Laugh with, not at
F
ew companies have had more fun with their brands than Budweiser. From frogs to lizards to field goal kicking, snowball fighting Clydesdales, Budweiser has kept its name at the forefront of pop culture. It has gone beyond making us laugh and turned us into brand ambassadors. Even if you won't admit it out loud, admit it to yourself: you've asked someone: "Waaaaazzzzzuuuuuuuuuuup?"
Bud Light's latest campaign, both online and off, encapsulates the spirit of our first tip: make sure to laugh with, not at. In its new "Blatant Marketing Ploys" campaign, we laugh with the pitchman at the marketing of beer, not at the brand. Using scantily clad beautiful women dancing in slow motion is an easy way to sell beer. But they are quick to remind us that marketing doesn't make a beer taste any better.
Another great example comes from GoDaddy. We're all familiar with its original Super Bowl campaigns and the huge amount of free publicity that followed. This year it turned its previous marketing efforts into a core component of its new campaign. "Focused" and "efficient" are the carefully chosen words when it comes to describing the company's operations. Like the Bud Light campaign, however, they are sure to let us know that the product isn't funny. Marketing for GoDaddy, though, now that's fun.
In this spoof from Smirnoff, the P-Unit invites us to join these loafer-wearing, turned-up-collar boat boys from Martha's Vineyard at their Tea "Partay." RSVP required.
Smirnoff's Tea "Partay"
Like our mothers told us, it's not OK to laugh at someone, even if that someone is a robot. The satire of a robot being depressed over being fired and jumping off a bridge was completely overshadowed by the PR firestorm that followed and ultimately resulted in GM pulling the Super Bowl spot shortly after it aired.
GM's Robot ad
