Gone Too Far?

Sex sells and we all know that.

The minds behind Axe products know this all too well. In a recent commercial to market their extensive line of hair-care products Axe may have pushed the envelope a little too far. Having only heard about the "risque" new commercial I immediately went to my computer and Youtubed the video. The commercial below is the one I am referring to, personally I enjoyed it but it raised this question: Has Axe gone too far? Will angry parents call the Axe Corporation and complain about the obscene commercial their kids are being exposed to? You be the judge.

The marketers at Axe understand that they are marketing their products to men, men who are looking to make themselves more attractive towards women. With sexual innuendo's such as these its easy to see that the Axe Corporation is doing a fantastic job at reaching their target market.

How To Make Friends On An Airplane

Why do people keep on creating the most ridiculous products and why do consumers continue to encourage this nonsense by purchasing them?  And CNN doesn’t help by running segments showcasing them.

The extra large Snazzy Napper is a “sleep and privacy shield” for your eyes that doubles as a blanket.  OK, so it’s a Snuggie with an eye patch.  The original version however is just an eye patch with a bib.  News flash, though, this product already exists and has been around for over 1,800 years...it's called a burqa.  You gotta see this.




I love the part at the beginning where the woman puts on her Snazzy Napper while sitting in between two men who don’t even flinch.  Not only would the woman freak me out if I was sitting there, I’d get up and move.

The creators of the Snazzy Napper have at least tried to wedge it into the world of social media.  They have a Facebook page, a YouTube page and they’ve taken a Dominos approach to their product, asking consumers to photograph others they see wearing the Snazzy Napper and post it to YouTube or Facebook for a whopping prize of $100 and a free Snazzy Napper.  I don’t know if they’re hoping consumers will actually look for someone wearing one or buy the damn thing just to photograph it in hopes of winning the measly hundred bucks.  So far they have two Facebook posts and zero on YouTube.

I’m pretty sure we just found this year’s Christmas re-gift.

A Truly Grateful Marketing Approach

 “Marketing Lessons From the Grateful Dead” is a new book out by Deadheads (and Marketers) David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan.

The cover is flipping awesome!

It focuses on the business and marketing strategies used by the Grateful Dead and how you can apply them to your situation.   The book evidences multiple Dead strategies and shows that the band was more than just Jerry and his face-melting jams, but an intelligent business mind and very much ahead of the curve.

They didn’t follow any of the music industry rules and created a following unlike any other.  A following that drove cross-country to see a live show, traded tapes of live shows, and that traded these tapes for tickets.

I can’t wait to buy the book.