Stupidity and marketing.
I'm looking at a What-Were-They-Thinking advertisement that I won't describe for fear of providing free advertising in any form. This ad contains at least three You've-Got-To-Be-Kidding-Me's, but I don't think that their marketing department is that stupid and socially oblivious.
This is why I sometimes fear faux-scandal-bait and Internet memes. People seem to want to latch onto anything that generates a controversy and turn it into a fashion trend.
Next month, there will be an advertisement for a headband that will be intentionally designed to look like a strap-on-dildo. Someone like me will comment, "What were the thinking!?" but (unlike me) they'll go on to describe the product. It will become an Internet meme. Millions of people will visit the product's web site and realize that they were serious. Someone will ask, "What's the big deal?" and they'll think it would be cool to wear the headband and thumb their noses at convention. In a year, strap on dildos for headbands will become a fashion statement. The news will cover it. 40-somethings will start adopting it.
In two year's time, everyone will realize that it was a stupid idea and throw their headbands away. (They'll be poking up out of landfills for decades.) The former owners will be trying to laughingly dismiss those party photos for years.
The headband is a direct analogy for the product advertisement I just saw. I wouldn't want to wear that on my head, either.
Someone comes up with a bad idea and successfully markets it through the resulting buzz. People want items that become ever-present in their social lives. They'll buy it, only to realize that it was a stupid idea to begin with. This is how Snuggies happen. Imagine the wasted time and production that could have gone into something better instead of making someone rich.
Then again, if I could successfully market the strap-on-dildo headband, I would. $$$$$! :D
This is why I sometimes fear faux-scandal-bait and Internet memes. People seem to want to latch onto anything that generates a controversy and turn it into a fashion trend.
Next month, there will be an advertisement for a headband that will be intentionally designed to look like a strap-on-dildo. Someone like me will comment, "What were the thinking!?" but (unlike me) they'll go on to describe the product. It will become an Internet meme. Millions of people will visit the product's web site and realize that they were serious. Someone will ask, "What's the big deal?" and they'll think it would be cool to wear the headband and thumb their noses at convention. In a year, strap on dildos for headbands will become a fashion statement. The news will cover it. 40-somethings will start adopting it.
In two year's time, everyone will realize that it was a stupid idea and throw their headbands away. (They'll be poking up out of landfills for decades.) The former owners will be trying to laughingly dismiss those party photos for years.
The headband is a direct analogy for the product advertisement I just saw. I wouldn't want to wear that on my head, either.
Someone comes up with a bad idea and successfully markets it through the resulting buzz. People want items that become ever-present in their social lives. They'll buy it, only to realize that it was a stupid idea to begin with. This is how Snuggies happen. Imagine the wasted time and production that could have gone into something better instead of making someone rich.
Then again, if I could successfully market the strap-on-dildo headband, I would. $$$$$! :D