How Stupid?

HOW STUPID SHOULD YOU BE?

Q: Are there times when it’s SMART to be STUPID?

A: YES! Sometimes it’s hip to be square, too.

 

 

 

 

If you are serious about grabbing your prospective audience, then a pathetic pun, an advertising outtake, or anything memorably foolish or stupid that will have them entertained (supposedly at your expense, but those of us on staff here at Mad Marketing Tactics™! know that your audience will ultimately pay you when they remember your brand and buy your product or service) will certainly catch their attention; what you do with it after that is entirely up to you.

 

The philosophy set forth in the above paragraph most easily lends itself to the branding of either consumer goods, or to the branding of certain business-to-business items or services in a highly competitive, fragmented market.

 

In this troubled world, any humor is an up-front bonus to your audience. People enjoy a quick joke or a funny story – and they usually remember who told it to them. Case in point: How about the GEICO Gecko series of commercials? How about The Mucus Family reunion (Mucinex)? Who can forget Digger, the devilish little fungus who lives under your toenail? The list goes on and on.

 

While cruising for “beef byproducts in a bag,” “sacks of suet,” and “tube steaks” (all of these prior terms refer to hot dogs, and my favorite hot dog designation is the last one) in a Google search, I stumbled upon this site: http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2009/05/winning_hot_dog.html .

 

The site features a hot dog limerick contest. I was fascinated. Who wouldn’t be?

When curiosity, stupidity and a humorous topic combine, I’m caught! There it was, a hot, juicy bovine rocket nestled between my eager doughy buns, poised for immediate launch:

 

“Congrats to KJR, the winner of our Hot Dog limerick contest who gets two free tix to the Serious Eats Hot Dog Hootenanny this Sunday (please e-mail Alaina Browne with your info.) Here’s the winning limerick:

"There once was a hot dog named Frankie / Whose bun was as thin as a hankie / So he rolled up just so / In some crescent roll dough / Now kids call him "Pig-in-a-Blankie."

 

 

I must say that a clever limerick, frankly, can add substance (as well as numerous preservatives and fillers) to your branding campaign — although the one above would probably not make it big in Metropolitan New York.

 

Give me a guy with a green “MUCUS” t-shirt sitting on a bed talking to a wife suffering from nasal congestion (while her husband remained snoozing obliviously under the covers), saying, disgustedly, “Sure. Blame the mucus…”

 

To my thinking (to the extent that I am actually able to think), I believe that the Mucus Man kicks the living crap out of the Lunesta Butterfly – you know, the one with “On the wings of Lunesta…” And how about those “possible” side-effects, folks?  Please!

 

You think the comparison is irrelevant? I think it’s not.

 

Be every bit as stupid as you like.

 

Faithfully,

 

Douglas Castle

http://MadMarketingTactics.blogspot.com

http://www.DouglasCastleBlogosphere.com