Creepy or not? Are your customers relating to your brand?

by Carolyn Kiser



After hearing of the split between Palm and their agency, Modernista, it made me think about the creepy ads for the Palm Pre. For those unfamiliar, they feature actress Tamara Hope as an unsettling spokesperson for the smart phone. And while I’m sure the client-agency relationship ended because the success of the creepy Palm Pre ads was not realized, I don’t think that means that creepy ads are off limits completely.



You can’t argue that Tamara did not generate some buzz. If you type “creepy ads” into your preferred search engine, you will undoubtedly see Palm Pre appear with many comments about the creepiness of the ads and specifically, Tamara Hope. And the ads may not have created brand loyalists, but they did get people’s attention and they got them talking. This is true of almost any creepy ad. They are almost sure to get attention, but the most important thing is: are they driving people to buy your brand? Isn’t that the point of advertising, after all?

Some ads are intentionally creepy, others are not. It is questionable if the Palm Pre was intended to be creepy, but I would imagine most of the people who saw that commercial would agree it was. Now, “creepy” is a very subjective term but let’s consider other ads and or/brands that score on the creepy scale (intentional or not): Orville Redenbacher (posthumous campaign), the Quizno’s hamster, Snuggle fabric softener’s bear (who some adore), the Welch’s grape juice girl from the 90s, and the Sour Patch Kids candy commercial.











Perhaps the most notorious brand for creepy ads is Burger King. With a reel full of creepy commercials with the likes of the Creepy King and the Man in the baby costume, they walk the creepy line quite well. So why do their creepy ads seem to work while others flop? It comes down to knowing your audience. Humor and even a little creepiness can make great ads, but you have to know your audience. You have to use creativity in a way that makes consumers like your brand and what to be part of it. And while the Burger King king may be creepier than the Palm Pre girl, but the ads had an edge to them that appeal to their young male audience and that they can relate to. While I am not particularly fond of the ads, I realize that I am not their target. Which makes me wonder, who was Palm Pre targeting?




Next time you are about to launch a new ad, ask yourself - How well do you know your target audience? And are you speaking to them in a way that they can relate to your brand?

P.S. If I had written this before the Tiger Woods Ad launch, that would defiantly be included!