Finding the right tone of voice for a brand can be a minefield. In recent years there has been a trend towards a more informal, self-aware and even sarcastic approach. But while this reflects a trend towards more relaxed presentation and communication in wider society, it can sometimes be as goofy as a teacher trying too hard to be “down with the kids”.
It’s a tough balance to strike, and the brands below have demonstrated just how fine the line is between frankly refreshing sound and squealing force. Perhaps they could learn from the best brand books.
01. Oatly’s irritating Reddit ad
“Your ad campaigns are always the cringest and most pathetic faux-cool b*llsh*t. I am actively hostile to your brand.” Ouch, I don’t think that’s the kind of response Oatly was hoping for when he released a announcement on Reddit. The brand was already pissing people off with its “corporate irreverence,” but this facetious post, in which it claimed to have discovered email marketing, has ruffled a lot of people the wrong way.
Other gems from the oat drink brand include posters with phrases such as “Waiting for someone? “Just look cool and pretend you’re reading this,” “Posters don’t have feelings, so you don’t have to pretend you’re interested.” and ‘you actually read this? Total success’. They don’t seem to understand that making fun of the marketing and advertising industries doesn’t really work when you’re so active there.
02. Surreal’s “Celebrity” Billboards
Surreal is a cereal maker that waves its challenger brand status like a huge big flag – in pastel shades, of course. Thankfully, the results were less irritating than Oatly’s efforts, bringing smiles with its cheeky use of fake mentions of regular people with celebrity names.
THE bold campaign featured commendations from Serena Williams, Dwayne Johnson and Michael Jordan – all everyday people who go by the same names as international celebrities. Clarifications are provided by means of an asterisk and a smaller print below the display copy. It works, drawing newcomers’ attention to the brand, but it’s borderline boring.
03. Clancy’s Auto Body Maxwell the Cat
@clancysautobody (opens in a new tab)
♬ original sound – keeern (opens in a new tab)
One of the reasons deliberately bad marketing can be so boring is that, in many cases, it just isn’t believable. Although Oatly and Surreal are small brands compared to Kellogg’s or Nestlé, they are not tiny startups either. Their advertisement may seem artificial as it tries to give the impression of being improvised while its very existence tells us that there is a professional marketing team behind it.
The irreverent approach can be more believable when it comes from a brand no one has heard of. Clancy’s Auto Body, for example. This Fort Lauderdale body shop has gone viral on TikTok, one of the toughest platforms for brands to break into, thanks to comedy and Maxwell the cat. It’s going to have to start mixing in some more serious content, but this is one case where the unprofessional approach doesn’t seem out of place.
04. Almost Everything From Brewdog
Scottish brewery Brewdog has long portrayed itself as a punk rebel shaking up the industry. But while he can be seen as something of an upstart taking on the big international beer brands of yore, his attempts to be pissed off sometimes fail. A first design for his entry into the whiskey market was described on Twitter as “about as punk as Songs of Praise” and “the recently divorced, middle-aged, leather, sports car daddy of whiskey bottles”.
But his biggest failure was when he tried to satirize sexist marketing tropes. We can see how smart that might have seemed. Launch an intentionally sexist campaign ‘Pink IPA’ with typical brand sarcasm, and everyone will laugh and realize how awful it is to market pink products to women (often with price markups) and that men and women should receive the same wages.
The brand had its heart in the right place, making its own commitment to equal pay, but the mix of sarcasm and serious messaging was simply confusing and led to the brand being accused of making the problem it was criticizing.
There may be a place for irreverence in marketing, even among big brands, but it’s hard to get it right. And the bigger the brand, the harder it is to make it sound authentic. For every new customer whose attention it might attract, there is most likely someone else who will become “actively hostile” to the brand.
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