Independent creative agency Kitchen has appointed BAFTA-nominated actor and writer Alex Macqueen as head of humour.
In this newly formed role, Alex will bring his many years of comedy performing and writing experience to both brand campaigns and new business pitches, sprinkling humour across the agency's creative outputs. Alex is well-known for countless comedic roles, including Julius Nicholson in ‘The Thick Of It’ and Neil’s Dad in ‘The Inbetweeners’.
He joins the agency at an exciting time for the industry as humour makes a comeback in advertising, a fact celebrated in Cannes this year with the inclusion of the first dedicated ‘humour’ category.
While focusing on brands with a natural comedic appeal, Alex will also push the boundaries for those that may not have traditionally embraced humour, helping them connect with consumers in more authentic and engaging ways.
Alex joins Kitchen at an exciting time; with a surge of new client wins, world-class talent hires and the launch of the Kitchen Coffee Shop - a fully operational coffee shop in partnership with SEND Coffee charity.
Alex said, “When I was growing up the adverts on TV were the best thing about it. They were clever, funny, naughty and impish and something a lot of actors wanted to be part of. I’m really delighted to be given the chance by Kitchen, to mix some of those qualities back into the advertising food chain.”
Tim Clyde, co-founder, Kitchen said, “At Kitchen, we believe that humour plays a vital role in building emotional and authentic connections with people. Given Alex's success in comedy and drama writing and performing, he was the obvious choice to help us bring humour back to the industry. Alex is quite naturally the direct opposite to AI - nothing he ever says or comes up with is predictable. I can’t wait to see the magic he brings to our clients’ campaigns.”