Speaker Locations

Paddy Gilmore Keynote Speaker

Authority in how brands use humour in their marketing and communications
Keynote speaker at numerous conferences including the Baltic Brand Forum, The Future of Brand, AI in Marketing and WPP's Stream Europe
A regular consultant for global brands including HSBC, Harley-Davidson and Atlassian

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Paddy Gilmore's Biography

Paddy Gilmore is a leading authority on how brands use humour in their marketing. The founder of Studio Gilmore Ltd., The Humour Consultancy, he has worked with dozens of global brands including HSBC, Harley-Davidson and Epson.

Bringing 25 years’ experience in marketing, and a Master’s degree investigating humour, he has delivered keynote speeches internationally. A regular columnist on The Drum, every Monday he helps thousands of people start the week more happily with his hit newsletter, Brands & Humour.

After cutting his teeth in advertising at Bloomberg, Médecins Sans Frontières and Visa, he freelanced at numerous advertising agencies, including Dare London, McCann and Proximity Worldwide.

He is known for his ability to really connect with an audience, explaining sometimes complex subjects in an accessible and fun manner. Indeed, his passion for his subject — how brands can best use humour in their advertising — is self-evident, whether in a small workshop or an international keynote speech.

How to use Humour in your Ads and Not Suffer Sleepless Nights

People love watching funny ads, creatives love making funny ads and funny ads make people more likely to buy what you sell. But businesses often shy away from humour through fear. How can your brand use humour without you suffering insomnia?

Humour, AI and Advertising

Does AI produce safe, funny ads? Does AI even know what humour is? Taking in the cutting-edge of emerging technology, this talk looks at how AI is impacting on notions of what we find funny.

Why do Funny Ads Work — and How?

A funny ad might seem inexplicable. Not at all. Psychologists, sociologists and dozens of other academics now know why we find funny ads funny. Lift up the bonnet on some of the world's best-known funny ads to see how they work — and why

Using Humour to Drive your Sales: Identifying the Humour Strategy for Your Brand

When we think of humour we typically think of it tactically. But more and more humour is being used as a strategic tool: this talk gives you an overview of how the world's biggest brands — McDonald's, VW, IKEA — use humour for very profitable reasons.

Baltic Brand Forum Keynote Speech, 2024

WPP Stream: Ignite Talk 2024

Articles, Media & Podcasts

Paddy Gilmore discusses the science of humour

MediaCat

In with the kids but out of touch: brand humour in 2024

MediaCat

Should brands be laughing all the way to the food bank in 2025?

The Drum

Comments & Testimonials

We all love humour, but it’s a difficult concept because it has so many facets. In his talk Paddy gave us a clear understanding of humour’s “chemical formulas”, demonstrating how humour can help towards our long-term brand-building goals at Tele2. His work will prove invaluable."

— Ilze Zukova, Head of Marketing, Tele2

‘What Paddy Gilmore doesn’t know about humor and advertising, frankly, isn’t worth knowing.’

— John Lyon, CEO, Wilkins Harley-Davidson

"I heard Paddy speak then went to his workshop. I learnt so much. The Einstein of humour and advertising."

— Béatrice Bourdel-Grant, Director Strategic Marketing Communications, Bayer

"I so much enjoyed your presentation at the Baltic Brand Forum last week — it was truly inspiring."

— Kärt Tomp, Estonian Marketing Association

‘The best Lunch & Learn I've ever sat through. I was so busy learning I forgot about lunching.’

— Lucía Aranguren, Head of Visuals, Papier