1800-GOT-A-SIMPLE-IDEA-THAT-MAKES-YOU-REMEMBER-OUR-PHONE-NUMBER
1 June 2009 6 Comments
I have had to pass this ambush of dancing, blue wigged lunatics for 1800-GOT-JUNK over the last four mornings…
These were my reactions:
Day 1: “That’s a cheap and tacky way to get attention for a brand. Credibility just went out the window.”
Day 2: “The chicken suit and wobbler board must be next. Which marketing guru came up with this tactic?”
Day 3: “I wonder if the idiots are still going to be there? Aah yep… there they are. Again.”
Day 4: “It’s sad but I can actually remember the name and the number – 1800-GOT-JUNK.”
It’s not pretty but they’ve achieved their objective. What do you reckon? Could you put this forward to your client or would you be too embarrassed? Are some clients looking for solutions as simple as this which are immediately dismissed by the ‘pro’s'?
No related posts.
Reminds me – our household got a donation letter from the MS Society yesterday, with the heading tagline of:
'Multiple Sclerosis, Do you? Get it!'
I then stared at it for a long while trying to work out what the hell I was supposed to get.
If it's not an odd play on people asking how one "gets" MS, I wondered if it was intentionally nonsensical to encourage discussion (as I have added here) and subsequent spreading of the MS Society brand? But that would be a risky manoeuvre.
What am I missing?
I love your JUNK. BUSHEEE.
I don’t work in an ad agency but it doesn’t strike me as an idea that would have been pitched to a client i.e. not sure the company is a client of an agency. I would hazard a guess it is just a staff members idea and they thought “Its cheap and could work. Let’s give it a go”
However, if I had to pitch it to a client I would assume there needs to be an image fit. This approach fits with the business because they are trying to get rid of junk and stuff would be cheap. So their advertising needs to come across as “thrifty”. Polished advertising would create an image in my mind that they are trying to pull a swifty by being more fancy than they really are.
But here is a conspiracy theory for you … maybe they know who you are and that you blog about stuff like this. So they found out your route and made sure they set the banner et al up where you would see it. They knew full well the idea was dodgy and that you would probably hate it. They also knew you would need blog ideas and that you’d be a fair chance of blogging about this idea. Their goal was to get you to give them exposure
@isaac I don’t get it either? Anyone? Anyone?
@daniel I am 99% sure that it was done directly by client, exactly with the thinking that you have there. But if it works for them they don’t need an agency. Do you think it’s a fit? I agree on the cheap but the silliness? As for your conspiracy, it would definitely explain men in blue wigs following me home at night. But yes, I didn’t like it at first but now I do – shock! Good on them for making the most of very little and getting that number stuck in my head.
Product recall alone can’t be a marketer’s end goal, particularly if the brand is remembered with contempt or disdain.
For instance, I’ve been thinking a whole lot more about CGU since they started their latest advertising campaign. But I doubt it was the marketers’ intention to have me thinking about how much I wish I could stab each and every one of them in the eyeball…
Any ideas on how i call 1800 Got junk on my qwerty keyboard?
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Another Advertising Wanker
Nathan Bush
Interactive Strategist, BCM
Brisbane, Australia
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