a rock-and-roll heart, he is an advisory council member for St. Jude fundraising, a fantasy football champion, and lover of his daughters & dogs. Reach him at keithblackboxgroup@gmail.com or on LinkedIn or X.
