Story: Some brands create awesome, clever, hilarious and, you guessed it – inappropriate – ads. Then they got banned, and their sales skyrocketed.
Lesson: Creating great ads for the sake of hoping they get banned is actually a good strategy.
Imagine creating an ad, launching it across all preferred media platforms, then anxiously waiting for a ban – because that is your goal. Imagine if you shared this intention publicly to your brand’s social media, or even in the ad itself. Imagine people cheering you on and joining you in anticipation of a celebration when the announcement comes, “your ad has been banned”.
Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?
But holy shit, your brand would get an insane amount of attention if this were your mission.
There is something to be said about a brand that has the balls to do something so taboo. So outlandish that it fckng works!
Before I continue, you should know that ACA banned ads VERY rarely see a decline in sales post-ban. In fact, most banned ads are more for the sake of potential audience sensitivity and less because the message itself is harmful or offensive.
But brand-pulled ads due to heightened controversial subjects? That’s a different story. Bud Light can attest to that (although the country remains semi-divided, they clearly didn’t assess their audience).
American Apparel launched an extremely risqué campaign about 10 years ago, and some speculated that the brand schemed to raise eyebrows (and concerns) enough to obtain a ban. However, this campaign was even more inappropriate than me (yikes). The print ad showed several young people baring their entire behinds and wearing stockings. There are subtle ways to imply inappropriate or taboo storylines that do not put on sexual displays with such forthright.
Creating something impactful, powerful, and emotionally edgy means finding balance to be understood, not misunderstood… because lighthearted controversy over two dudes standing over urinals discussing how “huge” their packages are is one thing (an old Dodge truck commercial). But, for example, no one will ever debate whether it’s okay to sexualize children or teens, because it’s NOT.
My favorite banned ad of all time by our beloved Doritos brand. (This is the type of inappropriate copywriting you get with yours truly).
Over 2M views. And some comments worth a peek:
Let’s compare that banned ad with the 2024 Super Bowl ad that ranked on this year’s “best ads” list: The Kia EV9 spot. Grandpa’s old ass can’t get to his granddaughter’s ice-skating competition, so she performs the routine in a rink outside his house. The Kia EV9 charges up lights to make it quite the spectacle for pappy. It’s emotional and heartfelt and we feel the feels in a collective teary eyed “aww” moment. Here it is:
(NOTE: Only 17K views, compared to the 2M views of the banned Doritos ad)
Picture this alternate ending: Papa draws a “7” on the window instead of a “10”? LMFAO!!!
What a fckng plot twist THAT would have been, one you would never have seen coming. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have remembered this commercial more if it had a plot twist like that. The entire tone shifts, which makes it more interesting, while the message stays the same. You wouldn’t want to give away the ending when you talked to your buddies about “that Kia commercial that made you crack up”. It’s one of those, “dude, you have to watch it yourself” types of ads. Let’s jerk on the tears a bit, then punch you in the gut.
Give your brand’s message an unexpected twist that makes people talk.
People can rarely fight the temptation to not look at “bad” things. From car accidents to blocked content on social media, it’s in our nature to want to see the things that are not considered appropriate for our eyes.
Controversy is more exciting. On social media, people pay more attention to – and engage more with – argumentative and shocking comment threads.
I write ad copy for the sake of bringing attention to a brand because – duh- the entire reason a company advertises is to grow audiences, get new customers, and experience growth. We all know the traditional forms of ad copy that simply “finish the race” (referencing my last edition about running a marathon just to “finishing” not to“win”). If that’s your brand’s modus operandi, and it works, that’s totally fine.
But if your brand has the gumption to never be afraid to paint a more exciting picture of what a customer’s life could be like (if only they had your product or service), then do it without fear. Taking a dishier approach to ad copy is all about stirring things up to shake up strong emotions and inspire passionate conversations, and maybe even some innocuous disagreements.
Inappropriate ads definitely command attention, whether they like what they’re seeing and hearing or not.
This is how we harness the undeniable power of controversy to demand audiences take a look at the brand behind it. Ready to write your bad brand ad story? Let’s talk.
TAKE A QUICK BREAK AND WATCH THE BEST BANNED ADS OF ALL TIME HERE: https://youtu.be/n7mE7zuz0Xk?si=26S5hENXR3FcUd23
