MAD Magazine Creative Team Joins Award-Winning The Idea Integration Co. and Together They’re on a Mission to Redefine Advertising

TORONTO, ONTARIO / AGILITYPR.NEWS / January 26, 2022 / The creative team from MAD Magazine, led by Bill Morrison (final editor-in-chief of MAD, right-hand man to Matt Groening, director of Bongo Comics, and artist for The Simpsons) also including Dick DeBartolo, Tom Richmond, Ian Boothby, Teresa Burns Parkhurst, and others are the newest creative team to join The Idea Integration Co., the award-winning non-traditional marketing and advertising agency founded in 2008 and led by Saul Colt (The Smartest Man in the World) with the mission to shake up the advertising world using humor and satire to create memorable work for deserving brands.

The founder of The Idea Integration Co. Saul Colt holds this position, “Advertising has gotten boring. The bar has been dropped so low that any brand that takes a little chance stands out. When MAD stopped producing new material it was a moment in time for many people because the role of MAD was to hold up a mirror to society and say what everyone was thinking. Advertising is supposed to do the same thing but it isn't delivering on that promise anymore. It has become too safe or the agency is more interested in winning awards than creating real impactful advertising that speaks to the buyer. Brands are afraid of using humor for fear of offending people, but the truth is that people remember humor and share humor more than anything else.”

“Data shows that even in uncertain times, 75% of a brand’s audience is asking for humor in their advertising. I cannot think of a group of people more suited to creatively guide brands to using humor and satire in advertising. I look forward to having the creative powerhouses from MAD Magazine as part of our firm,” Mr. Colt added.

Mr. Colt isn’t speaking anecdotally when he talks about the need for humor in advertising. An October 2021 Hubspot survey revealed that 35% of audiences remember ads that are funny, vs. 8% who remember celebrity-driven ads. Additionally, only 1% of consumers said that big budgets or highly-produced ads stayed with them. Mr. Colt and Mr. Morrison are working to help more brave and worthy brands push through their comfort zones to create satirical, humor-driven content that connects with audiences.

Andy Nulman, Founder of the Just for Laughs Festival recognizes humor’s place in all aspects of society, “Mad Magazine’s team of writers and artists can boast of a long history of deeply understanding and mercilessly parodying advertising. In the process of doing so [they became] more relevant, biting and truthful; call this hallmark ‘MADvertising,’ if you will.”

“The merger of Mad’s creatives with the mad creativity of Saul Colt is no vanity project; it’s the opportunity for some truly groundbreaking, attention-generating marketing work for brands who are brave enough to dare and do something new. These are certainly not your ‘Usual Gang of Idiots’,” Mr. Nulman added. 

In the time that the gang, who are certainly not idiots, have been apart, they have continued working on solo creative endeavors. The opportunity to bring everyone together again to create magic in the theme of what they did at MAD is all but a dream for team lead Bill Morrison.

“From co-founding Bongo Comics to my time working on The Simpsons, Futurama and as the editor-in-chief at MAD Magazine, I’ve been fortunate and thankful for well-oiled creative teams. During the years this team worked together at MAD, we brought the best we had every day to create the satirical humor the magazine was known for – humor our readers connected with and relied on. To be able to break new ground for brands, to help them outside of their comfort zone to a place where they can connect with their audience through satire and comedy, is something that we’re not only ready for, it’s a charge we feel best equipped to lead as part of Saul’s agency,” said Bill Morrison, the creative team lead on this new venture.

Now an integral part of the firm known for stunts that get noticed and shared, Mr. Morrison, alongside Mr. Colt and the team, are already evaluating and speaking with several brands ready to embark on this new venture. Thus far, brands such as Neat, Clearco (co-founded by Michele Romanow of the TV’s Dragons Den), and ServiceEcho are leading the way as part of the new breed of brands ready to differentiate themselves using satirical content.

Mitch Joel, founder of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete sums it up like this, “What is your brand differentiator? Don’t have one? Not sure? Saul Colt is your differentiator. He can help your brand find something uniquely you. I believe that great brands hit emotions hard; with humor, with insight, with joy, and with something memorable. [If you’re] willing to try something fun, different, edgy, something memorable [then you’d] better call Saul and his team. You’d be MAD to miss this opportunity.”