At Party Land, doubling down on humor pays off

The death of comic advertising is greatly exaggerated, at least at Party Land, the Los Angeles agency that built its business around humor—and continues to embrace it as a way to turn audiences into fans. The bet has more than paid off for the 6-year-old agency, which enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2022, growing revenue by 81% to $6.5 million—and projecting $10 million in revenue for 2023, which would essentially triple the shop’s revenue in just two years. Ad Age Small Agency Awards See all of the 2023 winners Click here Party Land famously helped Liquid Death hone its comic chops, beginning in 2018, and continues to work with the canned water brand. Last year, though, the agency did a lot of its funniest work for restaurants and packaged foods—including Dave’s Hot Chicken, Wholly Veggie and The Habit Burger. The Dave’s Hot Chicken campaign was a particular highlight. The series of darkly comic ads urged viewers to try the chain’s food before they die. The pitch came via teary mock testimonials from people whose friends and family had indeed passed away—in the most ridiculous ways imaginable. For Wholly Veggie, the plant-based frozen food brand, Party Land whipped up heavy metal songs—composed and performed by agency creatives Matt Heath and Matt Rogers—for entertaining ads about tricking picky eaters into eating their veggies. (Liquid Death would wholly approve.) And for The Habit Burger, a Yum Brands restaurant chain, the agency crafted supremely wacky 15-second vignettes, including one with a horse named Chris who snarfs down the eatery’s Santa Barbara Cobb Salad. Bringing smiles isn’t just a strategy for clients’ advertising—it’s an internal mantra as Party Land as well. The agency has long prioritized employee well-being, and ramped up those efforts last year. Staffers are routinely given mental health days off. The agency has half-days every Friday, and rarely does anyone work the weekends or after-hours. Different team members run “meditation Mondays,” and the agency offers full coverage of meditation and wellness support for all employees. In part due to these perks, the agency said it has lost only one employee to turnover in the last three years. Party Land, whose other clients include Drizly and Urban Decay, is also making a commitment to the environment. It is joining Green the Bid, and its long-term goal is to become a certified B-Corp—having used that as a guide to its operations and infrastructure formation for more than two years now. Ad Age Small Agency Awards See all of the 2023 winners Click here

At Party Land, doubling down on humor pays off

Featured Stories