People are bombarded with ads all day, every day. Even well-executed marketing campaigns can fail simply because they weren’t memorable enough to the target audience. But when an ad is just slightly off — making viewers or listeners a little uncomfortable — the message sticks.
There are all kinds of ways marketers can evoke discomfort through their content. For example, intentionally misspelling a word can increase social media engagement as dozens of commenters rush to point out the typo. Creating content that makes people stop and think for a moment is undeniably effective, as these organizations quickly figured out:
South Dakota’s Department of Social Services
In November 2019, South Dakota released a series of photos and a video featuring the slogan: “Meth. We’re on it.” The ad campaign was intended to raise awareness about methamphetamines and share recovery resources for South Dakota residents. The double-sided meaning of the slogan made people across the country want to share it with their friends, so the ad campaign gained national attention almost overnight.
Although some people thought that joking about meth use was abhorrent, South Dakota’s marketing plan paved the way for state officials to make more serious efforts to tackle the problem. Laurie Gill, the state’s Department of Social Services Secretary, told NBC News that she’s happy people are talking openly about it, “even if they’re making jokes.” All campaigns need to begin with awareness, and this effort certainly captured people’s attention.
Paqui
This tortilla chip brand launched the only marketing campaign on this list that made people physically uncomfortable. In an effort to spread the word about their brand, Paqui created the #OneChipChallenge and encouraged people to share their reactions online. Like most food-based challenges (some may remember the cinnamon challenge), courageous foodies lined up to try the dangerously spicy chip.
Every chip was packaged individually and sold for about $5 each. These fiery hot chips were spiced with Carolina Reaper peppers, which are considered to be the hottest variety in the world. Of course, this knowledge just made people want to try them even more. Combined with the possibility of winning a prize from the brand, the internet went wild for the #OneChipChallenge.
General Electric
GE’s experiential marketing campaign, Healthymagination, initially brought an audience of 700 healthcare professionals to different hypothetical workplaces. GE set up elaborate sets to represent different settings, such as an emergency room and a rural African clinic, and then had real doctors from those actual locations host live video calls with the attendees. The experience was deeply immersive for the audience, as they listened to doctors’ stories and got virtual tours of clinics around the globe.
Hearing difficult stories that occurred in developing nations was uncomfortable for attendees, but this discomfort sparked important conversations amongst attendees. Seeing the real impacts of GE’s Healthymagination initiative made them want to accelerate GE’s mission of making healthcare more accessible.
Adobe
Free stock photos are notoriously exaggerated and always hilarious. In 2016, Adobe finally decided to use stock images to their advantage by transforming cringe-worthy stock photos into a fashion lookbook. Adobe Stock Apparel, featuring classic images such as “a woman happily eating a salad” or “businessmen shaking hands,” was intended to be an amusing homage to outdated internet trends.
Adobe creative director Oskar Hellqvist said, “We wanted to pay tribute to what has been before and then take one last glimpse backwards before we leave it all behind and move into the new age … turning them into a limited edition clothing line is our way to salute them and an attempt to create something disruptive and unconventional in the genre.”
Although the clothing collection wasn’t actually available for purchase, it showed Adobe’s sense of humor and garnered plenty of attention. When all was said and done, poking fun at old stock photos was a clever way to promote Adobe’s own stock photography collection.
“Wathan Funeral Home”
In 2016, Ontario residents were shocked to see a giant billboard that read “Text and Drive,” followed by the name of a supposed funeral home. The ad sent shockwaves throughout the Canadian province, with some outraged drivers visiting the Wathan Funeral Home website to express their anger. However, the funeral home didn’t actually exist. The single-page website was actually a PSA against texting and driving.
“If you’re here, you’ve probably seen our ‘Text and Drive” billboard. And if you have, you probably came to this website to tell us what horrible people we are for running an ad like that. And you’d be right,” stated the website, which has since been deleted. The page went on to explain that over 50% of Canadian drivers admit to checking their phones while driving, and that texting and driving kills more people than drunk driving. The anonymous source behind the PSA said these statistics “should make you even madder than our billboard did.”
Conclusion
Discomfort in marketing can be a catalyst for change when used correctly. Outright offensive or disturbing ads might go viral, but the brand will forever have a damaged reputation and a tarnished public image. Organizations need to know their audiences well before they attempt a potentially off-putting campaign.
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