M.i.’s Westside Comedy Theatre Launches Signature Scent L’HUMOR

To celebrate its 14th anniversary, M.i.’s Westside Comedy Theatre is using the occasion to make a splash and separate itself from other local comedy clubs. Comedy has a feel, a look and a sound.  Now at the Westside Comedy Theatre, it has a smell, too.

Working with Milwaukee-based Hanson Dodge, Westside Comedy Theatre has developed L’HUMOR, making it the first comedy theatre in the world with its own signature scent. Described as:

A waft of witticism

The sharp aroma of topical politics

A hint of puns with a bouquet of crowd work

The sweet smell of hysterical laughter

…the fragrance is being introduced at the Theatre's anniversary party on April 1st. It will be supported by an integrated campaign including fragrance ads and full-size posters, digital and social media, and sample spritzers which will be distributed to patrons attending the theatre's anniversary party. And it’s all packaged together in a unique box set.  

Said Chris Gorbos, general manager of M.i.’s Westside Comedy Theatre, “Primarily in a comedy theatre, we are engaging with your sense of sight and your sense of sound. You see and hear the comedy. So to be able to add another sense, the sense of smell, to that engagement with our audiences is a powerful tool. And the sense of smell is the sense most linked with memories. So if a customer smells our fragrance, they can be transported back to when they had a great time laughing in the audience.” 

Added Chris Buhrman, executive creative director at Hanson Dodge, “Everyone on the project laughed throughout the creative development process. The senior copywriter on the project was a touring comedian and comedy writer for many years. The rest of us at HD would like to think we are funny too, but we'll likely stick to our day jobs. That said, we have been intentional about the work and what this campaign needs to achieve.”

Plans are to amplify the campaign via social media engagement with Westside Comedy Theatre's community of performers, creating content both at the anniversary event and, moving forward, in its green room. The hope is that the performers will enjoy creating and posting content about L’HUMOR and that this will raise the engagement and performance of the theatre's social media posts, ads, and content, ultimately resulting in more ticket sales.

Initially the product will not be available for sale, but if there’s a groundswell of support from customers and performers, theatre owners believe it would be a fantastic product to have on sale at some point in the future.