Pekočemeter 2.0 – Where is the Line Between Joking and Offending?
Jokes can lighten up the mood in conversations, but at times a “spicy” comment can truly hurt someone. This year, Bold.group and Kotányi invited experts in spicy humor—comedians Sašo Stare and Gašper Bergant—to join the campaign “Spice up your food, not your language”. Together, we set out to define the fine line between joking and offending, while raising awareness about the importance of respectful communication.
The task wasn’t easy, as we also wanted to build on last year’s campaign, which won the WEBSI Gold Award for the best socially responsible project. Watch the award-winning video:
Where Joking Ends and Offending Starts?
Kotányi is an industry leader and spice expert but they do not support “verbal spices.” Last year, using the Pekočemeter, we asked Slovenians how spicy certain remarks can be. This year, we “spiced up” the game with an interactive joke-rating experience, addressing the common issue of hiding offensive remarks with phrases like> “It’s just a joke!” or “Come on, don’t be so sensitive!”> To tackle this issue, we brouht in professional joke experts – comedians.
Pekočemeter 2.0
The Pekočemeter is the first-ever online interactive video quiz aimed at answering the question of “Where is the line between joking and offending?” once and for all. Users can select a theme for a joke (e.g., family, appearance, profession) and comedians serve them jokes about it via video. The users then rate the jokes’ “digestibility” and indicate if they’ve heard similar remarks directed at them. At the end, users receive results comparing their answers to the average, along with potential solutions — such as direct contact with professionals to share experiences of verbal abuse and seek help.
Fighting Verbal Abuse with Comedians
This year’s campaign featured Sašo Stare and Gašper Bergant. These renowned Slovenian comedians shared their spicy jokes via the Pekočemeter, helping users evaluate the digestibility of the humor and determine the line between banter and offense.
Thousands of Slovenians judged the jokes’ spiciness. You can view the results here:
Social Media and Influencer Marketing
On social media, we were thought-provoking while raising awareness and entertaining. Partnering with influencers known for their respectful communication in their everyday content, we shed light on the widespread issue and normalization of verbal abuse. Followers shared many “heated” experiences with the influencers, showing that the project provided a safe space for conversation and trust for many people.
Other Media
We spread our messages and called for more respectful communication far and wide. Our story and main figures were featured on the most-listened-to radio show, Denis Avdić Show, and the popular podcast POPKAST. The campaign also reached online and print magazines, as well as retail shelves. Altogether, our message was seen and heard by more than 2,6 million times.
Results
- 269% increase in completed quizzes compared to last year.
- 19,275 responses recorded in the Pekočemeter.
- Influencers’ story posts reached 63,377 people organically.
- Ads were displayed over 2 million times, generating more than 8,000 clicks.
- Gašper Bergant’s live appearance on the Denis Avdić Show was heard by 80,000 listeners.
- Ads on Radio 1 reached an audience of over 450,000 listeners.
- More than 1,200 people watched and listened to POPKAST, while the accompanying article was read by over 6,000 readers.
- Kotányi donated €1,000 each to five partner organizations that support minorities, underprivileged youth, and combat hate speech, verbal abuse, and online bullying.