In this New York Times video profile, Jerry Seinfeld explains his joke-writing process, which includes an obsession with finding exactly the right words for maximum hilarity. In his analysis of his bit on Pop-Tarts, he recounts coming up with this line:
The Pop-Tart suddenly appeared in the super-market. And we just stared at it like an alien spacecraft. And we were like chimps in the dirt playing with sticks.
What makes that joke according to Jerry: Chimps. Dirt. Playing. Sticks. “In seven words, four of them are funny,” says Seinfeld. He especially likes chimps.
Word choice is crucial, he explains. “If it’s just a split second too long, you will shave letters off words. You count syllables. It’s more like songwriting.”
The hardest part of longer bits? The biggest laugh has to be at the end. The line he ends the bit with: “They can't go stale because they were never fresh.”