Can Costa Coffee Stir Up Some Comedy?

Café chain Costa Coffee has launched an online comedy competition in an uncomfortable attempt to link their newest beverage, Costa Light, with the “light-hearted” British sense of humour.  Is this just a bit of frothy fun? Or do corporate deals like this create real ethical problems for what is often a subversive and confrontational art form?

Comedy is booming at the moment. Stand-ups fill stadium gigs like rock stars, and make millions in DVD sales. The public is craving comedy like they crave caffeine, and Costa Coffee is only cashing in on the trend. It’s no wonder that class clowns and office jokers want to be part of the circuit and, by offering two 10-minute slots at the famous Comedy Store venues in London and Manchester, Costa is using their commercial resources to give somebody that chance.

Corporate sponsorship provides much-needed funding for new talent, but comedy is paying the cost. The demands of a commercial company, particularly their squeamishness about controversial subject matter, can ultimately censor comics and prevent them from pushing the boundaries of acceptability. PRs have the power to sanitize the jokes in their competitions, and when faced with losing the dangling carrot of national exposure or a cash prize, many struggling comedians cannot resist homogenizing their sets into an acceptable, marketable commodity.

Perhaps the public has no moral issue with this form of distribution. After all, Michael McIntyre’s brand of inoffensive, uncontroversial and often family-friendly comedy is incredibly successful. That isn’t in any way an insult - McIntyre’s material is undeniably funny, but it is also undeniable that even something as cannily observed as ‘the Man Drawer’ will never push boundaries of taste or thought. While the audience appreciates such populist humour, the comedians themselves certainly find it more problematic.

Even in a more alternative environment like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the problem of corporate sponsorship is still unavoidable. The Edinburgh Comedy Award, currently sponsored by Fosters Lager, was originally backed by the mineral water Perrier. In 1992, however, Perrier was bought by Nestle; according to campaign group Baby Milk Action, Nestle’s ‘aggressive marketing’ of powdered baby milk in developing countries contributed to infant malnutrition and death. Comedians were vocal in their protests against Perrier’s continued sponsorship. Emma Thompson, who won the first ever Perrier Award in 1981 as part of Cambridge Footlights, called for artists to boycott the awards, and Rob Newman created an anti-corporate alternative called the Tap Water Awards.

The Edinburgh Fringe has always stood for artistic freedom; acts have the opportunity to perform to their own audience on their own terms, without restrictions. But the Festival has grown massively, even in the few years since Perrier stopped sponsoring the award, and corporate funding is now necessary to keep it alive. Likewise, British comedy is too big to survive without the likes of Costa and other big corporations. Though the total corporatisation of comedy does seem unlikely, does the lure of sponsorship money outweigh the need for freedom of speech?

The decision to get into bed with big business really lies with the comedians, but there will always be a tension between what they want to say and what they are allowed to say. Costa Light may just create ‘Comedy Light’, and who wants low-caffeine, low-energy, unstimulating, extra-frothy comedy?

This article was originally published on Inter:Mission Bristol's Comedy Blog. To see it in the original and check out the (excellent) website, click here.