When Humor is an Effective Tool in Crisis Communications

Humor can be useful in crisis communications - but only in certain situations. In the Journal of Interactive Marketing, researchers (Yu, Huang, and Ping, 2022) defined two types of negative events: defensible and indefensible. The researchers found that humor is only an effective tool in the context of defensible crises.

Indefensible Crisis Events

Indefensible events are "unfavorable incidents that violate rules or safety standards and cause harm to consumers." BP's Deepwater Horizon explosion resulting in the death of 11 oil rig works and spillage of 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 over an 87-day period is an example of an indefensible event.

Early response to the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion (USCG).

"The largest oil spill in U.S. history impacted coastal beaches and marshes, all the way to the deepest parts of the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the fish and wildlife that call those habitats home."

Defensible Crisis Events

The researchers define defensible events as those that “do not violate rules or safety standards and for which the firm itself is not seen as being at fault.” They concluded that the strategic use of humorous language in this context could result in more favorable outcomes (improved brand perception).

An example of an effective campaign using humor to address a defensible event is KFC’s (a global Yum! Brands franchise) response to an unprecedented supply chain hiccup. A switch to a new supplier, DHL, resulted in a widespread shortage of chicken and a subsequent closure of about 800 of its 900 KFC locations in the UK and Ireland in 2018.

KFC’s ad campaign, which included an image of an empty, overturned chicken bucket with their brand name reordered as "FCK" on it, appeared next to an apology. They stated, simply: “We're sorry. A chicken company without any chicken. It's not ideal."

KFC also posted a children’s riddle to add additional levity to snafu:

“Why did the chicken cross the road?”

“The chicken crossed the road… Just not to our restaurants.”

Conclusion

A caveat to using humor in crisis communications: ensure the final campaign addressing the defensible, adverse event is reviewed and approved by your cross-functional Crisis Communications Team and key stakeholders. Each crisis situation presents a unique set of variables that may preclude your team from using humorous language.