Have you ever made someone laugh at work? Well how about making someone laugh AS work? That's just one of the many duties of Prank-O Founder and CEO (Chuckle-Emitting Officer), Ryan Walther. In this exclusive interview that will be engraved into the internet forever (or at least until the sun crashes into Earth and melts our servers), we talked to Ryan about his comedic roots at The Onion and how he joined forces with Arik Nordby to grow the preeminent humor brand, Prank-O.
Before starting Prank-O, what did you do?
I worked for America's Finest News Source, The Onion.
What was your greatest takeaway from your past experiences at The Onion?
To make sure to treat brands and their growth with kid gloves. It's a process and takes time. You can't force art! Additionally, the creative process must lead the way. The business can not dictate creative direction. I believe that leads to a disingenuous process.
When and how did Prank-O come to life?
In July of 2013, Arik and I decided to develop a 21st century gift company, that is the go-to brand for bringing laughter to parties. There are over a half a billion gifting occasions per year - in the US alone. Our generation grew up with The Onion, The Simpsons, The Daily Show, Family Guy, Comedy Central; we have a great regard for comedy. But we looked around, and realized their was no go-to brand for bringing laughter to parties, and we saw an opportunity. After all, aren't parties suppose to be full of fun?
As mentioned, Prank-O focuses on bringing laughs to the party. Our comedic lens centers around a social commentary and parody of consumerism. With consumer trends constantly changing, makes it ripe for parody. We also like to state that we developed an emotion in gift-giving situations. It used to be a bag or just a blank gift box that delivered someone's gift. Prank-O develops entertainment
Want to see more of the original Prank-O? Jump over to our Prank Gift Boxes and browse our wide collection of boxes and other gag gifts!
3 comments
I would love to see Prank-O branch out into selling fake book covers. The “little libraries” in my neighborhood gave me the idea. :)
Pay no attention the man behind the curtain.
I get you. One year at work, for “secret Santa”, I drew my boss’s name. In the spirit of totally useless I had a rubber stamp made that said “ To Tom from Nelson”. It was “one and done”. Now that’s in the spirt of “prank-o” don’t you think.