Preview: Laughs or Liability with Fumi Abe

A three minute version of S1 E5 of where Opinion Party, where hosts Laura Jones and Jason Gaikowski explore the intersection of brand humor and marketing with comedian Fumi Abe . They discuss the evolving role of humor in advertising, the importance of authenticity, and the creative processes behind comedy. The conversation delves into the effectiveness of comedic characters in advertising, the challenges of cultural identity in humor, and the implications of AI in the creative industry. The episode wraps up with insights on how brands can effectively use humor to connect with audiences while maintaining their identity.

⭐️ Full episode drops 5/20/2025, wherever you find your podcasts. ⭐️

Learn more a thttps://www.theopinionparty.com 

Opinion Party is the marketing podcast where we interrogate marketing's most deeply held beliefs through the cold cruel lens of data and expert insights.

Find us at https://www.theopinionparty.com 

Opinion Party is brought to you by:
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Our strategic consulting services transform brand growth into brand = growth. Whether you need to analyze, transform, or grow your brand, our team provide solutions based on 30 years of proven methodology and results.

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CREDITS:
Hosts: Laura Jones and Jason Gaikowski
Executive Producer: Mark Richardson
Editor: Gabriel Montoya
Spiritual, Menu, and Technical Advisor: Ketzirah Lesser
Research: Aly Ryan

Episode Transcript

Fumi Abe (00:00):
Yeah. Brands are getting sneaky, man. They're
they're paying my they're payingmy friends to advertise, I don't
know, whatever Logan Paul'sstupid drink is. Yeah. I'm
sorry.
What was the question?

Laura Jones (00:17):
Hey, everyone. Welcome back to opinion party.
I'm your host, Laura Jones.

Jason Gaikowski (00:21):
I'm Jason Gajkowski.

Laura Jones (00:23):
And this is the podcast that dispels the most
pervasive myths in modernmarketing through the cold,
cruel lens of data.

Jason Gaikowski (00:32):
So I can't wait to get into this with, with our
our guest today, an actualcomedian with a BAV background.
I think this is gonna be afantastic conversation.

Laura Jones (00:41):
Fumi Abe, welcome to Opinion Party. Great to have
you.

Fumi Abe (00:45):
Hello. Thanks for having me. Excited to be here.
Hey. When you guys were talkingabout, like, power goods and
stuff, that really brought meback to, like, 2014.
So thank you for that. That wasreally nice. Like, if it's not
shareable, it cannot go viral.And so, like, relevance is so
important, and it doesn't evenhave to be an original idea.
Right?
Like, what is a trend? You justdo somebody else's joke, and
then it goes viral becauseyou're wearing a different

(01:07):
outfit. Like but that's howpeople get famous.

Laura Jones (01:09):
You know? What's more painful to watch? A brand
trying to be funny or a comedianbombing?

Fumi Abe (01:16):
Everybody bombs. You know? And so to me, when I watch
a comedian bomb, like, I knowpeople are uncomfortable, but,
a, I think it's kinda funnybecause I know what that feels
like. But, also, there'ssomething very beautiful about
it because, you know, there'sjust something so beautiful and
funny about how, like, thesepeople are, like, trying so hard
to, like, connect with theaudience and, like, chase this

(01:39):
thing. So this guy or whatever,like, this this whoever this
comedian person is just tryingso hard to connect, and it's
just it's just not working atall for ten minutes.
It's just silence. And so to me,there's something so beautiful
about this pursuit. So I I likeit. I like watching comedians
bomb. You know?
It's, like, nice and refreshing.

Laura Jones (01:55):
But I just went off on that little bit of a rant,
but I

Fumi Abe (01:58):
do No. AI AI is dark. AI AI AI AI is dark. It might
help you write, like, a pawn or,like, if you wanna write, like,
a very corporate Instagramcaption. It's very good at that.
Very, like, soulless. You know?

Laura Jones (02:12):
Where can everyone find you out in the world if
they wanna know more about Fumi?

Fumi Abe (02:17):
Yes. Please follow me on all the socials. I post a lot
of stand up videos on there. Youcan follow me on Instagram and
TikTok at the Fumi Abe. That'sspelled t h e f u m I a b e.
I'm also on tour. So if you livein a city in America, I'll
probably be coming to your city.So please go to FumiAbe.com, and

(02:40):
you can see my tour dates.

Laura Jones (02:43):
With that, I think we've all sufficiently insulted
one another, and, it's time togo.