A joke writ large

Comic Kurt hires a skywriter for his punchline

American comedian Kurt Braunohler has spent $4,000 on a single joke... hiring a skywriting plane to spell out the message: ‘How Do I Land?’ in the skies over Los Angeles.

He said the stunt was an attempt to entertain people with an unexpected bit of absurd humour.

‘My whole purpose as a comedian, as I see it, is to insert stupid or absurd moments into strangers' lives because I think it makes the world a slightly better place for just a second,’ he said.

His fans paid for the skywriter through crowd-funding website Kickstarter, and also got to vote on the message. Other candidates included: ‘OMG I’m flying!’ and ‘God’s Fartin’!’

‘How Do I Land?’ not only won – but it’s also the title of Braunohler’s debut comedy album. However he insisted wasn’t a publicity stunt for the summer release.

The skywriter began the message at 3.33pm LA time yesterday.

It’s just the latest in a series of absurd stunts pulled by Braunohler, who has previously visited the Edinburgh Fringe with his regular live show Hot Tub live show, which he co-hosts with his friend Kristen Schaal.

He told NPR: ‘For a while now I've been going into pharmacies and buying a bunch of greeting cards and then taking them home and signing them with alternate endings and then bringing them back and putting them back on the shelf.

‘I don't know who sees them and I don't know what it does but I hope that for just a second the unexpectedness can kind of take someone out of their everyday routine and give them a little treat.’

Published: 24 Mar 2013

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