The Dream Cafe: Lessons in the Art of Radical Innovation

JJEST

Deciding what to cover in this book involved careful choice and lots of discussion. We agreed that humour was essential, but H was already allocated to Habitat – and we were not going to miss out on the opportunity to introduce one of the primary opportunities for any brand business to innovate. So here is H = HUMOUR thinly disguised as J = JEST.

The Dream Café is full of jest. We know that creating the kind of rapport that enables our clients to trust us with being the midwives to their brave new future requires a substantial sense of humour. That said, we never want to introduce the process by saying, ‘sit on your bean bags and get ready for FUN’ – since this often kick-starts those buttock-clenching ideation events that are created ‘to empower you to RELEASE your INNER CREATIVITY’.

Humour, jest, wit, jokes, satire, comedy, pastiche, irony and absurdity are a crucial part of the palate of possibilities that artists, writers, filmmakers and brand marketers use to connect with others. The motive for employing humour covers a wide spectrum of needs and intentions that include seduction, undermining power, negating competition and creating positive empathy. Additionally, humour has a powerful ability to connect. Consider that comedy films consistently rank second in the most popular genre stakes in annual film box office success across the world (http://www.bfi.org.uk). A ...