File Under Humor
Perhaps the best published satire these days is found in the free tabloid newspaper The Onion, which weekly looks at life’s absurdities firmly tongue in cheek.
Lately the publication has been poking fun at the marketing business. A recent headline stated, “Perfectly Marketed TV Show Somehow Fails.”
A fictional series, “City Buds,” was canceled by NBC, whose marketing executives are perplexed because they devised and executed what they considered to be a flawless $250 million marketing strategy.
Beyond the typical Internet, billboard, magazine, newspaper, television, and radio ads, the network also employed “cutting-edge” guerrilla marketing techniques, such as 14,000 urinal communicators installed in public restrooms across the U.S. that, when activated by a stream of urine, informed patrons of the date and time City Buds was scheduled to air in their market.”
Other tactics tapped for the faux campaign included canvassers, taxi signs, stickers, and 1.25 million promotional coffee-cup sleeves.
“How could they not identify with these kinds of promotional devices?” questioned senior brand manager Earl Kinney.
We’ve all been there, haven’t we?
