Why a Big Fart Matters to Your Marketing
Surprised? Of course you are. Why would a company send a fart joke to their target audience?
Some years ago during the Golden Age when I was just a stinky teen, my best friend and I hopped into a Baskin Robbins after a movie. The only two customers in the shop, we selected some tasty goodness and just as the sweet, white-haired lady behind the counter bent over to scoop our order, the loudest fart I ever heard rang through the shop. WOW. What timing!
While the breathless, uncontrollable laughter erupted, the adorable, grandma-esque lady in her pink and white uniform peered at us with a quizzed look and asked, “Is everything okay?” Seriously? Did that just fall out of you and you didn’t realize it? That fart was so big it moved all the cars in the parking lot three feet.
IT WAS JUST A FART.
So why do I still remember this? It took me by surprise and had impeccable timing. Now THAT was a resonating emotional experience.
To this day when I think about those delicious 31 flavors, I still giggle.
it was a brand connection
The element of surprise still holds as one of the best tactics for creative marketing. Our increasing need for speed and rate of information consumption is lowering our attention span. We wade through so much noise everyday that only the best brand connections we encounter are memorable. Even more importantly, those connections foster conversation and are shared.
DIRT DEVIL
This advertisement does the job three fold. Not only does it capture the viewer from the beginning and emotionally engage the audience in fear while delivering a laugh, it also relates the brand in a manner we do not expect. Surprise!
SOUTH DAKOTA : METH. WE’RE ON IT.
This clever campaign took the nation by storm. Creative messaging and visuals resonated so loud that everyone was talking. Initially seen as derogatory, this campaign raised a huge awareness about the meth addiction epidemic and the state’s commitment to address it. Surprise!
EAT24
Where should a 24-hour delivery service advertise? I’m sure pornographic sites do not immediately come to mind however EAT24 did just that. The idea was that after working up an appetite viewers would order delivery. It made them successful enough that in 2015 they sold to Yelp for approximately $134 million. In 2017, the company sold to GrubHub for $237.5 million. Point taken. Sex sells. Surprise!
why surprise marketing works
Surprise sparks emotional response.
Surprise exceeds consumer expectations.
Surprise drives learning and changes behaviors.
Surprise engages and demands attention.
Surprise is memorable and fosters conversation.
Whether your business marketing is engaged in story doing, direct mail, or digital ads, incorporate the element of surprise. Be cautious. Not carefully crafted, surprises can backfire just like a smelly old fart.
BY THE WAY
Many days after our ice cream escapade, my friend confessed that she was the one who ripped the big one. It all made sense. That’s why the sweet lady behind the ice cream counter threw us shade.
Here’s to you, Jenifer! (Surprise!)