I can picture two scenarios:
- Ad agency decides to create a cheeky slogan/campaign, among several options that they are developing for the client, expecting that it’ll never get past the initial presentation. Clueless clients somehow fall in love with it, and approve it anyway, then run it without doing any consumer research before launch.
- Agency develops cheeky slogan/campaign, for a client who feels that they need to do something that is a little outside-the-box and buzzworthy to break through clutter, and make consumers think differently about the product. Again, no consumer research is done before launch, and the client is unpleasantly surprised by the reaction to it.
At an agency where I previously worked, we had Kmart as a client for several years. We created a funny, slightly risque ad idea for them, knowing full well that it would never make it onto TV, but it could be a way to generate buzz on social media, and make Kmart seem like it wasn’t stuck in the 1970s. The clients agreed, we produced the ad (and a second, A Christmas Carol-themed version), and ran it on Youtube, where it got a lot of attention.
