Amoosing: Study Concludes Cows Can Laugh
A unique experiment into bovine behaviour has today revealed that cows have a sense of humour and even display signs of laughter. The study combining cattle and comedy, thought to be the first of its kind, was conducted by The Laughing Cow together with award-winning comedian Milton Jones and leading independent cow expert, Bruce Woodacre.
The Can Cows Laugh? experiment, commissioned by The Laughing Cow, included a mixture of both observational and experimental research. Mock the Week and BBC Radio 4 comedian Milton took to a field to deliver an absherd comedy set to test the reaction of a field of Hertfordshire Fresians. The Pull the Udder One set, written exclusively for the experiment and featuring a range of both visual and verbal one liners, puns and jokes was performed to a packed herd – with Bruce able to closely monitor their reactions.
Despite recent research finding that only 11% of Brits believe that cows can laugh and 40% stating cows don’t have a sense of humour, Cambridge graduate and world renowned cow expert Bruce said: “Milton’s comedy definitely provoked a visible reaction from the herd. Cows are intelligent and naturally inquisitive animals with a strong social awareness and they’re capable of a range of emotions. It’s clear that most of them were engaged by Milton and displayed behaviour that suggests they were either amused by him… or they were mocking him!”
Bruce added “After over 40 years of studying the behaviour of cows across the world, I know that happy cows are more productive cows and there’s a chance we’ve stumbled across something here! Most of the herd crowded closely round the stage and jostled for a good position. They had their mouths open and their ears laid back, indicating that they were relaxed and content. Not everyone was entertained though – I definitely heard some low heckling moos and there were even a few walk-outs.”
Of his unique performance, Milton said, ‘Writing comedy for cows was very different to my day job but a comedian plays to his audience, so I wrote a raft of new material to really get under their hides. They were a tough crowd to begin with, although I’ve played to tougher, and whilst I tried not to milk it too much when I was up there, in the end I can say hand on heart they were udderly brilliant!”
Fiona Riches, Senior Brand manager at Bel UK said, “As the UK's most popular cheese triangle, The Laughing Cow is an iconic and much-loved character. We pride ourselves in going the extra mile to create the tastiest cheese, which is ‘Made with Laughter’. We’ve always believed that cows could laugh, so we got Milton and Bruce together to prove our theory and had a lot of fun in the process.”
Milton’s Pull the Udder One comedy videos are now available to view later this week on facebook.com/thelaughingcowuk, together with Bruce Woodacre’s analysis. The Laughing Cow campaign comes as the cheese brand unveils its latest 3D animated ‘High Farm’ TV ad bringing to life The Laughing Cow and a host of new characters as they have fun making their tasty cheese triangles.
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Notes to Editors
Research was conducted amongst 2,000 adults by 72 point between 5th May and 6th May 2011
Bruce Woodacre –Independent consultant cow expert - http://cowexpert.com/
About Laughing Cow:
The cheese revolution!
Our story began in France in 1921, when our company's founders Leon and Jules Bel invented The Laughing Cow ("La Vache Qui Rit") and in doing so created a whole new way of eating cheese.
As the first cheese spread to be packaged in individual foil portions, The Laughing Cow was a revolutionary product and stayed fresher for longer. Such was the importance of this innovation, our easy open foil wrapping technology remains top secret to this day.
The design icon
The Laughing Cow was registered as a trademark by Leon Bel in 1921, making The Laughing Cow, France's very first branded cheese — quite an honour in the cheese capital of the world!
In 1924 his friend, the famous illustrator Benjamin Rabier, created and designed a laughing cow caricature for the packaging and this remains relatively unchanged to this very day. This famous icon now adorns not only our packaging, but has inspired different artists, from graphic designers and comic strip authors to movie makers around the world.
The world phenomenon
Today The Laughing Cow is the UK's most popular cheese triangle and is loved in over 120 countries worldwide. The name has also been localised in some countries just to make sure everybody knows who our hero is.
Ten million portions of The Laughing Cow are enjoyed each day around the world — that’s a jaw-dropping 4,600 every minute and piled one on top of the other, they would be as high as 500 Eiffel towers!
About the Advert:
The 3D animated ‘High Farm’ advertising creative, breaks during ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ on Sunday 29th May. The advert introduces the charming and eccentric assortment of High Farm cow characters tasked with creating The Laughing Cow cheese triangles, accompanied by a modern and dynamic soundtrack. From collecting milk and producing wheels of cheese to cutting, melting and casting the individual portions, they come together expectantly at the final tasting to hear the verdict of The Laughing Cow herself. Developed by Mac Guff, whose credits include Universal Studios ‘Despicable Me’, and directed by Oscar-nominated Samuel Tourneux; the incredible 3D animation took four months of work involving 25 graphic artists and over 120,000 hours of calculation.
