Snack brand seeks the 'Cheeziest' gags

A new Joke of the Fringe contest is being launched at Edinburgh this summer.

As the contest is being sponsored by Cheez-It snacks, organisers will be looking for the ‘Cheeziest’ gag of the festival to receive a cash prize of £1,000.

The competition fills the gap left by the cancellation of the Dave joke of the Fringe competition in 2024 after 18 years in which the UKTV broadcaster got acres of press coverage from newspapers running the list of top punchlines. 

Comedians will be invited to submit their jokes, which will be reviewed by a panel of comedy experts before a top five is announced at the start of the Fringe, which will then be thrown open to  a public vote. Details of how to apply have not yet been announced.

The news comes as Cheez-It has been announced as ‘official snack partner’ of the  Fringe

The brand previously helped raise £10,000 for the Keep it Fringe fund supporting Edinburgh-bound performers, with 25p from each 40g bag of the snacks sold in Co-ops going towards the initiative. 

Tony Lankester, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: ‘I was tempted to make my own cheesy jokes here – you wouldn’t brie-lieve it, gouda on them, that sort of thing – but on second thoughts I think I’ll leave that to the professionals.

‘Suffice it to say I’m so thrilled to have Cheez-It on board as the official snack partner of the Fringe – they’ve already shown such amazing support of the Keep it Fringe fund, and their Cheeziest Joke of the Fringe initiative is another way to give Fringe artists cash and exposure when they need it most.’

Rui Frias, senior marketing manager for the brand added: 'We hope to make every moment at the Fringe just a little bit cheesier.’

Four alternative Joke of the Fringe competitions have already been launched to fill the vacuum left by the Dave’s withdrawal – all of which are returning in 2025.

The alternative ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards have such a category, to be sponsored by Nottinghamshire’s Takeover Radio, which comes with a £500.01 prize. Last year it was taken by Jo Caulfield for: ‘Last time I got really drunk I woke up in this filthy bedroom, vomit all down me, some fat, naked bloke snoring next to me. I was like – oh right, at least I got home OK.’

Comic Will Mars runs a '(Some Guy Called) Dave Joke of the Fringe' competition, with a random bloke picking his favourite from a shortlist drawn up by industry experts to win £500. This is backed by a daily showcase at  The Three Sisters during the festival.

Last year, this was won by Andy Gleeks for: ‘I had to visit the trauma unit last weekend. He prefers the term dad.’

The UK Pun Off will also be handing out an award for joke of the Fringe again this year, based in part on audience reaction when they are read out at its festival shows at  Bar 50. Email ukpunoff@gmail.com with Joke of the Fringe  as the subject header with your name and the name of the show it’s from to enter. 

Last year, this was won by  Eliott Simpson for: ‘I’ve recently been reading a book about podiatry. It's mostly footnotes.’

The tongue-in-cheek Pegasus Comedy Awards – 'proud to be the most pointless awards in comedy’ –  awarded its own ‘Joke Of A Fringe’ title last year with a grand prize of 1p, with the proviso it come from a future show.  The 2025 title was won by Tom Mayhew for: ‘I’m looking forward to the release of the upcoming RoboDog 3000 - it turns out YOU CAN teach an old dog new tricks!’

Cheez-It is made by Kellanova, the snack arm spun off from the Kellogg Company, which was bought by Mars for $36billion  in December, after clearing an EU monopolies investigation.

Published: 19 May 2026