When it Comes to Healthcare and Humor, Where do you Draw the Line?

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know I’m an advertising junkie. I’ve blogged about one of my heroes in the business – Mike Hughes of The Martin Agency. He is battling cancer, but has managed to keep his wonderful wit and keen observations throughout it all.

In fact, he has a thoughtful, poignant blog of his own called “Unfinished Thinking. You can find that here. Another ad hero I follow is Luke Sullivan, who used to work for Mike in Richmond and wrote the bestselling advertising book “Hey Whipple: Squeeze This.” Luke also has a great site here.

Recently, I noticed one of Luke’s Facebook posts mentioning that Mike had written to him asking for “new material.” New jokes to make light of his own situation. W+K CD Jim Riswold, also a cancer patient (and the writer behind some of the all-time greatest NIKE ads), sent Mike and Luke this incredibly dark and funny bit from “The Jeselnik Offensive,” which you can watch here.

As a creative director and writer in the healthcare world, it made me think, “Where do you draw the line between being entertaining and engaging and being offensive?” Cancer is a very serious subject – but I also know cancer patients and survivors who never lose their sense of humor. So, watch it and let us know your thoughts.