Tom Fishburne

This week we deliberately trapped ourselves in a cartoon like the dude from A-Ha in order to cross paths with marketing’s MirthMaster 3000, Tom Fishburne aka The Marketoonist.

Apart from your CEO accidentally getting trapped in his own futuristic private bathroom over the bank holiday weekend, the funniest stuff in marketing usually comes from Tom’s brain. The comic genius behind The Marketoonist, Tom has been skewering this highly skewerable business for years – giving a reassuring chuckle to millions of marketers along the way. As well as being a famous side-splitter he’s also an expert eye-opener, with his Marketoonist agency having persuaded mega brands like Google, Microsoft and even LinkedIn of the value of having (and giving) a laugh. And, in his bid to remove the ‘po’ from the face of marketing, he also shares his wit and wisdom as one of the industry’s most in-demand keynote speakers.

This episode is dedicated to David and Claire Hyatt from Wales, as without these two Tom’s cartooning may never have transitioned from hobby to work. 

Follow Tom on LinkedIn.

Tom Fishburne's website here.

The Marketoonist website here.

Timestamps:

02:14 - Quick Fire Questions with Tom Fishburne

03:21 - Tom's Career Journey: From English Major to Cartoonist

07:00 - Early Influences and Inspirations

08:42 - Observations and Humour in Prague

10:09 - First Office Cartoons and Their Impact

13:49 - Humour in Marketing and Business

17:55 - Finding Material for Cartoons

19:06 - The Role of Humour in Serious Topics

23:21 - Can Any Brand Embrace Humour?

25:18 - Humour During the COVID-19 Pandemic

27:50 - Variety of Brands Tom Has Worked With

29:54 - Consistency of Human Nature in Humour

30:41 - Listener Questions: Balancing Satirical Humour

33:28 - Digital Transformation and Industry Jargon

35:07 - Listener Questions: AI and Humour

38:07 - Listener Questions: Humour Category at Cannes

39:38 - Listener Questions: AI vs. Human Comedians

42:26 - Four Pertinent Poses: Advice to Younger Self

43:23 - Four Pertinent Poses: Banish One Thing from the Industry